1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,240
Speaker 1: Government's getting advice in a potential helium shortage. This is

2
00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,280
Speaker 1: used in MRI machines. A quarter of the global supply

3
00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:09,680
Speaker 1: is imported from Cutter. Obviously that's affected by the Strait,

4
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,040
Speaker 1: but also the strike we told you about last week

5
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,080
Speaker 1: on the RUSS Lafann facility. That's where it all comes from.

6
00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,119
Speaker 1: They're worried about cancer care. Here Doctor Debrah Powell, APEX

7
00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,400
Speaker 1: Natal Secretary with us this morning. Deborah, good morning, good morning.

8
00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,720
Speaker 1: How important is healing for MRI machines?

9
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,040
Speaker 2: Absolutely essential. It's the substance that calls these machines. They

10
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,559
Speaker 2: work at a very high temperature, so we have to

11
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 2: call them to make sure that they can keep on operating.

12
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,720
Speaker 1: Do we have a shortage yet? Is there anything wrong

13
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 1: with the MRI machines as we speak or is it

14
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,000
Speaker 1: we're just looking ahead and hoping it doesn't happen.

15
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,479
Speaker 2: I think we're just looking ahead. The MR machines have

16
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,479
Speaker 2: been maturing over the years. They used to take a

17
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,360
Speaker 2: lot of helium, about one and a half liters of

18
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,600
Speaker 2: liquid helium, but our current machines don't take that sort

19
00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,680
Speaker 2: of level, and they also recycle their own helium, so

20
00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,319
Speaker 2: we really only get into trouble. If we have to

21
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,759
Speaker 2: quench the machine is what we call it. I'd call

22
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,720
Speaker 2: it purging. But if something does go horribly wrong, then

23
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,000
Speaker 2: the helium is released into the atmosphere. It doesn't happen

24
00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,880
Speaker 2: very often, but if it does, then they have to

25
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,880
Speaker 2: replace the helium in the machine. So that's really the

26
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,319
Speaker 2: main risk I think that we have here. Most of

27
00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:29,920
Speaker 2: our machines these days are more modern, so they're not

28
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,200
Speaker 2: taking as much helium. We've got a very good replacement

29
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,720
Speaker 2: program at the moment for MRI machines, which is rather fortunate.

30
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,320
Speaker 2: So no, this is we need to watch and make

31
00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:45,000
Speaker 2: sure that we have a little bit of spare capacity

32
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,240
Speaker 2: in the system in case that it's not going to

33
00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,360
Speaker 2: affect cancer treatment or any of the other things that

34
00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 2: mrs do. At this point in time.

35
00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,280
Speaker 1: How good you know. I was looking this morning at

36
00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,720
Speaker 1: the numbers. We have about twenty per million people. Germany

37
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,760
Speaker 1: has about thirty five per million, the USD seven. Japan

38
00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,280
Speaker 1: has sixty MRI machines per million. Does it make a

39
00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,640
Speaker 1: big difference to cancer care? Does it make a big

40
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,360
Speaker 1: difference to survivability all that stuff?

41
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,760
Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely, And it's not just cancer. These machines are

42
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,440
Speaker 2: used for a wide range of diagnosis and then monitoring

43
00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:23,920
Speaker 2: of disease, cardiacs, neurological, all sorts of things. So yeah,

44
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,560
Speaker 2: it makes a big impact on how patients generally flow

45
00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,760
Speaker 2: through the system. But cancer kere in terms of diagnosis,

46
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 2: how far is the cancer spread, so we can actually

47
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,040
Speaker 2: get all of it's not just the main primary. All

48
00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,000
Speaker 2: of these things mrs are absolutely critical to best treatment

49
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,120
Speaker 2: for our patients. They're fabulous machines, not.

50
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,440
Speaker 1: The debil pow APEX National Secretary.

51
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,400
Speaker 2: For more from earlier edition with Ryan Bridge.

52
00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,960
Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks the b from five am weekdays,

53
00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,280
Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio