ANNUAL REPORT

1982-1983

IRAQI ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

PREFACE

Since the publication of the 1981 annual report by the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) significant progress has been made in various areas of the peaceful applications of atomic energy in Iraq. One of the major activities of the IAEC is the medical utilizations of radioisotopes which include the therapeutic applications in the fields of radiotherapy and oncology, the diagnostic applications in nuclear medicine and other uses in medical research. At present, there are four nuclear medicine centres in Iraq. The largest two are situated in Baghdad and the other two are located in the southern and northern parts of the country. The major activities of these centres are reflected in this report.

Other major activities of the IAEC are represented by the Nuclear Research Centre (NRC). The NRC is concerned mainly with research on various applications of radioisotopes in agriculture, biology, chemistry physics and health physics. The present annual report contains extended abstracts of research projects performed at the NRC during the years 1982 - 1903.

The lAEC's endeavor to extend the peaceful applications of atomic energy in Iraq has been going on despite the condemned Israeli criminal act on 7th June, 1981 which destroyed the peaceful Tammuz research reactor. In this report, documents issued by International organizations condemning this Irresponsible criminal action are included.

THE INSTITUTE AND HOSPITAL OF RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE, BAGHDAD

The Institute and Hospital of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine was commissioned on 8th February 1969 and began to treat patients from all parts of the country. In the beginning the Institute concentrated on teletherapy with limited facilities. As the number of patients grew over the years, it was necessary to add a new cobalt radiotherapy machine - Theratron 80

The total number of new cases who attended to get treatment in the oncology department during the year 1982 was 2769. This number included patients who received treatment by irradiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy.

The Institute and Hospital comprise the following departments:

RADIOTHERAPY DEPARTMENT

The radiotherapy department deals with the treatment of cancer cases by irradiation chemotherapy, or hormone therapy. All patients are checked properly to select the type of treatment most suitable to their cases.

The types of cancer which are treated in the radiotherapy department are as follows: Breast, Bladder, Bronchus, Larynx, Brain tumor, Leukemia, Skin, Nasopharynx, Maxilla, Nose, Oral cavity, Hodgkin's disease and other unspecific sites,

This department has three accelerators two cobalt units,and one superficial 300 KV unit,

DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The Radiology Department deals only with diagnosis. The disease needs follow - up with the life span of the patient. Cancer spreads in different routes and metastatic lesion settles in distant parts of the body from the primary. To follow the metastatic lesion the best possible way is the diagnostic radiology. Hence, this department plays an important role in the hospital.

NUCLEAR MEDICINE DEPARTMENT

Nuclear Medicine Department is mainly concerned with diagnosis of different diseases and partially deals with management of many thyroid disorders and polycythemia vera.

Different kinds of diagnostic studies are done routinely in the department including laboratory and radionuclide imaging studies.

The average total number of patients who attended this department in the last few years were about 1200 per year.

Among the facilities available in the department are three types of gamma cameras and a 3 - channel renograph.

MEDICAL PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

The department deals with radionuclides in nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. The work in nuclear medicine includes:

Acceptance tests of different instruments when first installed (resolution, sensitivity, linearity, etc.).

Operation check (daily, weakly, quarterly, collimation,peaking,chart recorder function, field flood, energy resolution...).

Ordering and organization of radionuclides lo be used in nuclear medicine.

Renography calculations.

Acquisition and analysis of dynamic studies.

Training of radiographers.

I - 131 therapy doses.

Computers in nuclear medicine work.

The work in radiotherapy includes:

Acceptance test for new machine installation.

Radiation dosimetery.

Dose, dose rate , isodose chart, percentage depth dose data.

Calibration for all physical parameters.

Radiotherapy planning calculations.

Health physics.

Radiation protection, for staff and patients.

Radioactive materials control - storage, transportation and radioactive waste disposal.

Teaching and training the students (graduate and undergraduate) in the radiation field.

