Biomedical Technologies

Management of High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema

Out of several high altitude sickness (acute mountain sickness), high altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPO) is dangerous and becomes fatal if not managed timely and properly. The following HAPO management protocols have been developed and are being used in field areas.

HAPO Bag

HAPO is common among low landers when exposed to high altitude without proper acclimatisation. The incident is related to high altitude and rate of ascent. HAPO refers to the state of filling of alveoli of lungs with the fluid from the walls of pulmonary capillaries. This is characterised by exercise intolerance, breathlessness, chest pain, fatigue, coughing, lethargy and disorientation. A single man portable hyperbaric chamber HAPO bag has been developed which is made of specially developed polyurethane material. It simulates low altitude conditions at high altitude locations. It is considered an excellent first-aid treatment used for shifting HAPO patient safely to lower altitude. The 2.05 m long and 0.58 m average diameter bag weighs approximately 4 kg. The technology for manufacturing HAPO bag has been transferred for production. The HAPO bag was used in shifting HAPO patients in Kargil heights during Operation Vijay.

Nitric Oxide Treatment

The primary causative factor potentiating HAPO is the pulmonary vasoconstriction entailing an 6 increase in pulmonary artery pressure. To reduce pulmonary artery pressure, a suitable pulmonary , vasodilator or administration of oxygen is required. Since nitric oxide is a selective pulmonary vasodilator .besides oxygen, the combined effect of these two gases is synergistic. Successful attempt has been made   in India to treat patients who are severely affected with HAPO, by the combined administration of nitric oxide and oxygen at leh in army hospitals. Twenty-eight HAPO patients during Kargil operation were treated with this gas mixture. Within 24 hr, they all became normal with reversal of the observed increase in pulmonary artery pressure. Serial X-ray (chest) showed clearance of oedema. The synergistic effect of these two gases improved the oxygenation with decrease in pulmonary artery pressure.

Protective Aids & Flying Clothing for Aircrew

DRDO has developed the following protective aids and clothing for aircrew keeping in view the performance requirements under diverse conditions:

Light Weight Aircrew Helmet

A light-weight helmet has been designed and developed meeting the requirements of uncompromised head protection. The helmet is fitted with two optically clear visors, weighs around 1.3 kg and is available in three sizes.

Pressure Breathing Oxygen Mask

The pressure breathing oxygen mask is of low-volume, high- flow and down-sloping type. It separates the respiratory system from the ambient. The weight of the mask is 450 g and it is available in two sizes.

Fire Retardant Overall Flying

The overall has been developed from specially developed Kermel-viscose blend fabric. It is light in weight, does not support
combustion and does not melt and drip. It meets the fire retardant characteristics as per international standards.

Anti-G Suit

The antl-G SUit IS designed to enhance the z tolerance. t IS a helmet; B: Automatic inflatable life jacket; cut-away type with five bladders design. The suit incorporates the c: Gloves flying; D: Boots flying; comfort zippers feature. The anti-G suit is available in five sizes. E: Anti-G suit; F: Fire retardant overall flying; G: Pressure breathing oxygen mask,

Automatic Inflatable Life Jacket

The automatic inflatable life jacket is designed to protect the flyer during sea survival. It is a stole-type carbon dioxide inflatable life jacket, weighing 1.9 kg. It is of universal adult size, adjustable for fit. Gloves Flying The gloves have been designed and developed to provide light-weight comfortable hand-wear for pilots. It is designed to provide maximum dexterity and touch sense and does not interfere with the operation of aircraft controls and use of survival equipment. It is available in five sizes.

Boots Flying

The boots are developed from water-proof leather and have anti-skid rubber sole. The boots are light-weight and comfortable. The design of the boots caters to adequate ankle support.

Carbogen

A new technique has been developed to minimise and mitigate the adverse effects of noise on the auditory system of a human being. The technique involves inhaling of carbogen gas -a mixture of 5 per cent carbon dioxide and 95 per cent oxygen for 5 minutes before exposure to noise. To inhale this gas mixture, a carbogen breathing assembly has been designed and developed with the help of Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai.

