PET-CT in Bangladesh…..A NEW HORIZON OPENS….

Abstract

Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (popularly known as PET-CT or PET/CT) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique. PET is called the emission technique where gamma rays created during the emission of positron are detected by the scanner. Positron emitting radionuclides tagged to specific tracers are injected intravenously into the patient. These are then taken up by various organs or tissues either physiologically or pathologically and gives an image map that is essentially functional.On the other hand, CT is called the transmission technique where X-ray passes through the body and at the same time from opposite direction, detection of attenuation of the body is carried out by the detectors and forms an anatomical image.PET and CT are fused on a single gantry into a hybrid technology for the ultimate combination of functional and anatomical image in single frame.Nuclear Medicine in Bangladeshis entering a new era with the inclusion of PET/CT. PET-CT has revolutionized cancer diagnosis and therapy. It is a stronger diagnostic tool for the early detection of cancer, to determine the staging of cancer, therapy planning and follow-up. One very important application of PET-CT is the treatment planning system (TPS) i.e. how much dose is required at the site of tumor for the treatment of a cancer patient before a patient undergoes a radiotherapy process. It can precisely determine the site where radiation needs to be focused.Since 2015 the National Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences started to perform PET-CT examination for the first time in public sector. So far PET-CT diagnostic facilities were only available in the private sector.The good news is that another PET-CT will be commissionedin 3 months in the public sector at nuclear medicine institute, Dhaka Medical campus, that will enhance the patients servicing capacity. We have to think about the optimal usage of this highly sophisticated and expensive technology. As mentioned above, PET-CT particularly has a very important role in oncology. It helps to differentiate malignant from benign lesions in many cases and is invaluable for image guided radiotherapy. In addition, it can give valuable information about the metabolism of the myocardium and is also useful in diagnosis of many non-malignant diseases.As before, this year too, a number of interesting papers on a very wide range of topics have been published. These will expand the horizon of the reader's knowledge. Therefore colleagues, good luck and keep it up! 7

Negotiating Nationhood: Constitutional Warfare, International Law, and the Birth of Bangladesh

“…"Bangladesh has struggled for too long for its self-determination to allow itself to become anyone's satellite [...] the World Community [is] beginning [...] to take notice of this major conflagration raging in the world's eighth largest country [...] Whilst there is still talk in some countries of this being an internal affair of Pakistan, it is becoming evident that the massacre of seventy-five million people and the attempt to suppress their struggle for freedom is now an international issue of major dimension which threatens the conscience as much as the peace of the region." 111 Tajuddin framed the GIE as a representative government forced from its state's territory as a consequence of an international illegality committed by the government (in situ). He also made the case for an independent Bangladesh by reference to the humanitarian crisis that unfolded at the time by specifically citing the USSR and India's recognition of the genocide, and Britain's recognition of the conflagration.…”

“…Among others, the GIE assigned Nurul Quadir as its "roving ambassador" to propagate the Bangladesh cause in India, Iran, and Afghanistan. 112 Quadir was a lawyer by profession and an active AL campaigner. He found an unlikely ally in Wahida Rehman, then famous Bollywood actress who was incidentally the vicechairperson of the Bangladesh Aid Committee established during the war.…”