Sheba Medical Center To Build New Nuclear Medicine Facility

March 1, 2018 | Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital, Israel’s largest medical facility, announced this week that it is planning to build a new center for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, which can be used for diagnosing and treating a host of diseases including a number of cancers, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. The hospital said in a press release that it has submitted a permit application for the 2,000-square meter, three-floor diagnostic and research center. The center will house a cyclotron, a nuclear reactor which will produce small quantities of nuclear isotopes for use in molecular imaging, in the basement floor, the hospital said. Nuclear isotopes are used in the detection of cellular changes which “will allow medical professionals to offer a personalized approach to diagnosis and therapy through earlier diagnosis and assessment of treatment efficacy,” the hospital statement read. The construction of the center is being funded by Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire businessman who owns stakes in steel giant Evraz, Norilsk Nickel and the UK soccer team Chelsea. Abramovich donated $20 million for the project, and has so far given Sheba a total of $57 million for various other initiatives, including to the Sheba Cancer and Cancer Research Centers, the Pediatric Middle East Congenital Heart Center and the Sheba Heart Center, the hospital said. Sheba’s Director-General Professor Yitshak Kreiss said in a statement, “Thanks to this generous donation made by Mr. Abramovich, we will be able to further our research in the field of nuclear imaging which will enhance our ability to make early diagnoses and offer a personalized medicine approach to our patients.”