Inhalation of this gas mixture reduces the temporary loss of hearing : sensitivity commonly caused by noise during initial phases of exposure. If the exposure is repeated as in many occupational environment, the temporary hearing loss gives rise to permanent hearing disability. The use of carbogen mixture prevents the development of permanent loss of hearing. The use of this gas mixture as a prophylactic agent against noise assault has been demonstrated in controlled laboratory experiments with no adverse effects. The use of carbogen has potential application for armed forces personnel and industrial workers in civil sector having frequent exposure to noise in their occupational environment.

Solid-State Cooling Garment for Tank Crew

The field studies conducted by DRDO on the problems of tank crew in desert environment have identified the need for the development of microclimate cooling device to combat the high heat loads encountered by the tank crew. The microclimate of the crew component gets heated to temperatures beyond 50 ° C. Exposure to such high temperature leads to heat disorders, causing deterioration in the mental and physical work capacity of the crew members.

Human factors considerations and the process of heat transfer from the human body have revealed that microclimate cooling close to body surface of the crew members is the only possible and effective solution to the problem. With this in view, the design parameters for the development of thermoelectric solid-state cooling garment based on Peltier's effect of cooling finalized.

The unit is devised by using TE modules having suitable coefficient of performance. The modules I are sandwitched between two copper plates that act as hot side and cold side plates, Water is used as heat exchanger that circulates through the grooves in the cold plate and cool down to approximately 20 :t 1° C. The cold water is then allowed to circulate through the thin PVC linings of the tubing which are in contact with body surface. The cold water picks up heat from the body surface and cools it.

The application of the solid-state cooling garment has been demonstrated in the human climatic chamber and also in the crew compartments of T -72 and MBT Arjun, The system has been found to be effective and provides more than 300 W of cooling at power input of 460 W. In this endeavour, MECON Ltd, Ranchi, has lend their expertise. Miniaturization of the system has been planned.

Drishti

DRDO in collaboration with the LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, has designed a pulsed Nd- VAG laser with a delivery system for ophthalmological applications. The system is used as a photodisruptor for the treatment of glaucoma. It is configured as a Q-switched laser operating at its fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm.

Improvement in Radiotherapy of Tumours using 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose

The glucose analogue 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) selectively enhances the radiation damage in tumours by inhibiting cellular repair processes. Phase 1/11 clinical trials have demonstrated the feasibility of administering the combined treatment of 2- DG + radiotherapy in patients with brain tumours. Dose optimization clinical trials Drishti have shown that the combined treatment is well tolerated up to a 2-DG dose of 250 mg/kg body weight without any acute toxicity and significant brain damage.

Multicentric trials are in progress at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Dharamshila Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, New Delhi and Amala Cancer Hospital, Trissur. Method for the indigenous production of 2-DG has been developed by DRDO. The product has been tested for toxicity and efficacy and found suitable for clinical studies.

Indigenous Titanium Medical Devices

Titanium minicortical bone plates and screws have been developed indigenously, in collaboration with the Non Ferrous Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad. After successful clinical trials, these bone plates are being marketed by NFTDC forthe benefit of the common man.

Titanium dental implants along with surgical kit have also been developed indigenously and the , clinical trials have been completed successfully. The implants are likely to be marketed by the middle of this year.

Herbal Technologies

DRDO through its life sciences and agricultural laboratories has taken up several projects to develop herbal preparation to counter diverse health and associated problems. Some of the technologies have been briefly mentioned below.

CONCEPT

CONCEPT, a vaginal contra-ceptive containing NIM-76 as the spermicidal agent extracted from neem oil developed by DRDO, has been shown to have 100 per cent efficacy in experimental animals as precoital vaginal contraceptive. The preclinical toxicity studies conducted at DRDO and Rallis India Research Laboratories have shown that the formulation does not have any Titanium dental implant. CONCEPT-a neem contraceptive (right) adverse effects.

Frostbite Management Technologies

One of the major acute mountain sicknesses is frostbite, which sometimes leads to amputation of affected parts. DRDO is
continuously engaged in finding out suitable H prophylactic and curative measures of this problem. 41 DAY ,!2 In early studies, a herb Aloe vera has been found useful for both prophylactic and curative measures in frostbite. In recent studies, the combined therapy of pentoxifyline, Aspirin and Vitamin C with topical application of Aloe vera cream, preceded by rapid rewarming in tea decoction maintained at 37" C has been found effective in experimental rats.

