Nuclear medicine
The hospital is the focus of a plan for a national nuclear medicine centre. In 2007, with funding from the Belgian government, construction of a 400 billion Dong cyclotron and radiotherapy centre, which was due to be completed in June, 2008. It will also be used for research and training in addition to medical treatment. It is Vietnam's first cyclotron 30 MeV accelerator. Nuclear medicine is important for both medical scans (radiology), and cancer treatment (radiotherapy). According to the IAEA, Vietnam is one of the countries with the least amount of nuclear medicine equipment. According to the Central Cancer Hospital, Vietnam has one of the world's highest rates of cancer. So the hospital is likely to increase in prominence in the near future.