Fund-raising charity launching fresh medical research appeal

The Daisy Appeal successfully concluded a six-year fundraising campaign in 2008 with the opening of the Daisy Building at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, which houses research facilities and is a joint initiative between Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Hull York Medical School.

Involving the same partners, the charity has now announced plans for the Daisy Appeal "phase two", which aims to raise 4.5m to create a PET-CT (Positron Emission Tomography – Computerised Tomography) scanning centre at the hospital. It would buy two table-top cyclotron biomarker generators, one of which would be based at the hospital and the other at Hull University.

This would create a fully integrated PET-CT scanning service for local patients, and put the centre at the forefront of molecular imaging research in the UK.

It be one of the few centres in the country to combine cancer, cardiology and neurology research under the same programme.

The money would also fund the refurbishment of cardio-thoracic theatres at the hospital, and fund key posts for two to three years.

Professor Nicholas Stafford, a head and neck surgeon at the trust and chairman of the appeal, said: "It would be a truly translational research programme in PET-CT that would take research from the lab bench to the bedside.

"It would take science from the university to the hospital to put theory into practice.

"Most research projects in the UK are cancer-related but there's very good work already being done and there's huge potential in other areas in cardiology and neurology; we'd like to cover all three."

Mr Stafford said there was already a groundswell of support for the new programme.

"There's a lot of goodwill out there to see the city and East Yorkshire establish itself as a recognised centre of excellence in certain areas of research, in targeted areas," he said.

"I don't think we are going to take it over the whole spectrum but if we pick what we do there's an opportunity with PET-CT that gives us the chance to be at the cutting edge of PET-CT research.

"Daisy supported medical research in Hull and East Yorkshire; this will be a continuation of the original intention to target a more specific area of research."

He added: "I'm very optimistic about it. I think it will be good all round, particularly in the current times.

"It's encouraging that people are doing things in a positive way; rather than contracting research agendas out we are expanding ours.

"It's good for the trust and good for cancer services and cardiac services. Everybody benefits and there's a good bunch of people behind it."

It is hoped the new service will be operational by spring 2013.

A draft proposal for the new programme outlines the thinking behind it.

It said: "One of the key drivers for the Daisy Appeal's enthusiasm for developing fixed-site PET-CT in Hull is the very significant potential it has for research.

"Being a relatively new technology there are significant opportunities on both the basic science and clinical fronts.

"With an over-arching research group linking activities at the university with those at Castle Hill Hospital, there is a unique opportunity to develop a truly translational research programme."

The project is intended to become self-sustaining in three years.

Income is expected to come from clinical trials, grant applications to major charities, developing technology with commercial companies, and working in partnership with industry.

The plans will be presented to invited guests in an event at the Daisy Building on Thursday, December 2.