With the support of the Chinese government, Dominica has commissioned a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) machine at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (HIFU). The machine provides the only cancer-related treatments in the OECS and CARICOM communities.
The $2.5 million HIFU machine was donated by China and commissioned by the Chinese ambassador to Dominica, Xian Jiang Lin, last week Wednesday. The ambassador said the machine is part of the expansion and reconstruction project going on at the DCFH which is almost complete and will be handed over to the Dominican government by the middle of this year.
The HIFU machine which had already been used for six surgeries at DCFH is used as a non-invasive treatment approach for delivering high-impact ultrasound energy to a tumor cell without radiation. The Minister of Health, Dr. Irving McIntyre, said the machine will aid effective treatment of cancers, fibroids, and other non-invasion treatments that may otherwise require radiation.
This HIFU service is a cutting-edge and non-invasive technology. It has the capabilities to treat many cancers such as liver, pancreatic, breast, uterus fibroids, soft tissue and also bone cancer. We understand that the capacity of the machine will exceed that of the needs of our population but citizens must feel a measure of comfort that they can receive treatments right here at home which otherwise would be obtained in the US and elsewhere.
Dr. Irving McIntyre, Minister of Health
Underscoring the importance of the machine to Dominica, McIntyre said the only other HIFU machine is in Mexico and that Dominica can become a health haven for the service. “There are no other HIFU facilities in the OECS or even in the rest of the CARICOM countries,” he said. “I am told that the closest such facility is in Mexico. We can therefore leverage that capacity to provide services to the OECS and CARICOM countries and beyond.”
DCFH now has a fully-equipped radiological department which boasts of top-tier machines for x-ray, CT scan, mammogram, ultrasound, and a MRI machine which was commissioned in October 2021. McIntyre stated the recent medical investments at the DCFH are targeted at strenghtening the delivery of primary and sophisticated healthcare services in Dominica.
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