Trials have been planned on human subjects in field conditions. Positive findings in human subjects, ifestablished, will help to formulate a simple procedure of treatment offrostbite.

Composite Indian Herbal Preparations (CIHPs) as Adaptogens at High Altitude

A large number of Indian troops who serve in the extreme altitude, cold area or in low intensity conflict situations are exposed to extreme stress, and a reckonable percentage of them may become sick due to high altitude, cold-induced diseases and extreme psychological stress. A number of studies conducted have shown that the composite indian herbal preparations (CIHPs) are beneficial in such situations. It has been observed that CIHPs not only help to reduce the rate of morbidity/mortality in the troops, but also help as morale booster as they relieve the stress among soldiers deployed in extremely stressful environment including that of counter-insurgencyoperations.

The composite indian herbal preparation-1 (CIHP-I) has been field evaluated and it has been found effective in coping with stress resulting from anti-insurgency operations. The results of the trials Iindicate that the CIHP-I intake helps in the improvement of high cognitive functions, better maintained cellular membrane permeability by restricting stress-induced increase in circulating CPK, subjective relief and improved physical work , performance in low intensity conflict areas.

Administration of another herbal preparation, CIHP-II before induction and during stay at high  altitude facilitate the acclimatization process and restore the normal physiological and biological functions among troops. The incidence of acute mountain sickness is also reduced. It also facilitates   normalization of most of the body functions on return to plains. To evaluate acceptability and subjective efficacy of CIHP-II in extreme altitudes (i.e. beyond 4800 m), a large scale trial at altitude of 4,800-6,000 m is in progress.

Herbal Based Vitamin Beverage of Seabuckthorn

Seabuckthorn is a wild shrub found in high altitude areas with excellent nutritional, anti-cold, anti-ageing and anti-radiation properties. The fruit juice of seabuckthorn is a rich source of vitamins A, B1 , B2, C, E and K. DRDO has developed beverage out of berries of this plant which does not freeze at subzero temperature and is an excellent health drink.

Antimycotic Herbal Extracts

A series of studies has indicated that alcohol/water extracts of Terminalia chebula, T bellirica, T arjuna, Oelonix regia, Emblica officinalis and Punica grantum were found effective in total suppression of growth  of pure dermatophytes isolated from the field areas.

Anti-Mosquito Herbal Vaporiser

North eastern region is enriched with medicinal, insecticidal and repellent flora. This flora has been screened for mosquito larvicide, adulticide and repellent properties. A herbal vaporiser has been developed to keep the mosquitoes away from the human dwellings. Another for mu la ti o n Seabuckthorn--wonder plant capable of killing the mosquitoes in dwellings within 2 hr by slow release of vapour from an electro-vapour system has been developed. Both the systems use plant extracts in deodorized kerosene oil base.

Herbal Protector against Radiation

Radioprotection is a necessity especially during radiotherapy and nuclear eventualities. As an alternative to synthetic molecular radioprotective agents which are toxic at useful concentration, a radioprotector has been developed from Podophyl/um hexandrum--a herb, growing at about 10,000' in the Himalayan ranges. Pre-irradiation administration of extracts of rhizome/root of Podophyllum hexandrum, well below the acute toxic doserendered more than 90 per cent survival against 1000 cGy whole body lethal exposure in experimental animals.

Podophyllum protected blood forming capacity as seen in bone marrow, spleen colony forming cells, intestinal villi and crypts generating them. Micronuclei frequency which is an index of DNA (cytogenetic) damage was also reduced. It also helps in treating cancers and genital warts and offers a great hope as a potential radioprotector for human use.

Biowaste Degradation Technology

Biomass and biowaste are biodegradable giving rise to useful and harmless products. Technologies have been developed for biodegradation of human waste in high altitudes. Microbes working at low temperature have been identified. Suitable biodigesters for high altitudes have been developed which are in use at leh, Partapur base camp, etc.in ladakh region. Huge biomass as crop wastes, weeds, aquatic plants, tree leaves, animal excreta, kitchen waste, agro- industry waste and city refuges etc. is available in both rural and urban areas. Waste disposal is a serious problem to the society. A low cost technique has been developed to produce vermi compost from different organic wastes using locally available earthworm, Perionyx excavatus within 2 to 3.5 months. This species has been found equally efficient in comparison to Eisenia foetida, the commercial breed. Earthworm species Eisenia foetida, Aprorrectodea calinginosa, Perionyx were identified for vermicomposting. Efforts
are being made to develop economically viable, low cost vermitechnology under thatch hut conditions for recycling of problematic phytowaste.

