Good.
My presentation will be quite brief, so as to allow a lot of time for questions. I imagine that you have many.
For almost a year now, we have been dealing with the isotope shortage in Sherbrooke and throughout Quebec. Approximately 30% of the shortage is a result of the shutdown of the NRU reactor. There have been benefits for the health care system, but it has also caused problems.
With regard to the benefits, I am referring mainly to the optimum usage of medical isotopes. Isotopes were no longer wasted if a patient failed to show up, we called the next person on the waiting list. One dose could be cut in half, which allowed it to be used for two patients. Since this product has a short life and we had it evenings and even weekends, we were able during that same period to really maximize usage. That is the positive impact of the shortage.
However, the alternatives created in response to the shortage are problematic. We are talking a lot about thallium, which is used in myocardial perfusion. We are using it as a substitute for MIBI, but it is not the best substitute. In comparison to the radioactive tracer, this product generates a much higher dose of radiation in patients and it is not as effective in overweight individuals. For people who are very overweight, the images generated are of lower quality. Ultimately, this has consequences on the health care system.
Other technologies can also be used, such as magnetic resonance and CT scans. However, even if these technologies are available, they are relatively costly. The use of such technologies has already been maximized. If we transfer people needing nuclear medicine exams to magnetic resonance imaging, for example, we're only moving the problem around. The equipment cannot deal with the surplus.
On the other hand, many new alternatives have been tried. Today, there is a lot of interest in positron emission tomography. A number of specialists and I believe that it is really the technology of the future. The problem is that, approximately 31 of these devices are available in Canada and 15 of them are in Quebec. The geographic distribution of this technology is not sufficient. It can be very well used in Quebec. We use it a lot. I would say that, in Quebec, the crisis has likely hit us less, given the availability of these positron emission tomography machines. Thanks to them we can do bone scans, myocardial perfusion studies and many other examinations. In my opinion, it is really a technology we should look to and we must encourage its development.
Doctors believe that patients should never be deprived of an examination. The NRU alone is responsible for 30% of the shortage in global production, but no patient has really suffered from the shortage. Some exams have been postponed, but everyone has been able to have an exam and no one has really suffered.
However, the Dutch reactor is now being repaired and the isotope shortage has reached 60%. As a result, the shortage will be felt, and I truly fear that some patients will not be able to get an exam in time. We will rack our brains and try to find solutions, but I can tell you that, at present, there are few solutions. Furthermore, we don't really have the time to find new ones.
The floor is now yours.