Science and Technology: Scan centre to boost Macedonian diagnostics
23/07/2007
Health Minister Imer Selmani confirmed Macedonia's plans for a PET scan centre. Also in science and technology this week: Bulgaria's aerospace monitoring centre opened and Croatia and Israel will establish a joint fund for science.
 A tender will be held to equip Macedonia's first PET scan centre. [File] |
Macedonia's first Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan centre will be established at the Institute for Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine in Skopje, Health Minister Imer Selmani said. The centre's will cost around 4m euros, and is expected to be operational in about two years. The government will open a tender for supply of equipment in the coming months. PET scans boost diagnostics and therapy in the fields of oncology, cardiology, haematology and neurology.
***
Construction of a new Innovation Centre at the Near East University in the Turkish-run northern part of Cyprus officially began last week, under a joint project run by local authorities and IBM Turkey. The ambitious initiative envisions the installation at the centre of the fastest supercomputers in the wider region of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, according to the university. The centre will focus on climate research, earthquake simulations, medicine, pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology and genetic technology.
***
Bulgaria's first centre for aerospace monitoring opened at the Civil Protection National Service's headquarters in Sofia on July 16th. The centre, said to be the most modern facility of this type in the Balkans, was built under a project of the Ministry of State Policy for Calamities and Disasters. It is aimed at supporting the processes of forecasting, early warning and monitoring of natural disasters and catastrophes to enable real-time control and crisis management in Bulgaria and beyond.
***
Croatia and Israel sealed a declaration to establish a joint fund for science, during Croatian Minister of Science, Education and Sport Dragan Primorac's visit to Jerusalem last week. The future fund is planned as part of an ongoing Croatian-Israeli programme for co-operation in the science sector, and will enable joint investments in high technology and research.
***
Greece approved a new national framework research and technology programme on July 17th, aimed to make Greece an internationally competitive, knowledge-driven economy. The programme envisions boosting co-operation between universities, research centres and the major domestic and international organisations operating in this field, intensifying research activities by incentives for scientists and innovators, and promoting new technology-based entrepreneurship.
***
Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Ministry of Justice received new software from USAID for processing and tracking cases. The programme also enables easy access to the database related to cases involving serious crimes.
***
EIC Europetrol Company presented a new technology that would improve oil exploitation and electricity production in Albania, which uses catalytic liquids to exploit oil and produce electricity. Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who attended the presentation, invited EIC representatives to experiment and implement the new technique in the country.
(Various sources 16/07/07-23/07/07)
Email to a friend
Print Version 
Kosovo: Impasse at the Border
Energy: Issues and Trends
Changing Perceptions: Women in the Balkans
The Balkans: Going green
We welcome your comments on SETimes's articles.
It is our hope that you will use this forum to interact with other readers across Southeast Europe. In order to keep this experience interesting, we ask you to follow the rules outlined in the comments policy. By submitting comments, you are consenting to these rules. While SETimes.com encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. SETimes.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. SETimes.com welcomes constructive discussion but discourages the use of copy-pasted materials, unaccompanied links and one-line slogans. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published.
SETimes's Comments Policy