Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine (also called molecular imaging) includes positron emission computed tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. Nuclear imaging is achieved by injecting small amounts of radioactive material (radiopharmaceuticals) into patients before or during their scan. These can use sugars or chemical traits to bond to specific cells. The radioactive material is taken up by cells that consume the sugars. The radiation emitted from inside the body is detected by photon detectors outside the body. Computers take the data to assemble images of the radiation emissions. Nuclear images may appear fuzzy or ghostly rather than the sharper resolution from MRI and CT.  But, it provides metabolic information at a cellular level, showing if there are defects in the function of the heart, areas of very high metabolic activity associated with cancer cells, or areas of inflammation, data not available from other modalities. These noninvasive imaging exams are used to diagnose cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, bone disorders and other disorders. 

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Manufacturers partner to develop radioisotopes used in cancer drugs, clinical trials

Eckert & Ziegler and Nucleus RadioPharma have signed an agreement to address the increasing demand for Lu-177 and Ac-225.

ITM to supply Alpha-9 radioisotopes to develop new cancer drugs

The German manufacturer and Canadian drug developer are partnering to address the supply crunch of radioisotopes.

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Hospital to decommission its nuclear medicine department due to lack of use

“We’re getting less and less referrals, and that number is dropping,” Anthony Mitarotondo, MD, director of Stony Brook Radiology, said during a recent public hearing. 

Isotope used in cancer drug development shipped for clinical trials

Actinium-225 remains in short supply, slowing drug research.

Jamie Bourque, MD, medical director of the nuclear cardiology and stress laboratory, and medical director of the echocardiography lab, at the University of Virginia, discusses a new multimodality consensus statement for imaging cardiac amyloidosis. This area has rapidly expanded over the past couple years now that there are drugs to treat the condition.

New ASNC quality metrics will support standardization of imaging for cardiac amyloidosis

Interest in cardiac amyloidosis has been on the rise in recent years. Jamie Bourque, MD, talked to Cardiovascular Business about an upcoming consensus statement focused on using cardiac imaging to evaluate patients for signs of this serious condition. 

Rob deKemp, PhD, FASNC, University of Ottawa, Canada, explains new nuclear cardiac imaging dose lowering techniques for PET and SPECT.

How to achieve much lower radiation doses in cardiac nuclear imaging

The radiation doses associated with CT have decreased significantly, leaving nuclear cardiology as the modality with the highest doses in all of cardiac imaging. Rob deKemp, PhD, talked to us about some of the many ways imagers can work to address this issue.

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Lab receives $30M funding to illuminate lung and ovarian cancers

On Target Laboratories will use the funding to expand the market reach of its molecular imaging agent.

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FDA approves radiopharmaceutical manufacturing site in Indianapolis

The new facility is run by Novartis and is being called the “most advanced of its kind."

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