Upgrading King Hussein Cancer Centre Radiology Department

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has awarded a $600,000 grant to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) to help sustain its mission to provide comprehensive cancer care to patients from Jordan and the Middle East.

The second awarded to the KHCF by the OPEC fund, will be used to upgrade the radiology department of the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC), the foundation’s medical arm, by installing a new interventional radiology suite (IRS), according to a KHCF statement released yesterday.

Interventional radiology is a sub-specialty of radiology in which minimally invasive procedures are performed using image guidance for diagnostic and treatment purpose, the statement said, adding that the images provide “roadmaps” allowing interventional radiologists to guide needles or catheters through the body to target precise areas of interest.

The IRS will replace the old machine currently in use at the KHCC, providing faster processing time, dual X-rays and high-resolution imaging capabilities, thus increasing the number of patients that can be seen in the radiology department and the accuracy of diagnosis.

It will allow doctors to perform various procedures, such as angiography, biopsies or chemotherapy with enhanced efficiency, the statement said, adding that the IRS is expected to be used for around 230 procedures each month.

During the signing ceremony in Vienna on Monday, HRH Princess Ghida Talal, KHCF board of trustees chairperson, thanked OFID for the support, saying “the grant will help in providing critical diagnostic tools for the radiology department that will increase the efficiency and resolution of our imaging while decreasing the processing time”.

Citing the KHCC’s major medical achievements and successes, Princess Ghida highlighted its bone marrow transplant (BMT) program, which recently began performing transplants utilizing cord blood, one of two such programs in the region.

Princess Ghida also spoke of the success of the Jordan Breast Cancer Program, noting that since it was launched three years ago, the number of women presenting themselves with stages 3 and 4 of breast cancer have reduced from 70 per cent to 35 per cent.

HRH Princess Dina Mired, KHCF director general, also attended the grant signing ceremony at OFID headquarters.

Established in 1976 by the member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OFID is an inter-governmental development finance institution that aims to promote cooperation between OPEC member countries and other developing countries as an expression of South-South solidarity.

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