THE RADIOISOTOPES INSTITUTE,MEDICAL CITY, BAGHDAD

This is the first centre of medical applications of radioisotopes established in Iraq in 1969 In fact it was the first centre of its kind in ail the Arab Countries.

The centre has facilities for all in-vitro and in-vivo uses of open sources of radioisotopes. It does not include external radiotherapy machines which are located at the Institute and Hospital of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine.

The Radioisotopes Institute is located near the Teaching Hospital of the Medical City and the Medical College of Baghdad University. Hence many of the research projects of the teaching staff of the College are done in collaboration with the Radioisotopes Institute.

There have been many research projects performed at the Radioisotopes Institute, notably, the goitre survey and the relation of goitre to iodine deficiency, the effect of Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia) on the kidneys, the use of radioisotopes in the investigation of Mediterranean Thalassaemia, the loss of blood through the gastrointestinal tract in hookworm anemia and a variety of other projects. Radioisotope techniques have been applied in clinical and basic research in nearly every branch of the medical science. During the years since the Radioisotopes institute was opened all departments of the Medical College and Medical City had projects in collaboration with the Institute at one time or another.

Apart from the research, teaching and training activities of the Radioisotopes Institute, most of the diagnostic uses of nuclear medicine as well as therapy of benign thyroid disorders are also done routinely. These include:

Static and dynamic scintigraphy of the brain.

Thyroid scintigraphy and other in-vivo thyroid studies.

Brain dynamic and static studies.

Liver spleen scanning.

Hepato- (HI DA) studies.

Renography and kidney scanning.

Bone scanning

51 Cr-red cell survival and spleen uptake test.

All in-vitro radioimmunoassay of hormones especially serum thyroxine (T4) and (T3) uptake tests as well as T3 (RIA), TSH and other special tests for research projects, e.g. HPL in pregnancy.

The total number of new patients seen at the Radioisotopes Institute annually is around twelve thousand patients.

THE NUCLEAR MEDICINE CENTRE, MOSUL

The initiative help and enthusiasm of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission for the medical uses of radiation centres could not be better shown than the building of the Mosul centre. The whole project was established by the Iraqi AEC and it is now a centre for the Teaching Hospital of the Medical College of Mosul University.

The centre has facilities for all in - vitro and in - vivo use of open sources of radioisotopes.

A cobalt 60 teletherapy unit for external radiotherapy is also within the campus of the Hospital. This cobalt unit was a gift from the International Atomic Energy Agency and it has been replaced recently by a new one.

The Mosul Nuclear Medicine Centre was built on fairly wide ground with the possibility of future addition and extension in mind.

This centre now serves the northern area of Iraq and renders facilities for the medical uses of radioisotopes in clinical diagnosis and medical research.

Most of the diagnostic applications of nuclear medicine well as therapy of the thyroid disease are done at the centre. These include:

Static and dynamic scan of the brain.

Thyroid scanning and other in-vivo thyroid studies.*

Lung liver and spleen scintigraphy.

Renography and kidney scanning.

Bone scanning.

All in - vitro radioimmunoassay of hormones (There are two specialists in nuclear medicine and four practitioners with good experience in nuclear medicine apart from supporting physicists chemists technicians nursing and administrative staff).

Since the opening of the centre in 1971, the number of patients has increased and now it totals over five thousands new patients a year.

* Incidentally Mosul and the surrounding area are amongst the well known regions infested with endemic goitre.

THE NUCLEAR MEDICINE CENTRE, BASRAH

This is the latest centre built by the Iraqi AEC. In spite of the criminal war waged against Iraq by the Khomeini regime the centre started receiving patients and doing radionuclide scintigraphic studies of the brain, thyroid, kidney, liver spleen, bone scanning as well as in - vitro hormonal assay of T3, T4 and TSH. The centre suffers from shortage of technical staff but it is hoped that this problem would be overcome in the near future. In addition, the centre serves the Teaching Hospital and Medical College of Basrah University.