Such opinion was expressed during an exclusive interview with President Kim Chong-soon, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences. The Institute has established a new vision, which President Kim spoke by saying: "The Institute will contribute to the mankind by means of the best radio therapeutics research medical examination and treatment in the world."
Touching upon the Institute's role conversion from cancer medical service to a cutting-edge radio rays medical hospital in recent years, president Kim who took office as president of KIRAMS last April, this year by means of applying publicly stressed: "It is a fact that medical use of radioactive isotopes is on the rapid increase due to science technology development in the 21st century, the life's quality improvement for the nation and welfare furtherance, and an deepening advanced age society."
Actually, 90% of KIRAMS investment has been invested in cancer medical examination and treatment in the past. But nowadays, 90% of its investment is being invested in radio therapeutics, according to Kim.
Among others, Kim has committed himself to convert from a defensive strategy of a cancer center to date to an aggressive strategy of radio therapeutics research/medical examination and treatment institution. By making the most of differentiated superiority as a radio therapeutics medical examination and treatment hospital of all medical care (the thyroid gland, a cranial nerve, a cycle and rheumatism) including cancer plus radio therapeutics research center which stands at monopolistic position at home, the radio therapeutics veteran has committed himself to develop KIRAMS in a balanced manner.
Differentiation by enlarging its radio therapeutics
Concerning the Institute's differentiation plan in the years to come, Kim introduced: "KIRAMS which has retouched its keyword from 'Cancer' to 'Radio therapeutics', plans to differentiate it by enlarging its radio therapeutics up to the brain, the heart, the thyroid and so forth besides cancer medical treatment."
Concretely speaking, he said that research and clinic would be able to provoke synergy together by establishing the following six goals:
First, KIRAMS plans to enlarge atomic energy medicine research field to the groundwork field of atomic energy industry development besides atomic energy's medical use.
Second, to seek the hospitals balanced development KIRAMS will secure its image as a research-model hospital of the sole atomic energy medicine at home, according to Kim.
Third, Kim said that the Institute will differentiate cancer even more with regard to radio therapeutics field whereas it will be changed to a hospital image which can cure non-cancer field too to say nothing of cancer.
Fourthly, the president said that KIRAMS will beef up emergency medical examination and treatment's efficiency in the case of national radio rays disaster.
In particular, Kim emphasized fifthly the importance of seeking export increase through RT and BT industry development plus ethics management system's establishment.
In conjunction with its localization embodiment, the Institute is actualizing an isotope's localization for medical care by developing radioactive isotope, according to the president. In the case of cyclotron for medical treatment, developed by KIRAMS in 2002 among others, he introduced that the Institute is embarking its nationwide dissemination by constructing cyclotron center by circle area by teaming up with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) plus pioneering an aggressively overseas market.
As regarding staple outcome assessment such as clinical application of cutting- edge medical technology ahead of this, KIRAMS paved the way for a new chapter of radio rays remedy by introducing neutron rays and microtron remedy gadgets for the first time all at home, starting from having cured cancer patients by operating a cobalt remedy gadget for the first time in Korea on last 1961.
In 1997, the Institute opened cancer's early diagnosis era which can identify down to 5 millimeter cancer growths by operating Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for the first time. It is said that KIRAMS is spearheading domestic nuclear medicine by operating PET/CT for the first time at home that strikes root as a next-generation image diagnosis equipment on 2003.
A new chapter of radiological remedy
As everybody knows, KIRAMS has been reshuffled into current Institute on 2002 through Atomic Energy Hospital on last 1973, starting from Radio therapeutics Laboratory on past 1963.
By struggling on cancer diagnosis, the latest remedy way development and related R&D (research and development), the Institute has been at the head in conquering cancer, an incurable disease, over the past 40 years. Since 1988 when cancer patient registration project began, KIRAMS has been growing as a cancer special hospital which diagnoses and treats roughly 5~11% of nationwide cancer patients who come into existence anew yearly, according to the persons concerned.
As per the Radio rays and a radioactive isotope use increasement law, proclaimed on December 2006, KIRAMS has launched as an affiliated institute under direct control of MOST. By establishing a new vision to contribute to mankind by means of the best radio therapeutics research medical examination and treatment globally, the Institute which holds atomic energy hospital, radio therapeutics laboratory, and national radio rays emergency medical examination and treatment center at the moment, is hardening new resolution to discharge its role as an institute that spearheads domestic radio therapeutics medicine, Kim said.
Since atomic energy facility etc' protection and radioactivity measure law came into force in particular on 2004, KIRAMS' function has been enlarging greatly as radio rays emergency medical support headquarters and national radio rays emergency medical examination and treatment center's roles were added.
Accordingly, President Kim said: "To propel radio rays and a radioactive isotope's medical use and R&D affairs effectively, a revised bill of radio rays and a radioactive isotope use promotion law resulted in being promulgated on 2006."
Active dedication to less-developed countries
As regards KIRAMS' international standing in this field and cooperation circumstance between nations, the Institute has reciprocal exchange briskly under way by concluding all sorts of agreements with foreign advanced institutions to strengthen clinical and basic medical research as a radio therapeutics special research medical examination and treatment institute.
To grasp the latest research trend among others, it is said that the Institute is dispatching clinical doctor and researchers to institutions such as the National Cancer Institute NCI and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in the United States every year, according to Kim.
In special measure, President Kim kept an eye on the fact that KIRAMS is carrying out joint research with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the purpose of domestic radio therapeutics and nuclear medicine activation plus holding all sorts of workshops and training courses.
According to IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's special request that he wishes KIRAMS would serve as a cooperation institution of cancer remedy throughout the world, the Institute is devoting many interest to providing lessdeveloped countries such as Vietnam and Kazakhstan with cancer remedy system to share radio therapeutics medical examination and treatment with them, according to Kim.