Technology for biodigester for human waste at high altitude under extreme cold conditions has been developed. Consortium of microbes for the same purpose has been identified. Biodigesters of capacity of 2 cubic meter (sufficient for 50 persons), 1 cubic meter (sufficient for 25 persons) and 0.45 cubic meter (sufficient for 7 -10 person), have been designed, developed and installed at various locations in northern command.

Test Kits

DRDO has developed several analytical test kits for faster evaluation of deteriorative changes in foods. These include:

Acidity Testing Paper Strips

Oils and fats are highly susceptible to oxidative deterioration. Free fatty acids (FFAs) are often tformed as a result of such deteriorative reactions. Chemically-treated paper strips have been developed to check the growth of FFAs. Different shades of colours appear on the paper strips when they are dipped in the oil or fat being tested depending on the extent of FFA production. The test is fairly simple and can be conducted even by an untrained person.

Meat Testing Kit

An analytical kit based on HPTlC is available for testing meat in the early stages of spoilage. Detection of metabolites produced on spoilage of meat in different stages is intrinsic to this meat testing kit. The test enables screening of doubtful quality of meat and is applicable to fresh (unprocessed) as well as processed (cooked, canned and dehydrated) meat. The whole test procedure can be completed in 1.5 to 2.0 hr.

Rapid Test Kits for Meat Quality Assessment

Fresh meat is consumed in large quantities by Armed Forces as well as civilians. Any quality deterioration can cause severe health hazard to the consumer. Quality and safety of meat is affected by the microbial activity and the health status of the animal prior to slaughter. Microbial quality. assessmen o mea conventional method is elaborate and time consuming (24 hr). A test kit based on Resazurin dye reduction has been developed to determine the microbial quality of meat in less than 1 hr. Resazurin coated paper strip is wetted and pressed against meat surface turns pink at specified time for spoiled, incipient and fresh.

Meat obtained by slaughtering the dead or diseased animals unfit for consumption may reach the ! mainstream of meat retail outlet due to malpractice (in ante-mortem and postmortem inspection). There is no simple test to identify such meat. DRDO has standardised and simplified a test based on the reaction between the haemoglobin and malachite green.

These tests are simple, rapid, reliable, inexpensive and do not require sophisticated instruments or laboratory facilities or skilled personnel. Any layman can conduct these tests in any given condition and are specifically suitable for field testing.

Test Kit for E. Coli Detection

E. coli is generally implicated in faecal contamination. A rapid test based on fluorescence has been standardised. It is suitable for monitoring hygiene in butcheries, abbatoirs and processing premises. The test yields results in few hours.

Presumptive Test Kit for Coliform Detection

Presence of coliform bacteria, even in 1 g of food makes it unfit for consumption. Normal testing of coliform takes about 72 hr and requires the services of trained skilled manpower, besides expensive chemicals. A friendly field test kit has been developed to screen coliforms in 18 hr at 30 :t 5 C. The kit encompasses a screw cap bottle with test media having lactose and Andrede's indicator. A gram of food to be tested is introduced into the bottle and left overnight ( 18 hr) at 30-35 ° C. The kit can be kept in the pocket of the person testing the sample while sleeping. The warmth of the body (30-33 ° C) provides enough incubation to the sample. If the media in the bottle turns red with bubbling at the surface, it indicates presence of coliforms.

Drinking Water Quality Testing

A drinking water quality testing kit has been developed for detection of Salmonella or Citrobacter species by using hydrogen sulphide strip. The test takes 24-42 hr. The change of colour of the medium to black indicates the presence of Salmonella. The test is suitable for easy detection of contamination in water treatment plants, rural water supply tanks, lakes and wells, rivers and streams, water tanks in housing societies, hotels, hospitals, office complexes, swimming pools, and bottling plants. The test kit is being marketed by Hi Media Laboratories Ltd.

