PET Neurochemical Imaging Modes
PET has deep roots in neuroscience stemming from its first application in brain tumor and brain metabolism imaging. PET emerged over the past few decades and continues to play a prominent role in the study of neurochemistry in the living human brain. Over time, neurochemical imaging with PET has been expanded to address a host of research questions related to, among many others, protein density, drug occupancy, and endogenous neurochemical release. Each of these imaging modes has distinct design and analysis considerations that are critical for enabling quantitative measurements. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Michael S. Placzek, Wenjun Zhao, Hsiao-Ying Wey, Thomas M. Morin, Jacob M. Hooker Source Type: research
Development of Companion Diagnostics
The goal of individualized and targeted treatment and precision medicine requires the assessment of potential therapeutic targets to direct treatment selection. The biomarkers used to direct precision medicine, often termed companion diagnostics, for highly targeted drugs have thus far been almost entirely based on in vitro assay of biopsy material. Molecular imaging companion diagnostics offer a number of features complementary to those from in vitro assay, including the ability to measure the heterogeneity of each patient’s cancer across the entire disease burden and to measure early changes in response to treatment. (...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: David A. Mankoff, Christine E. Edmonds, Michael D. Farwell, Daniel A. Pryma Source Type: research
Advances in PET Imaging of Degenerative, Cerebrovascular, and Traumatic Causes of Dementia
In this review we present the most recent advances in nuclear medicine imaging as a diagnostic and management tool for dementia. The clinical diagnosis of dementia syndromes can be challenging for physicians, particularly in the early stages of disease. Given the growing number of individuals affected by dementia, early and accurate diagnosis can lead to improved clinical management of patients. Although tests are available for exclusion of certain causes of cognitive impairment, the results rarely allow the clinician to make a definitive diagnosis. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Laura B. Eisenmenger, Eugene J. Huo, John M. Hoffman, Satoshi Minoshima, Manuela C. Matesan, David H. Lewis, Brian J. Lopresti, Chester A. Mathis, David O. Okonkwo, James M. Mountz Source Type: research
The Potential of Metabolic Imaging
Metabolic imaging is a field of molecular imaging that focuses and targets changes in metabolic pathways for the evaluation of different clinical conditions. Targeting and quantifying metabolic changes noninvasively is a powerful approach to facilitate diagnosis and evaluate therapeutic response. This review addresses only techniques targeting metabolic pathways. Other molecular imaging strategies, such as affinity or receptor imaging or microenvironment-dependent methods are beyond the scope of this review. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Valentina Di Gialleonardo, David M. Wilson, Kayvan R. Keshari Source Type: research
Advances in Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy
Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is a very effective treatment modality for advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), representing a teaching model for truly targeted antitumor therapy. With the growing cumulative evidence of PRRT in various treatment settings, we are witnessing increased perception of this modality as a potent treatment option in advanced disease. Although most data derives from retrospective analyses, results from prospective comparative evaluations, such as the NETTER-1 trial, are eagerly awaited and should help to raise PRRT to a higher level of evidence. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Amir Sabet, Hans-Jürgen Biersack, Samer Ezziddin Source Type: research
Recent Advances and Future Progress in PET Instrumentation
PET is an important and growing imaging modality. PET instrumentation has undergone a steady evolution improving various aspects of imaging. In this review, we discuss recent and future software and hardware technologies for PET/CT. The improvements include new hardware, incorporating designs with digital photomultipliers, and fast electronics, allowing implementation of time-of-flight reconstruction. Manufacturers also improved PET sensitivity with a larger axial field of view and 3D imaging. On the CT side, faster scanners and multislice detectors allow implementation of advanced acquisition protocols such as 4D CT and c...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Piotr J. Slomka, Tinsu Pan, Guido Germano Source Type: research
Letter from the Editors
This issue of the Seminars looks at Nuclear Medicine as a field in terms of its past, present, and future. The editors, working with Dr Joe Osborne as guest editor, have undertaken the daunting task of presenting to the readers an overview of this very dynamic and complex field. Although it is extraordinarily difficult to predict what would happen from year-to-year and into the future, we have tried just that. The articles chosen represent an overview of the field and of its role in diagnosis and therapy. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Leonard M. Freeman, M. Donald Blaufox Source Type: research
Guest Editorial
