The Kenyan government is leading a bold push to transform its health system by embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and theranostics in nuclear medicine. Thi iss a strategy it sees as key in the battle against complex diseases such as cancer.
Addressing delegates at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium held on June 5 at Nairobi’s Mövenpick Hotel, Prof Abdulrazak Shaukat, Principal Secretary of the new State Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, described the moment as a turning point for the country’s medical future.
“We stand at a time of a transformative era where the convergence of nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and AI is not merely shaping how we treat disease but defining how we understand life itself,” Prof Shaukat said in his keynote speech.
The symposium, themed “Molecular Frontiers: The Convergence of Imaging, Therapy and AI,” gathered global medical researchers, clinicians, and tech innovators to explore advances in imaging, radiopharmaceuticals, and precision therapies. Prof Shaukat made a compelling case for Kenya—and the wider continent—to assert leadership in the emerging field of nuclear medicine.
Central to his message was the role of theranostics, which merges diagnostics and therapy using radioactive substances to detect and treat diseases at their earliest stages.
“Imagine a world where a simple scan can reveal disease in infancy, where therapy targets cancer cells with laser precision, sparing healthy tissues entirely. This is not science fiction. This is the promise of theranostics and the next generation of radiopharmaceuticals,” he said.
The Promise of Advanced Treatment
He cited the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to treat advanced prostate cancer as a prime example. “Early clinical trials at institutions like Steve Biko Academic Hospital in South Africa have shown that the use of PSMA can elicit a profound response in patients whose disease was once deemed incurable,” Prof Shaukat noted.
Kenya’s infrastructure, he said, is already showing promise. He pointed to the availability of medical isotopes such as Lutetium-177 at Aga Khan University Hospital and local cyclotrons and nuclear reactors that could help fast-track access to nuclear therapies.
Still, he warned that these developments are only a start. “More than 4.7 billion people—about 60% of the world’s population—lack access to essential nuclear medicine services,” he said. “In many low-resource regions, there are fewer than 0.01 nuclear medicine physicians per million people compared to over three in high-income countries.”
To bridge this gap, Prof Shaukat called for increased investment in isotope production, expansion of training programs, and more inclusive scientific engagement. He announced government plans to partner with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which dedicates 60% of its technical cooperation budget to supporting capacity-building in developing nations.
He also underscored the role of AI in advancing nuclear medicine, especially in data analysis and personalized treatment. “Each scan generates immense amounts of data. Artificial intelligence will help us integrate patient-specific variables—tumour volumes, organ functions, previous treatments—towards more precise, personalized care,” Prof Shaukat said.
The Brain Drain Question
However, retaining local expertise remains a challenge. He voiced concern over the outflow of trained professionals and urged for structural reforms to encourage talent to stay and build Africa’s health systems. “We must reverse the brain drain and create a system of brain circulation. Our experts must not just train abroad but return to build our health systems,” he said.
He called on participants to take concrete steps toward adoption. “This should not just be an exchange of knowledge but a movement.”
Dr Kibet Shikuku, a pathologist at The Nairobi West Hospital, emphasized that nuclear medicine is no longer a side note.
“Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging are no longer on the periphery of modern medicine. They are its core,” he ssaid the expert, who is also the Deputy Medical Director at Nairobi West Hospital and Acting CEO of the National Spinal Surgery Hospital. “Whether we are visualizing cellular processes in real time, targeting therapies with excise precision, or harnessing AI to decode complexity, this field is proving that seeing is not just believing.”
However, Prof Shaukat added that Kenya’s medical revolution must be anchored in safety. “We must ensure these tools are used in a secure and peaceful manner—protecting the patient, the doctor, and the environment,” he said.
The Emergence of PET
At the center of this revolution is the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan. This uses radioactive tracers to detect cancer at the cellular level. While PET technology has gradually made inroads into Kenya’s healthcare system, Nairobi West Hospital has emerged as a pioneer. It runs a fully localized PET system powered by its own cyclotron.
“With the PET scan now powered by our own cyclotron, we’ve moved from relying on external sources to fully localized production. This gives us a level of independence and immediacy in patient care that we didn’t have before,” said Dr Solomon Mutua, Head of Oncology at Nairobi West Hospital.
Dr Mutua added that the hospital’s digital PET system has significantly improved diagnostic accuracy. “We used to depend on CT scans, which had sensitivity levels in the 60–70 per cent range. But PET scans boost diagnostic accuracy to over 90 per cent. That’s significant when you’re staging cancer or planning radiation therapy, it gives us the edge of precision,” he said.
He highlighted that PET scans have been especially transformative in treating lung cancer. “Before PET, we were unknowingly missing many lesions. Now, we know exactly what we’re targeting and how to avoid exposing healthy organs to unnecessary radiation,” Dr Mutua explained.
The technology has also enabled dose painting. This is where radiation doses are focused on resistant cancer cells while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
“When we look into the molecular imaging domain itself, there has been tremendous growth in the past decade. PET imaging has been very instrumental in detecting and diagnosing a particular disease which is related to cancer, that actually helps us in early finding of cancer disease in any body organs,” said Dr Dileep Kumar, Senior Director for Global Scientific Collaborations at United Imaging Healthcare.
Adaptive Radiotherapy
Beyond diagnosis, Nairobi West Hospital is already advancing into adaptive radiotherapy. It is scanning patients during treatment to fine-tune radiation dosage based on tumor response — a move it says reflects the future of cancer care in Kenya.
“We’re entering an era where we tailor treatment not just per patient, but per phase of response. That kind of personalized oncology was only dreamt of in Kenya a few years ago,” said Dr Mutua.
Looking ahead, experts believe the integration of AI with PET scan analysis will elevate oncology care even further.
“The synergy between AI and PET scans will further revolutionize oncology,” said Dr Kumar. “AI will assist in reading scans faster, detecting anomalies with more precision, and predicting treatment outcomes based on historical and real-time patient data.”
The symposium was hosted by Nairobi West Hospital in partnership with two China-based companies—medical technology firm United Imaging and equipment manufacturer Longevous Beamtech.
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