Field Kit for Water Testing

Field kit for water testing helps in assessing the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of water in the field. The tests are qualitative to assess the potability of water. The chemical assessment based on determination of eight parameters, viz., TDS, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, iron, hardness, nitrite and free chlorine is completed in 30 minutes.

Antibody Detection Kit for Brucellosis

A simple, rapid and inexpensive, dot- ELISA kit has been developed for detection of antibodies of Brucella, an organism primarily afflicting cattle and other domestic animals. It also affects human beings, causing pyrexia of unknown origin and low back pain. The animal kit has undergone field trials by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad; Disease Investigation Section, Government of Maharashtra, Pune; Farah Institute for Research on Goats, Mathura, and Central Military Veterinary Laboratory, Meerut. The utility of human brucellosis test kit has been established by trials at Veterinary Biological Research Institute, Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences and Shree Medical Centre Detection kit for Brucellosis Hyderabad.

The test can be performed in serum, whole blood or milk at ambient temperature with minor modifications. The cost pertest is only Rs 5.

Plague Test. Kit

Plague, a disease caused by the Bacillus, Yersinia pestis is a zoonotic disease and man is infected by the bite of infected fieas.DRDO has developed various surveillance tests and kits for the' diagnosis of plague, like passive haemagglutination inhibition test, dot-ELISA for antibody detection, bacteriophage lysis test, reagent for fluorescent antibody test, rapid monoclonal antibody based system for the identification of F1 positive Yersinia pestis strains and a novel enzyme substrate based Yersinia pestis identification system.

These test systems are comparable with the standard WHO diagnostic kits on sensitivity and specificity and are cost-effective. All these test systems have been extensively evaluated on patisnt samples as well as on rodent surveillance samples from Surat and Hosur and are available for use for any; routine surveillance or disease diagnostic activity.

Typhoid Test Kit

This test kit is useful to detect the. typhoid organism at an early stage as compared to Wldal test. It is quick, requiring only 8-10 hr in contrast to the conventional blood culture method which requires 2-3 days to get the result. The kit has 95 per cent  sensitivity and 100 per cent specificity. The test system is based on rapid growth of the organism in a specially developed medium and only 3 ml of blood is required as compared to 10 ml required for conventional blood culture. The added advantage of this test is that no special equipment or specially trained staff is required.

Leptospirosis Test Kit

Leptospirosis is becoming a major public problem in various parts of the country. This disease is a worldwide zoonotic disease with reported possible involvement of over 260 pathogenic serovars. The symptoms are sudden onset of fever, headache, malaise, and hemorrhages associated with liver and kidney failures. The conventional diagnosis of this disease is by the micro agglutination test (MAT). Diagnosis by MAT is always problematic, as this test requires cultures of 16-221ive serovar in a special laboratory facility with dark field microscopy.

DRDO has developed simple haemagglutination and dot-ELISA system for the detection of Leptospira antibodies from patient serum samples. Tests have also been developed for the differentiation of pathogenic and saprophytic serovars. Haemagglutination test IgM dot-ELISA were utilised for investigation of suspected leptospirosis outbreak at Delhi and Mumbai.The sensitivity and specificity of DRDO IgM dot-ELISA kit was found to be equivalent to the WHO IgM kit. This kit is now available for routine testing by investigators.

Latex Agglutination Antigen Detection Kit

Pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. The incidence of serious pneumococcal infection remains high: for pneumonia, 68-260 per lakh population per year, for pneumococcal meningitis, 1.2-2.8 per one lakh population per year and for bacteraemia, 7 -25 per lakh population per year. Though the S. pneumoniae is the primary cause of lobar pneumonia in children below the age of 12 years and adults above 45 years, it can also cause meningitis as a secondary condition. The clinical manifestation of pneumococcal meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness, neck stiffness, vomiting, skin rashes, irritability etc. Apart from high mortality and morbidity, it is also a source of neurological sequelae in the form of mental retardation, hearing loss and learning disabilities. The organism spreads from infected person to healthy person through respiratory route orthrough asymptomatic carriers.

