First clinical academic role appointed in nuclear medicine at Royal Free London

A Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) doctor has been appointed to the nuclear medicine department’s first clinical academic role, opening up avenues for research. Nuclear medicine consultant Dr Thomas Wagner has been working at RFL since 2011 and has been appointed to the role of clinical academic between the University College London (UCL) department of imaging, Centre for Medical Imaging and the RFL.

A Siemens Healthineers Biograph Vision Quadra PETCT system, which was installed in March 2024, will allow new avenues of research using PET scans to be carried out for the first time in new patient populations or with new tracers.

“The Quadra scanner is revolutionary, and it is a first in the UK. We are now focusing more on research, with one of our physicists being appointed to another research role,” Dr Wagner said.

“It is an inflection point for the department to develop our own research. We were always doing it, but more in a supporting manner. Now, with more time and resources and closer links to UCL, we can lead on our own projects and research.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Royal Free Charity, the leadership and vision of head of nuclear medicine Danny McCool and support from trust management, we now have two PETCT scanners,” he added.

Dr Wagner is working towards a project using a new radiotracer in collaboration with the RFL kidney centre and clinical lead of the Specialist Centre for Kidney Cancer Professor Axel Bex. “We are hoping to get funding for this research that would evaluate if this tracer used on the Quadra is more accurate to assess extent of disease in patients with kidney cancer.”

Picture: nuclear medicine consultant Dr Thomas Wagner with the Biograph Vision Quadra PETCT system.

Read this report on page 3 of the March 2025 issue of RAD Magazine.

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