Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
PET's remarkable rise to prominence in the last decade has slowed considerably in 2007. Massive cuts in reimbursement for PET studies have taken the wind out of the modality's sails in the U.S., with many sites finding it more and more difficult to make a financial case for installing a new system.
With PET facing its darkest time in recent memory, will the modality be able to return to financial health? PET educator Dr. Richard Black thinks so. He discusses the technology's meteoric rise, the threats that have been slowing its ascent, and how it can return to health in the Molecular Imaging Insider Exclusive.
In the meantime, fewer healthcare providers in Australia need to be convinced of PET's purpose. A multisite study has found that PET results can change treatment plans for cancer patients, as the modality provides more information on the extent, recurrence, and progression of the disease. Read the wide-ranging findings of the Australian PET Data Collection Project by clicking here.
Also in this edition of the Molecular Imaging Insider, creative minds are hard at work at Duke University Medical Center. That's where members of the Multi-Modality Imaging Lab are combining SPECT and CT for 3D volumetric breast imaging. The SPECT/CT system is the brainchild of associate professor Martin Tornai and his students. To learn more about the work-in-progress system and see the device in motion, click here.
Standardized uptake values (SUVs) are, of course, one of several variables used to help distinguish malignant from benign tissue. Does that mean all SUVs are created equal? Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have found that SUVs can vary in PET systems manufactured by different vendors. Click here to see how PET systems from three prominent manufacturers compared in the study.
As noted in these reports, molecular imaging continues to advance in leaps and bounds. Keep watch on the Molecular Imaging Digital Community for more developments in the coming weeks.
