THUNDER BAY The largest cyclotron in Ontario is being used for research, but still can t provide the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with radioactive isotopes for diagnostic imaging procedures on patients.
The machine was installed in a specially-built bunker near the hospital at 1040 Oliver Road six years ago at a total cost of almost $10 million.
The City of Thunder Bay contributed $1.5 million.
Although the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission licensed the cyclotron in 2016, it has yet to receive a sign-off from Health Canada.
In late 2019, hospital officials said they hoped to meet the federal government s requirements by the spring of 2020.
Posted: Jan 25, 2021 7:30 AM ET | Last Updated: January 25
Researchers across Ontario are using a new imaging technique, co-invented by Prof. Mitchell Albert of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., to study the lasting impact of COVID-19 on people s lungs. (SciePro - stock.adobe.com)
A chemistry professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and the imaging technique he co-invented, are part of an Ontario-wide research project that has received nearly $1-million over two years to study the long-term effects of COVID-19 on people s lungs.
It s already known the coronavirus can lead to pneumonia, lung inflammation and respiratory failure, but now scientists believe the damage caused by the infection may be irreversible.