Two strategically important medical facilities opened in Kaunas: New opportunities for disease diagnosis and treatment

Two facilities of strategic importance for the advancement of medical and scientific research in Lithuania were launched: The Nuclear Medicine Research Centre (BMTC), where the Cyclotron operates, and the Human Biological Resources Centre (Kaunas BioBank), was opened at the Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) in Kaunas Clinics.

Rector of LSMU Prof. Rimantas Benetis stressed the importance of the Nuclear Medicine Research Centre.

“This is a big event in the country’s medicine: Thanks to the new centre with the cyclotron infrastructure, we are in the same ranks with the modern countries of the world, where the latest nuclear medicine technologies are being developed. We are not entering this field as newcomers: Scientists of the University and specialists of Kaunas Clinics  have already achieved a significant, internationally appreciated experience in the field of nuclear medicine, this field is one of the strongest in the Baltic States, – emphasised Prof. R. Benetis. – We also hope that the Human Biological Resources Centre will serve the further development of science. This Centre is primarily a scientific infrastructure that protects human biological samples and related information.”

General Director of Kaunas Clinics Prof. Habil. Dr Renaldas Jurkevičius says that the new infrastructure with two unique objects in Kaunas Clinics will open wider diagnostic and treatment possibilities for patients from all over Lithuania.

“The cyclotron installed in the Nuclear Medicine Research Centre will produce radio-pharmaceuticals for the early diagnosis of oncological, cardiological, neurological and other diseases, which until now Lithuania brought from other countries. This made it difficult for patients in our country to have a very accurate diagnostic test,” says Prof. Dr. Habil Renaldas Jurkevičius. – Another important facility opened today – the BioBank, which will help to develop advanced research that finds new ways to fight diseases, improve human health and increase life expectancy. Kaunas BioBank not only strengthens scientific capabilities, but also reflects our commitment to progress in the field of healthcare.

Both facilities opened in the territory of Kaunas Clinics Hospital and were implemented by joint efforts of LSMU, Kaunas Clinics and partners and will be used for disease diagnosis, treatment and scientific purposes.

Cyclotron is a new step in the field of treatment and science

According to the head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Centre Prof. Donatas Vajauskas, the opening of this Centre is the beginning of a new, significant phase for the country’s healthcare system. The launch of the Cyclotron is not only a hope for more accurate research and effective treatment for patients, but also a new step on the basis of experience to develop new scientific research and health-related discoveries.

“Until now, in Lithuania we have only had one drug for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tests, which limited the diagnosis of patients, the choice of treatment tactics, the assessment of relapse and the analysis of response to treatment,” says Prof. Vajauskas. – Cyclotron will significantly improve the possibilities of patient testing, contribute to the development of precision and personalised medicine, and will create conditions for scientific development.

Modern radio-pharmaceuticals manufactured at the Nuclear Medicine Research Centre will fill the link between fundamental and clinical studies to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of new research and treatment methods for patients. This will allow us to go even further in the direction of nuclear medicine, so that scientific discoveries can be applied as soon as possible in clinical practice, diagnosis and treatment of patients.”

Until now, Lithuania has acquired radiopharmaceuticals for PET research from other countries, but it is difficult to bring these compounds from abroad due to their high rate of decay and price: Some of the radiopharmaceutical compounds break down in just two minutes.

“With the opportunity to produce such compounds directly, diagnostics of various oncological, cardiological, neurological and other diseases will become earlier and more accurate. This will facilitate and help to evaluate treatment tactics, because the production of these compounds, diagnosis and treatment of diseases will take place in one place – in Kaunas Clinics”, says Prof. D. Vajauskas.

The building, which has the cyclotron, is special, built and equipped according to the highest safety standards. It also has a laboratory for quality control of radiopharmaceuticals for the preparation of radioactive medicinal products for PET testing. The cyclotron will be used by specially trained specialists – medical physicists, engineers, medical chemists, cyclotron operators and radiochemists. 

The value of the cyclotron infrastructure project, which was implemented by LSMU, Kaunas Clinics and Kaunas University of Technology, amounted to about 19 million Euro, it was funded by the budget of the European Union and the Republic of Lithuania.

A BioBank storage facility began to operate in Kaunas Clinics

On 21 June, a human biological research centre was officially opened in the territory of Kaunas Clinics, where one of the four national BioBank repositories of Lithuania operates: solid tissue, liquid tissue and special live tissue and health information database.

The project of Kaunas BioBank was funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

“The hospital itself contributed to the installation of Kaunas Clinics BioBank with its own funds. Out of the project value of 7 million Euro, Kaunas Clinics allocated about 1.8 million Euro. This investment of Kaunas Clinics will contribute to the development of pathological anatomy research  and improvement of conditions,” says Prof. Habil Dr. Renaldas Jurkevičius. Kaunas Clinics BioBank is a part of the modern national BioBank infrastructure in Lithuania. The other three repositories of the National BioBank of Lithuania were established in Vilnius University Hospital Santara Clinics and the National Cancer Institute.

According to the Head of the Human Biological Research Centre, Dr. Lina Poškiene, the newly opened Kaunas BioBank, has a unique opportunity to collect and store various biological samples, genetic and clinical information, bringing together scientists and healthcare professionals.

“The BioBank is an invaluable resource platform that allows researchers to conduct research, develop new methods of treatment and diagnosis, and search for biomarkers,” says Dr. Poškienė.

A number of medicines and vaccines are already being developed using BioBanks and health information around the world. For example, vaccines against hepatitis B and human papillomavirus were developed using samples from around the world collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer BioBank. The samples stored in BioBanks are used to research lung cancer, melanoma, a malignant skin tumour, and in search of new drugs.

Information of LSMU and Kaunas Clinics Hospital.