With $2.6 million in early commitments, the Society of Nuclear Medicine passed the halfway point in its $5 million goal on the first day of a planned five-year campaign to promote the translation of molecular imaging discoveries into clinical practice.
With $2.6 million in early commitments, the Society of Nuclear Medicine passed the halfway point in its $5 million goal on the first day of a planned five-year campaign to promote the translation of molecular imaging discoveries into clinical practice.
The Bench to Bedside campaign will take a four-pronged approach, according to SNM president Dr. Peter S. Conti, a professor of radiology, pharmacy, and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Initiatives will include:
GE Healthcare helped jump-start fund-raising with a $1 million donation. Siemens and Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging contributed $500,000 each. Philips committed $250,000, and FluoroPharm provided a $10,000 donation.
Molecular imaging will have a sweeping influence on healthcare in the next 10 years, Conti said. PET and SPECT, the primary imaging modalities used in nuclear medicine practice, are widely expected to be the gateways for MI into diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapy monitoring.
"Patients with cancer, heart disease, stroke, or debilitating neurological conditions benefit from earlier, more accurate diagnoses and safer, more effective treatments when their medical care includes scanning technologies such as PET with CT or SPECT," he said.
Molecular imaging represents an increasingly important component of the SNM's strategic vision, Conti noted during the opening session of the society's annual meeting in San Diego Sunday. SNM leadership has recognized a need for rebranding the organization's scope and mission by adding new clinical applications. The society's tag line will be revised to "Advocating Molecular Imaging Therapy," recognizing the importance of therapy to the range of medical services under the nuclear medicine umbrella.
Although the scale of the Bench to Benchside initiative is unprecedented for the SNM, nuclear medicine physicians have historically thrown support to emerging imaging technologies. Alliances forged by nuclear physicians in the 1990s helped overcome political opposition to PET. Outcomes research funded by the Institute of Clinical PET and presented at SNM meetings was considered crucial to establishing PET's clinical relevance and efficacy.
Can Polyenergetic Reconstruction Help Resolve Streak Artifacts in Photon Counting CT?
July 22nd 2024New research looking at photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) demonstrated significantly reduced variation and tracheal air density attenuation with polyenergetic reconstruction in contrast to monoenergetic reconstruction on chest CT.
Systematic Review: PET/MRI May be More Advantageous than PET/CT in Cancer Imaging
July 18th 2024While PET/MRI and PET/CT had comparable sensitivity for patient-level regional nodal metastases and lesion-level recurrence, the authors of a systematic review noted that PET/MRI had significantly higher accuracy in breast cancer and colorectal cancer staging.
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
FDA Clears Enhanced Mobile CT System with High-Resolution Photon-Counting Technology
July 15th 2024Photon-counting CT-optimized features with the OmniTom Elite system include 30 cm field of view scanning, continuous spiral scanning, and an ultra-high-resolution capability of 0.141 mm resolution.