Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services is pleased to announce the official opening of the second positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) scanner, located at the Nuclear and Molecular Medicine Facility on the Health Sciences Complex in St. John’s. PET-CT scans are used in the diagnosis and management of certain types of cancer, neurological disorders and heart disease. This additional PET-CT scanner will help increase future access to this service for patients across the province.

“NL Health Services looks forward to continuing to provide this service to patients with the addition of the second PET-CT scanner. The benefits of a combined PET-CT scanner include greater accuracy and diagnostic capabilities, improved capacity to meet demand, and the development of new cutting-edge technology to provide even better detection of disease,” said Dr. Pat Parfrey, CEO of NL Health Services. “Thank you to the dedicated and highly skilled health-care professionals, physicians and staff of the Nuclear and Molecular Medicine Program who are committed to providing safe and high-quality services and care for patients.”

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador provided funding for the second PET-CT scanner. “Our government continues to make record investments in the health care through Budget 2025 as part of the 10-year transformation of the health system,” said the Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, Minister of Health and Community Services and Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. “This additional PET-CT scanner is another example of how we are improving access to health care, decreasing wait times, and ensuring people receive an earlier diagnosis and start earlier treatment, if necessary.”

The second PET-CT scanner has been operational since April 14, 2025. With the introduction of the second PET-CT scanner, the original scanner was also upgraded, resulting in two state-of-the-art units, and further increasing the ability to expand future service.

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BACKGROUNDER

• PET scans are essential in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of many diseases.
• A PET scan is a simple and non-invasive medical imaging procedure that takes pictures and measures the metabolic activity of cells inside the body. It provides information about how organ systems function and how well a patient’s treatment is working.
• The CT portion of the exam provides structural information about human anatomy by taking pictures in the form of X-rays of bones and other parts of the body.
• By combining PET and CT pictures, a radiologist can get a better sense of what is happening inside the body.
• NL Health Services’ PET-CT program first began in 2017 and has experienced growth and successes since that time. The radiopharmaceutical sciences (RPS) team plays a key role in supporting the program through the production and preparation of radiopharmaceuticals on-site that are used in PET-CT scans performed at the Nuclear and Molecular Medicine Facility. Key dates in the history of the program include:
• November 2020: RPS performed its first clinical preparation of a radiopharmaceutical on-site 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (commonly referred to as FDG), which is used in PET scans for the diagnosis and management of many different types of cancer.
• October 2022: RPS performed its first clinical preparation of the radiopharmaceutical Gallium DOTATATE, used in PET scans performed for the diagnosis and management of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).
• November 2025: RPS performed its first clinical preparation of Gallium PSMA, used in PET scans for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer.