Sask. couple donates $2M for scanner at Royal University Hospital

Royal University Hospital is pictured in this file photo.

Saskatoon philanthropists Leslie and Irene Dubé have made a major donation to bring a new nuclear imaging scanner to the Royal University Hospital (RUH).

The $2 million donation is for the hospital’s first dual-modality Single Proton Emission Computed Tomography and Computed Tomography (SPECT-CT) diagnostic imaging scanner, according to the RUH Foundation, the university hospital’s charitable fundraising arm.

“The generous donation from Leslie and Irene will enable us to shorten scan times, lower radiopharmaceutical and x-ray doses used during the scans, and produce the highest quality images possible for about 4,500 patients a year,” RUH nuclear medicine department head Dr. Sundeep Nijjar said in a release Thursday.

“Thanks to this gift, patients will have access to the newest, fastest, and safest molecular diagnostic imaging service in the province at RUH.”

SPECT-CT is a nuclear imaging modality used frequently in diagnostic medicine. The scanners help doctors make earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

This leading-edge technology merges two separate scanning functions to produce a single high-quality three-dimensional picture that simultaneously shows how an organ is functioning, and the precise location and size of abnormalities, the RUH Foundation said.

The RUH Foundation said the new SPECT-CT is expected to be operational this summer.

The couple, who are the founders of Concorde Group of Companies in Saskatoon, have donated nearly $8 million to the RUH since 1987.