kolkata the countrys biggest medical cyclotron cyclone 30 that can produce radioisotopes for diagnosis and treatment of cancer at onethird the existing cost has started functioning at the variable energy cyclotron centres vecc chakgaria facility in kolkata at least 10 top hospitals in the city are already procuring isotopes produced by the unit to detect and investigate tumours the medical cyclotron facility the first of its kind in the country will start operating at an optimal level by the middle of 2021 a statement released by the department of atomic energy dea on thursday said it will provide affordable radioisotopes for the entire country especially eastern india and also have export potential for isotopes used for breast cancer diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment the statement said set up at a cost of rs 60 crore the cyclotron and the facility housing it is the result of a threedecadeslong initiative by eminent scientist bikash sinha also deas homi bhaba professor and a former director of saha institute of nuclear physics and vecc kolkata this will not only revolutionize research but also bring down cost of cancer treatment dramatically sinha saidisotopes generated by the centre can diagnose tumours both cancerous and otherwise at onethird the existing price and make treatment affordable for a larger section of our population with time the use of this medical cyclotron can be extended this is an example of how science can directly benefit people and proves that scientists dont merely work behind the closed doors of laboratories but their efforts can make a big difference to the lives of the people said sinhaamri hospitals apollo gleneagles netaji subhas cancer research institute and eastern diagnostics are among those which are already using isotopes from the centre we are procuring isotopes from the centre for pet scan to investigate tumours it is not only cheaper but has also made it easier and faster to acquire the material which is not easy to transport and preserve isotopes have a very small shelf life and so far we had been procuring it from bengaluru at a higher cost this could indeed be a big step in making cancer treatment affordable said amri ceo rupak barua the facility will start regular production by the middle of next year after commissioning of the supporting nuclear systems and regulatory clearances the dea statement said it has taken a long time to get the project sanctioned and rolling but the effort has been worth it said sinha he added that he was initially wary about the project taking off after a fiveacre plot was sanctioned for it near east kolkata i was worried about protests from locals since radioactive material would be generated at the centre but fortunately they have been extremely cooperative said sinhaprofessor of oncology at institute of postgraduate medical education and research ipgmer diptendra sarkar welcomed the move and said this will ease the supply of isotopes in the pandemic situation we needed to have a regional centre since the whole