cuttack lalatendu sarangi director of the acharya harihar post graduate institute for cancer cuttack has informed the high court that petct scan facilities are not feasible in balasore and berhampurpetct scan is a vital test required for detecting if a cancer cell has spread to any other body part of a patient other than the initial point the device is known to be the latest and modern equipment to detect cancer in the whole body the key component of a petct scan facility is the radio isotope which has a life span of only seven to eight hours it would require transportation by air only at commercial airportsin an affidavit sarangi said the installation of the petct scan facility in balasore is logistically possible as radio isotopes can be brought by road from kolkata to balasore within five hours but there being no cancer unit or super specialty centre in balasore such a facility would remain grossly underutilised because of lack of clinicians for referring patients to the facility besides traffic issues may cause delay in the delivery of the isotopesuntil the proposal for the establishment of a cancer wing in balasore is completed it may not be appropriate to install such a facility there sarangi said in his affidavit filed on wednesdayas for the installation of the petscan facility in berhampur is concerned it may not be logistically possible as there is no airport near the city to facilitate obtaining the shortlived radio isotope from outside into the state sarangi saidthe ahpgic director was asked to submit the feasibility report by the state health and family welfare department after the hc directed the state government to examine the feasibility of setting up the petct scan facilities at two other locations in the state balasore and berhampur