The history of nuclear medicine as a clinical discipline roughly maps on to my lifetime, and that of radiology as a whole on to the lives of my older relatives.My grandmother’s birth (1898) coincides with the Curies’ first isolation of radium, and my mother’s (1936) with the first human studies with cyclotron-produced radionuclides, sodium-24 and […]
Professor Phil Blower
King’s College London
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution and future potential of PET imaging, particularly in the context of total body PET technology. PET has evolved dramatically since its inception in the 1950s, advancing from basic scanners to sophisticated total body PET systems. These innovations, alongside the development of more selective radiotracers, have significantly […]
Professor Adriana Tavares
The University of Edinburgh
Non-invasive radionuclide imaging has transformed clinical practice through enabling earlier diagnosis than before, more comprehensive staging, and monitoring of disease progression and therapy response. The quantitative nature of PET and widespread availability of standard radiopharmaceuticals, in particular [18F]FDG, have contributed to PET’s success. However, until recently, in order to capture information ‘from eyes to thighs’, […]
Professor Alexander Hammers; Dr Samantha Terry
King's College London
The gamma camera has been a stalwart of nuclear medicine for many years. First described in 1958 by Hal Anger, the gamma camera is still the most used instrument for nuclear medicine imaging studies. While the transition to rotating tomographic SPECT systems and the incorporation of CT for SPECT attenuation correction and localisation has changed […]
Professor John C Dickson
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Myocardial perfusion PET is a well established technique for assessing obstructive coronary artery and coronary microvascular diseases. It has been shown to be superior to SPECT imaging in image quality, prognostic information, scan time and lower radiation dose for both the patient and operators. Through the creation of dynamic images, PET also provides the ability […]
Dr Ian Armstrong
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, predicted to rise by 15% by 2025, while detection in late stage disease increased from 3.9% to 8.2% over the past decade in the USA. Primary investigations for clinical diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer include blood tests, biopsy and imaging techniques such as […]
Rayjanah Allie, Dr Dimitris Priftakis, Professor Jamshed Bomanji
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Management for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has seen significant changes over the last decade. The approach is dramatically shifting to personalised based rational decisions. This includes, but is not limited to, the extent of surgery, active surveillance in low risk very limited disease, radioiodine (RAI) ablation or no ablation after initial surgery, low iodine activity […]
Dr Fahim Ul Hassan
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
The decision by departments and NHS trusts/boards to identify service requirements for consultant radiographers in molecular radiotherapy (MRT) is essential. Service needs should be patient centred, and the creation of a consultant radiographer post must be driven by the intention to offer the highest standards of patient care and to improve the patient care pathway, […]
Jo Weekes
New Cross Hospital