Nuclear medicine imaging uses a small dose of an injected or ingested radioactive tracer to show how an organ is functioning, rather than just its structure — used heavily in cancer staging, thyroid disease, and bone metastasis detection.
| Facility | Type | Services |
|---|---|---|
| KUTRRH (IMIC – Integrated Medical Imaging Centre) | Public | PET/CT, SPECT/CT, bone scan, radioiodine therapy, Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy |
| Private oncology/imaging centres | Private | Thyroid uptake scans, HIDA scans, cardiac stress/perfusion imaging |
Kenya's nuclear medicine capacity has expanded significantly with the launch of a dedicated national facility. PET scan services in Kenya became available with the installation of the first Cyclotron machine at KUTRRH, which brought relief since most patients previously had to access PET scan services outside the country, and the service was not available in any public hospital before then. The centre also runs SPECT/CT bone scans: this scan uses 99m Technetium methylene diphosphonate (99m Tc MDP) to image the skeletal system and is a highly sensitive method for demonstrating disease in bone, often allowing earlier diagnosis than conventional radiological imaging. Bone scans are used for detecting primary bone tumours and bone metastases from cancers such as breast, prostate, lung, head and neck cancer, as well as for non-oncology indications like osteomyelitis or infected joint prostheses.
Affordability has improved through insurance partnership: KUTRRH has an MOU with NHIF to fully cover the cost of PET scan treatment, meaning eligible patients are not required to top up out of pocket, removing the need to travel abroad or fundraise for the procedure. Outside KUTRRH, thyroid uptake scans, bone scans, and cardiac nuclear stress tests are available on a more limited basis through private oncology and cardiology centres in Nairobi, generally at a significantly higher self-pay cost than the NHIF-supported KUTRRH pathway.
