The new Nuclear Medicine Laboratory at the General University Hospital of Larissa is in preliminary operational use and has already begun to meet the needs of thousands of patients in the region. The procurement and installation of a PET-CT (positron emission tomography–computed tomography) scanner, as well as necessary remodeling of the hospital laboratory, was carried out through an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of its Global Health Initiative (GHI).
On Friday, May 5, the Nuclear Medicine Laboratory at the hospital was inaugurated in the presence of Ministry of Health Secretary General of Health Services Yannis Kotsiopoulos, Ministry of Health Secretary General of Primary Care Marios Themistokleous, Regional Director of Thessaly Konstantinos Agorastos, Governor of the 5th Health Region of Thessaly and Central Greece Fotis Sereti, hospital director Katsikonouris Dimitris, Department of Nuclear Medicine Director Panagiotis Georgoulias, doctors and nurses, and representatives from cancer patients' associations and SNF.
The PET-CT scanner was delivered in autumn 2022, and preliminary checks, equipment testing, and training for the hospital's medical and nursing staff are currently wrapping up. The Greek state has undertaken responsibility for staffing the laboratory, the operation of the equipment, as well as the maintenance costs after the two-year warranty period. Since the beginning of the grant, implementation of the project has been carried out in close cooperation between SNF and the hospital.