Excerpt

The National Academies were asked by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to review the state of the science of nuclear medicine in response to discussions between the DOE and the Office of Management and Budget about the future scientific areas of research for the DOE’s Medical Applications and Sciences Program. In response to this request, the National Academies formed the Committee on the State of the Science of Nuclear Medicine. The committee’s mandate was to review the current state of the science in nuclear medicine; identify future opportunities in nuclear medicine research; and identify ways to reduce the barriers that impede both basic and translational research (Sidebar 1.1). Although the committee is aware that funds will be required to implement the recommendations made in this report, providing funding recommendations is beyond the scope of the committee’s charge. This report reflects the consensus views and judgments of the committee members, based in part on consultation with experts from academia, major medical societies, relevant governmental agencies, and industry representatives.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee on State of the Science of Nuclear Medicine
• Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
• Board on Health Sciences Policy
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • LOOKING AHEAD
• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 STRATEGY TO ADDRESS THE STUDY CHARGE
  • 1.2 REPORT ROADMAP
• 2. Nuclear Medicine
  • 2.1 SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES
  • 2.2 FRONTIERS IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE
  • 2.3 COMPLEXITIES OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
  • 2.4 CONCLUSION
• 3. Nuclear Medicine Imaging in Diagnosis and Treatment
  • 3.1 BACKGROUND
  • 3.2 CURRENT STATE OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE IMAGING AND EMERGING PRIORITIES
  • 3.3 IMPEDIMENTS TO PROGRESS AND CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS
• 4. Targeted Radionuclide Therapy
  • 4.1 BACKGROUND
  • 4.2 SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES
  • 4.3 CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD AND EMERGING PRIORITIES
  • 4.4 CURRENT IMPEDIMENTS TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF TARGETED RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL THERAPEUTICS
  • 4.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 4.6 CONCLUSIONS
• 5. Availability of Radionuclides for Nuclear Medicine Research
  • 5.1 BACKGROUND
  • 5.2 SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES
  • 5.3 CURRENT STATE OF RADIONUCLIDE AVAILABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES
  • 5.4 CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS
  • 5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
• 6. Radiotracer and Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry
  • 6.1 BACKGROUND
  • 6.2 SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES
  • 6.3 CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD AND EMERGING PRIORITIES
  • 6.4 CURRENT NEEDS AND IMPEDIMENTS
  • 6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
• 7. Instrumentation and Computational Sciences
  • 7.1 BACKGROUND
  • 7.2 SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES
  • 7.3 CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD AND EMERGING PRIORITIES
  • 7.4 FUTURE NEEDS
  • 7.5 FINDINGS
  • 7.6 RECOMMENDATIONS
• 8. Education and Training of Nuclear Medicine Personnel
  • 8.1 BACKGROUND
  • 8.2 CURRENT STATUS OF THE WORKFORCE
  • 8.3 FINDINGS
  • 8.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A Information-Gathering Sessions
  • B Glossary and Acronyms
  • C Commercially Available Radiopharmaceuticals
  • D Biographical Sketches Of Committee Members

This study was supported by Contract No. DE-AM01-04PI45013, Task Order DE-AT01-06ER64218 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy and Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.