Diagnosis of S. pneumoniae infection is based on the isolation and identification of the organisms from the infected individuals. But it is cumbersome and time consuming task due to the fact that these fastidious organisms grow slowly on primary isolation and moreover known infected individuals sometimes fail to yield organisms at culture. Therefore, detection of antigen in clinical samples (CSF etc.) employing serological tests playa major role in the routine diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis. Most commonly employed tests for antigen detection are Latex Aagglutination (LA), Coagglutination (CoAg) and Counter Immunoelectro-phoresis (CIEP). Though these tests are less sensitive than ELISA, but due to rapidity of the test, they are being practised. In India, for the routine diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis, the antigen detection is carried out in CSF samples using imported kit which is not cost effective. An LA test has been developed and packed into a convenient prototype diagnostic kit by the DRDO which is self sufficient  for routine field application. It is truly a field-based kit and does not require any additional accessories outside the box. The compact box is a kind of a mini laboratory by itself which can be conveniently taken to field for testing without any special training required to use it. The special features of the kit are:

• Antigen detection can be performed within 5-7 minutes.
• The kit is suitable for use in field.
• Each kit carries reagents to perform 30 tests.
• No special training is required to use the kit.

Radiopharmaceuticals Kits for Diagnostic Applications

DRDO has developed several ready-to-use cold lyophilized radiopharmaceuticals kits for diagnostic applications. These include:

Human Immunoglobulin (hlgG) Kit
Tc-99m hlgG produced from the kit is useful in the imaging of soft tissue as well as bone inflammation induced by microbial infection or metabolic derangement.

Pentavalent Dimercapto Succinate (Penta-DMSA) Kit
Tc-99m (V) DMSA prepared from the kit has been found highly useful in the imaging of soft tissue tumours and their metastasis. The most specific application has been found in the imaging of medullary thyroid cancer and its metastasis.

Citrate Kit
Tc-99m-citrate produced from this kit is capable of even distinguishing bone metastasis from degenerative lesions in the patients, in addition to its ability to accumulate the soft tissue tumours.

Dextran Kit
Tc-99m dextran is an established radiopharmaceutical for the imaging of lymph nodes, which are often involved in cancer patients. New applications of this indigenously developed radiopharmaceutical have been identified for the imaging of gastrointestinal bleeding, protein losing entropathy, kidney cortex imaging and ulcerative colitis in patients.

Glucarate Kit

Using the new kit Tc-99m-glucarate, an infarct-avid radiopharmaceutical can be prepared. The compound showed high affinity for necrotic myocardial tissue, acute cerebral injury and tumours. Preliminary studies suggested that Tc-99m-glucarate is retained in both necrotic and severely ischemic but viable tissues. The other advantages being rapid blood clearance and low uptake in nearby organs and consequently low radiation dose to the patients.

These kits have been subjected to rigorous quality control measures; and the radiopharmaceuticals Iprepared from the kits have been extensively evaluated in animals as well as in patients. Based on the data gathered on the safety, efficacy and tolerance of the products, their physicochemical and biological characteristics, and target specificity, the National Nuclear Medicine Committee has approved these for multicentric clinical trials.

Recently, the following kits have been developed and are ready for clinical application:
Isothiocyanto-Benzyl Ethylene Diamine Tetramethylene Phosphonic Acid (Itc-Bz-EDTMP) Kit

Anew bifunctional chelating agent has been developed for early diagnosis of bone metastasis. It can also be used for bone palliation and therapy using beta emitting radionuclides. Since it is bifunctional in nature, it can be coupled with polymers for the removal of heavy metal ions and extraction of radionuclides.

Ciprofioxacin Kit
On reconstitution it gives quality Tc-99m-ciprofloxacin. The kit has shown its utility for specific infection imaging in human volunteers. This agent can differentiate sterile from infectious inflammation. Photosan-3 @ Kit

Tumour scintigraphy confirmed that 99m Tc-Iabeled Photosan-3@ was preferentially taken up by the neoplastic tissue similar to the parent compound. Besides, its applications in tumour imaging, 99mTc-Photosan-3@ could also be used for estimating tumour uptake of Photosan-3@ as may be required for individualization of clinical protocol of PDT.

Epithelial Growth Factors Receptor Antibody Chelate
Immunoconjugates of epithelial growth receptor with BCA have been developed for labeling with Tc- 99m for imaging several types oftumours, e.g., gliomas, prostate and breast cancer.

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