This issue encompasses the recent advances in nuclear medicine and emphasizes developments in instrumentation, novel radiopharmaceuticals, targets, and therapy. In addition, we have added a few thoughts regarding the training of future subspecialized physicians. Each topic reflects the author’s expertise, proposes a practical approach to the problem at hand, and conveys a real understanding of important topics in the field. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Joseph R. Osborne Source Type: research
A Perspective of the Future of Nuclear Medicine Training and Certification
Nuclear Medicine (NM) has evolved from a medical subspecialty using quite basic tests to one using elaborate methods to image organ physiology and has truly become “Molecular Imaging.” Concurrently, there has also been a timely debate about who has to be responsible for keeping pace with all of the components of the developmental cycle—imaging, radiopharmaceuticals, and instrumentation. Since the foundation of the American Board of NM, the practice of NM and the process toward certification have undergone major revisions. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - December 12, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Julio Arevalo-Perez, Manuel Paris, Michael M. Graham, Joseph R. Osborne Source Type: research
Pitfalls and Limitations of Radionuclide and Hybrid Imaging in Infection and Inflammation
This article provides an overview of all the pitfalls and limitations of nuclear medicine techniques to image infections and inflammation. Both general pitfalls and pitfalls in specific clinical entities are discussed. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Andor W.J.M. Glaudemans, Ora Israel, Riemer H.J.A. Slart Source Type: research
Pitfalls and Artifacts in the Use of PET/CT in Oncology Imaging
We describe these pitfalls and artifacts, what action may help to mitigate them in clinical practice, and what further action may be appropriate. This review presents these in a region-based approach, in order to closely mimic clinical practice, and focuses on technical artifacts followed by a description of two commonly used oncologic tracers: FDG and choline. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Alexis Joseph George Corrigan, Paul John Schleyer, Gary John Cook Source Type: research
Pitfalls and Limitations of PET/CT in Brain Imaging
Neurologic applications were at the forefront of PET imaging when the technique was developed in the mid-1970s. Although oncologic indications have become prominent in terms of number of studies performed worldwide, neurology remains a major field in which functional imaging provides unique information, both for clinical and research purposes. The evaluation of glucose metabolism using FDG remains the most frequent exploration, but in recent years, alternative radiotracers have been developed, including fluorinated amino acid analogues for primary brain tumor imaging and fluorinated compounds for assessing the amyloid depo...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Eric Salmon, Claire Bernard Ir, Roland Hustinx Source Type: research
Pitfalls and Limitations in Simultaneous PET/MRI
Simultaneous PET/MRI was introduced into the commercial market only a few years ago, and its availability is currently gaining momentum with the introduction of a second-generation PET/MRI system from an additional vendor. Furthermore, there is still an increasing interest in its potential in clinical and research applications. Despite very early technical infancy problems, which meanwhile have been solved, there are still different limitations that have to be worked around in daily routine responsibly by the physicists and physicians. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Gaspar Delso, Edwin ter Voert, Felipe de Galiza Barbosa, Patrick Veit-Haibach Source Type: research
Pitfalls and Limitations of Radionuclide Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal System Imaging
Radionuclide imaging for the hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal system covers a wide range of different indications and imaging techniques. This wide variety allows the different functional assessments of both systems. Therefore, the understanding of each technique and its indications is essential. Cholescintigraphy is a well-established method in the assessment of acute and chronic cholecystitis. It also has a role in the detection of biliary atresia. The assessment of gastrointestinal transit is also well-established in radionuclide imaging for functional investigation of the gastrointestinal tract. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Chen Sheng Low, Haseeb Ahmed, Alp Notghi Source Type: research
Technical Pitfalls and Limitations of SPECT/CT
The synergy of functional and anatomic information in hybrid systems has undoubtedly enhanced the diagnostic potential of radionuclide imaging in recent years, contributing to the advancement of SPECT/CT in clinical practice. Since the introduction of commercial SPECT/CT in the late 1990s, the field has seen rapid expansion and development toward multidetector CT subsystems, establishing the role of SPECT/CT as a routine imaging tool. It is, however, important to discuss possible challenges and technical limitations of such systems and how these influence imaging outcomes. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 31, 2015 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Lefteris Livieratos Source Type: research
