U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., Wednesday (October 31, 2001) announced that he has won key conference committee approval of $7 million that he added to a federal appropriations bill for construction of the West Virginia University (WVU) Center for Positron Emission Tomography.

The funding that I added to this bill will advance construction of this new world-class education and technology center at WVU . This new facility will expand the work of the Universitys existing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) center, allowing scientists and physicians around the world to share research results, to better train health care workers, and to deliver improved patient care at a lower cost,Byrd said.

PET scanning is a highly accurate and noninvasive procedure, providing information that cannot be gathered through other techniques such as MRI or CT-scan. In a PET test, patients are injected with small quantities of a radioactive tracer material, which breaks down quickly after the test without harmful side effects. The tracer is carried in the bloodstream to the organ the doctor wants to study. A scanner maps the tracer, recording data about the organ which is analyzed and used by doctors to more accurately diagnose often dangerous medical conditions.

Byrd added the funding for the national PET center in the Fiscal Year 2002 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill.Though tremendously beneficial, PET is still too expensive for many smaller hospitals, clinics, and laboratories. This new national center will greatly enhance the ability of medical institutions throughout the countrythrough the use of communications technologies like Mountaineer Doctor Televisionto offer patients this diagnostic technology while filling a critical need for a national education center to support the development of PET ,Byrd stated.

This is perhaps the most important aspect of this new facility. By putting PET technology within reach of clinics and hospitals in rural areas, West Virginia doctors and technicians will be able to diagnose many medical problems like brain cancer or heart disease at earlier stages while they are highly treatable. Since early detection is the key to patientssurvival in many illnesses, PET possesses tremendous life-saving potential,Byrd said.

Conference committee approval clears the way for final Congressional passage of the legislation.