The first radiometal molybdenum-99/technetium-99m generator was developed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1959, subsequently, in 1964, technetium-99m radiotracers were being established at the Argonne National Laboratory.  Currently, 85% of radiopharmaceuticals use technetium-99m based imaging agents.  These imaging agents can be used to evaluate organ function, detect cancer, measure blood flow and follow metabolic processes. Continue reading →

An Overview of radiopharmaceuticals in clinical use

Radiopharmaceuticals primarily consist of a radioisotope which is incorporated into a pharmaceutical with the ability to evaluate a disease state inside the human body.  The pharmaceutical is used to transport the radioisotope to a certain organ, tissues or particular cells within the body. Continue reading →

EXPLORER Total Body PET Scanner

The EXPLORER Whole Body Scanner and its capabilities reminded me about the ‘Fantastic Voyage’.  The Fantastic Voyage was a 1966 American science fiction film about a submarine crew who were shrunk to a microscopic size.  Subsequently, they ventured into the human body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain. The synergy is the ability of the EXPLORER to track a radiopharmaceutical through the human body and locate the disease state in real time. Continue reading →

How can you determine what’s in a closed box?

This was a question proposed in 1967 when the British electrical engineer Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (1919-2004) was out walking in the countryside. Initially, this thought had nothing to do with medicine but was merely an idea that you could determine what was in a box by taking X-ray readings at all angles around the object. In order to develop the concept further, he assembled a computer to be able to obtain position points by focusing X-rays at various angles to create an image of the hidden object. Continue reading →

Proton Beam Therapy – A Radiotherapy Revolution

In Memory of Bozidar Erakovic (1928-2012)

In July 2018, Simon Hardacre was the first person in the UK to receive high energy proton beam therapy for the treatment of an aggressive form of prostate cancer at the Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport, South Wales.  This is currently the only clinic in the UK where high energy proton beam therapy is available. Continue reading →

How a robot could be your next surgeon

Artificial Intelligence and Cybernetics are misinterpreted concepts. However, they differ in many ways. For example, the ideas of Artificial Intelligence is to make computers smart compared to Cybernetics which is to understand and build systems that can achieve goals. Therefore, smart computers versus goal-directed systems have developed concepts applicable to robots. Continue reading →

Targeting cancer with therapeutic bullets

The essence of this Blog Article is to provide a general overview of the current status in the treatment of cancer using the new technique of Targeted Radionuclide Therapy. Continue reading →

Technetium-99m Myocardial Perfusion Scan

The most commonly used medical radioisotope in diagnostic procedures is the metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99 and is known as technetium-99m (Tc-99m). Continue reading →

Optic Nerve Imaging in Glaucoma

The ten cranial nerves exit from the human brain including the brainstem and relay information to other parts of the body.  One of these cranial nerves is the optic nerve (II) which is 50 mm long and myelinated by oligodendrocytes.  It passes through the optic foramen in the sphenoid bone and travels to the eye.  Continue reading →

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound Imaging

The National Health Service in England carried out 42.1 million imaging tests in the year to March 2017 compared with 40.7 million in the previous year.  Plain X-ray radiography was the most common with 22.9 million procedures followed by 9.37 million diagnostic ultrasound scans.  Also, computed tomography generated 4.82 million scans compared to 3.36 million magnetic resonance imaging scans. Continue reading →

Artificial Intelligence: The Future of Medical Imaging

Radiology can trace its roots back to the Nobel Laureate Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen who discovered x-rays in 1895.  Consequently, this discovery led to the imaging of the human body which contributes to assist with the diagnosis of various disease states. Continue reading →

Types of Brain Imaging Techniques

Advancements in brain imaging using non-invasive technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) have allowed neuroscientists to obtain a greater understanding on how the brain functions with its environment.  Continue reading →

Magnetic resonance imaging of cancer metabolism

The signal to noise ratio (SNR) in magnetic resonance can be intensified by the application of hyperpolarization. This novel technology is advancing in the area of clinical studies by using stable isotopic labels such as carbon-13. Continue reading →

Positron Emission Mammography Imaging – PEM

The diagnostic breast imaging tool Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) uses short-lived positron-emitting isotopes to generate high-resolution tomographic images of cancer within the breast. Continue reading →

Types of brachytherapy

Brachytherapy techniques have been a powerhouse in the treatment of cancer since the beginning of the twentieth century.  The advancement of other theranostic treatments has not removed Internal Radiotherapy entirely from the clinician’s armoury war in the ongoing quest to destroy cancer. Continue reading →