Advancing Nuclear Medicine Through Innovation


Book Description

Nearly 20 million nuclear medicine procedures are carried out each year in the United States alone to diagnose and treat cancers, cardiovascular disease, and certain neurological disorders. Many of the advancements in nuclear medicine have been the result of research investments made during the past 50 years where these procedures are now a routine part of clinical care. Although nuclear medicine plays an important role in biomedical research and disease management, its promise is only beginning to be realized. Advancing Nuclear Medicine Through Innovation highlights the exciting emerging opportunities in nuclear medicine, which include assessing the efficacy of new drugs in development, individualizing treatment to the patient, and understanding the biology of human diseases. Health care and pharmaceutical professionals will be most interested in this book's examination of the challenges the field faces and its recommendations for ways to reduce these impediments.




Targeted Radionuclide Therapy


Book Description

Radioimmunotherapy, also known as systemic targeted radiation therapy, uses antibodies, antibody fragments, or compounds as carriers to guide radiation to the targets. It is a topic rapidly increasing in importance and success in treatment of cancer patients. This book represents a comprehensive amalgamation of the radiation physics, chemistry, radiobiology, tumor models, and clinical data for targeted radionuclide therapy. It outlines the current challenges and provides a glimpse at future directions. With significant advances in cell biology and molecular engineering, many targeting constructs are now available that will safely deliver these highly cytotoxic radionuclides in a targeted fashion. A companion website includes the full text and an image bank.




Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry


Book Description

This book is a comprehensive guide to radiopharmaceutical chemistry. The stunning clinical successes of nuclear imaging and targeted radiotherapy have resulted in rapid growth in the field of radiopharmaceutical chemistry, an essential component of nuclear medicine and radiology. However, at this point, interest in the field outpaces the academic and educational infrastructure needed to train radiopharmaceutical chemists. For example, the vast majority of texts that address radiopharmaceutical chemistry do so only peripherally, focusing instead on nuclear chemistry (i.e. nuclear reactions in reactors), heavy element radiochemistry (i.e. the decomposition of radioactive waste), or solely on the clinical applications of radiopharmaceuticals (e.g. the use of PET tracers in oncology). This text fills that gap by focusing on the chemistry of radiopharmaceuticals, with key coverage of how that knowledge translates to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for the clinic. The text is divided into three overarching sections: First Principles, Radiochemistry, and Special Topics. The first is a general overview covering fundamental and broad issues like “The Production of Radionuclides” and “Basics of Radiochemistry”. The second section is the main focus of the book. In this section, each chapter’s author will delve much deeper into the subject matter, covering both well established and state-of-the-art techniques in radiopharmaceutical chemistry. This section will be divided according to radionuclide and will include chapters on radiolabeling methods using all of the common nuclides employed in radiopharmaceuticals, including four chapters on the ubiquitously used fluorine-18 and a “Best of the Rest” chapter to cover emerging radionuclides. Finally, the third section of the book is dedicated to special topics with important information for radiochemists, including “Bioconjugation Methods,” “Click Chemistry in Radiochemistry”, and “Radiochemical Instrumentation.” This is an ideal educational guide for nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, and radiopharmaceutical chemists, as well as residents and trainees in all of these areas.




Molybdenum-99 for Medical Imaging


Book Description

The decay product of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), technetium-99m (Tc-99m), and associated medical isotopes iodine-131 (I-131) and xenon-133 (Xe-133) are used worldwide for medical diagnostic imaging or therapy. The United States consumes about half of the world's supply of Mo-99, but there has been no domestic (i.e., U.S.-based) production of this isotope since the late 1980s. The United States imports Mo-99 for domestic use from Australia, Canada, Europe, and South Africa. Mo-99 and Tc-99m cannot be stockpiled for use because of their short half-lives. Consequently, they must be routinely produced and delivered to medical imaging centers. Almost all Mo-99 for medical use is produced by irradiating highly enriched uranium (HEU) targets in research reactors, several of which are over 50 years old and are approaching the end of their operating lives. Unanticipated and extended shutdowns of some of these old reactors have resulted in severe Mo-99 supply shortages in the United States and other countries. Some of these shortages have disrupted the delivery of medical care. Molybdenum-99 for Medical Imaging examines the production and utilization of Mo-99 and associated medical isotopes, and provides recommendations for medical use.




Molecular Imaging


Book Description

Radioisotope-based molecular imaging probes provide unprecedented insight into biochemistry and function involved in both normal and disease states of living systems, with unbiased in vivo measurement of regional radiotracer activities offering very high specificity and sensitivity. No other molecular imaging technology including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide such high sensitivity and specificity at a tracer level. The applications of this technology can be very broad ranging from drug development, pharmacokinetics, clinical investigations, and finally to routine diagnostics in radiology. The design and the development of radiopharmaceuticals for molecular imaging studies using PET/MicroPET or SPECT/MicroSPECT are a unique challenge. This book is intended for a broad audience and written with the main purpose of educating the reader on various aspects including potential clinical utility, limitations of drug development, and regulatory compliance and approvals.




Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine


Book Description

The recent revolution in molecular biology offers exciting new opportunities for targeted radionuclide therapy. This up-to-date, comprehensive book, written by world-renowned experts, discusses the basic principles of radionuclide therapy, explores in detail the available treatments, explains the regulatory requirements, and examines likely future developments. The full range of clinical applications is considered, including thyroid cancer, hematological malignancies, brain tumors, liver cancer, bone and joint disease, and neuroendocrine tumors. The combination of theoretical background and practical information will provide the reader with all the knowledge required to administer radionuclide therapy safely and effectively in the individual patient. Careful attention is also paid to the role of the therapeutic nuclear physician in coordinating a diverse multidisciplinary team, which is central to the safe provision of treatment.




Perspectives on Nuclear Medicine for Molecular Diagnosis and Integrated Therapy


Book Description

​This work is devoted to understanding the recent advances in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging technologies along with their application to integrated medical therapy and future drug development. This anthology is based on the international symposium in 2015 entitled “Perspective on Nuclear Medicine for Molecular Diagnosis and Integrated Therapy. “The symposium provided an opportunity to exchange ideas on how to promote nuclear medicine technology and how to extend the technology to medical therapy and drug development, and was also a good opportunity to discuss the future perspective of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging by worldwide leaders in the field. Molecular imaging technologies have been rapidly developed worldwide in recent years. Among those developments, nuclear medicine has come to play an important role in quantitative analysis of biological process in vivo as well as in wide clinical use. With the current progress of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, this modality has been applied for treatment monitoring and predicting its outcome with the use of optimal imaging biomarkers and suitable quantitative analysis. Truly, a new era has arrived with clinical use of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging for personalized medicine. This volume will benefit a wide variety of researchers in life science including those working in drug development, molecular imaging, and medical therapy as well as physicians who utilize diagnostic imaging.




Radionuclide Imaging in Drug Research


Book Description

The use of gamma-emitting radionuclides for diagnostic imaging in nuclear medicine has been established for many years. Sophisticated gamma ray detecting camera systems and computer links enable the clinical investigator to image different regions of the body and to quantify organ function. Parallel developments have also occurred in the field of radiopharmaceuticals, and today a wide range of products is available that will exhibit specific uptake within target tissues following parenteral administration. For example, radioiodide is taken up by the thyroid and iodinated fatty acids can be used to image the myocardium. Labelled antibodies have been used with success to target certain tumours. The concept of targeting has also been considered by pharmaceutical scientists who wish to deliver drugs rather than radionuclides to specific sites in the body. The systems that have been employed are often physically similar to those used as radiopharmaceuticals (for example colloids, aerosols and liposomes). Furthermore, pioneering work by Digenis and others in the United States States and by Alpsten and co-workers (1976)in Sweden had demonstrated the potential of gamma scintigraphy for investigating the fate of tablets and capsules in the gastrointestinal tract of man in a non invasive way. In 1979, the Biopharmaceutics Research Group at Nottingham together with academic pharmacists from Manchester held a one-day syffiposium at Nottingham University to discuss how radio nuclides could be used in drug formulation studies to provide better approaches for the delivery of drugs to their sitesof action.




Handbook of Radiopharmaceuticals


Book Description

The thoroughly updated new edition of the authoritative reference in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences The second edition of Handbook of Radiopharmaceuticals is a comprehensive review of the field, presenting up-to-date coverage of central topics such as radionuclide production, synthetic methodology, radiopharmaceutical development and regulations, and a wide range of practical applications. A valuable reference work for those new to the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and experienced professionals alike, this volume explores the latest concepts and issues involving both targeted diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. Contributions from a team of experts from across sub-disciplines provide readers with an immersive examination of radiochemistry, nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and more. Since the first edition of the Handbook was published, Nuclear Medicine and Radiopharmaceutical Sciences have undergone major changes. New radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy have been approved by the FDA, the number of clinical PET and SPECT scans have increased significantly, and advances in Artificial Intelligence have dramatically improved research techniques. This fully revised edition reflects the current state of the field and features substantially updated and expanded content. New chapters cover topics including current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), regulatory oversight, novel approaches to quality control—ensuring that readers are informed of the exciting developments of recent years. This important resource: Features extensive new and revised content throughout Covers key areas of application for diagnosis and therapy in oncology, neurology, and cardiology Emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Discusses how drug companies are using modern radiopharmaceutical imaging techniques to support drug discovery Examines current and emerging applications of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Edited by recognized experts in radiochemistry and PET imaging, Handbook of Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiochemistry and Applications, 2 nd Edition is an indispensable reference for post-doctoral fellows, research scientists, and professionals in the pharmaceutical industry, and for academics, graduate students, and newcomers in the field of radiopharmaceuticals.




Trends on the Role of PET in Drug Development


Book Description

Drug development is very expensive and a fight against time. PET offers possibilities to speed up this process by adding unique in vivo information on pharmacokinetics/dynamics of a drug at an early stage. This information can help decision makers to move the drug in the drug development process or to decide to stop further developments. This unique and complete book highlights the different ways PET can be used and describes the latest trends in the various disciplines within nuclear medicine to further improve methodologies and increase the number of tools to accelerate drug development. Various topics within tracer development, instrumentation, data analysis and many clinical and preclinical topics are described by leading scientists from industry and academia.