PET/CT camera (Courtesy Philips Healthcare)
Radioactivity has been in use in healthcare since the beginning of the 20th century. The first discoveries of Marie Curie as well as all applications in cancer treatment through radiotherapy are well known from the general public. One is much less aware of the potential of Nuclear Medicine, an extension of this technology based on the use of injected radioactive substances. The main applications led to the development of diagnostic tools with a priority given to cancer but new applications were developed in cardiology as well as in neurology.
This science has slowly and discreetly progressed in the past 50 years. At the beginning of this new century and as a consequence of huge technology leaps in biology and computer science, nuclear medicine went through two major revolutions: a tremendous increase in imaging quality and the first real demonstration of targeted radiotherapy. Today physicians are not even able to appreciate the future consequences of the overall healthcare benefits for all patients.
In the area of diagnostic, the PET technology (Positron Emission Tomography) allows to accurately identify and locate tumors. The follow-up of patients under therapy is now almost routine, despite the high constraints put on industrial manufacturing of radiolabeled contrast agents.
