Medical innovation and research capabilities in Western Australia have received a substantial boost thanks to generous support from Cancer Council WA and Lotterywest.
The boost will allow WA's National Imaging Facility (NIF) Node to fund key equipment including state-of-the-art MRI and PET-CT scanners.
The new equipment will not only augment and replace ageing equipment, it will align WA's NIF Node with others across Australia.
Thanks to the support of our donors, Cancer Council WA is proud to have contributed $500,000 to the project, on top of $2.5 million contributed by Lotterywest.
Our CEO, Ashley Reid, said supporting the WA NIF Node would result in direct improvements for cancer research in WA.
"Cancer Council WA is thrilled to commit to a funding contribution for this equipment," Mr Reid said.
"This means WA researchers will have greater success in attracting funding to WA for research involving medical imaging.
"This is the first time WA researchers will be able to access a dedicated world class research imaging facility which is crucial for cancer patients participating in cancer research.
"It will increase the medical imaging workforce in terms of researchers and technologists and it will impact on research outputs including expanding research knowledge, locally, nationally and internationally.
"Most importantly, it will result in direct improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes for cancer patients."
The project is led by The University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Health Translation Network.
Three dedicated pieces of imaging equipment will be added to the node including a new human 3T MRI facility; a new human PET-CT machine; and an upgraded preclinical 9.4T MRI and small animal imaging machine.
The scanners will cover a broad scope of diseases and treatment needs from paediatric to geriatric - from basic science through to clinical trials - and will be available to all WA researchers.
This work will impact all key medical fields - particularly oncology, neurology, cardiology and studies into ageing.
