District of Columbia declares this 'Molecular Imaging Week'
The District of Columbia has declared this week as “Molecular Imaging Week” to coincide with The Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 54th annual meeting which began yesterday in Washington, D.C., and runs through June 6. The event is the world’s largest conference for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals. More than 4,000 individuals are expected to attend.
In a statement in the Congressional Record, Rep. James P. Moran (D-VA) said, “Molecular imaging and therapy procedures provide safe, painless and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. These procedures are crucial in the early diagnosis of cancer, renal disease, cardiac disease and Alzheimer’s. Imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease—long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. The techniques that are used in molecular imaging include radiotracer imaging/nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), optical imaging, the PET scan, ultrasound and others.”
Moran urged his colleagues “to join me in supporting policies that will continue to keep our nation on the cutting edge of molecular imaging research.”
District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty welcomed SNM to the nation’s capital, and said that the attendees of this week’s event will “discuss issues of concern to revolutionize modern medicine for patients through the use of molecular imaging and therapy” in efforts to improve patient care.
Another big goal of this year’s event is to focus on delivering on the promise of more personalized medicine, with the use of patient-specific information for tailored treatment of disease, said Moran. “Molecular therapy can target molecules that deliver the therapeutic agent directly to the site of interest, bypassing normal tissue and avoiding the toxic side effects of many current therapies.”
In a statement in the Congressional Record, Rep. James P. Moran (D-VA) said, “Molecular imaging and therapy procedures provide safe, painless and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. These procedures are crucial in the early diagnosis of cancer, renal disease, cardiac disease and Alzheimer’s. Imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease—long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. The techniques that are used in molecular imaging include radiotracer imaging/nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), optical imaging, the PET scan, ultrasound and others.”
Moran urged his colleagues “to join me in supporting policies that will continue to keep our nation on the cutting edge of molecular imaging research.”
District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty welcomed SNM to the nation’s capital, and said that the attendees of this week’s event will “discuss issues of concern to revolutionize modern medicine for patients through the use of molecular imaging and therapy” in efforts to improve patient care.
Another big goal of this year’s event is to focus on delivering on the promise of more personalized medicine, with the use of patient-specific information for tailored treatment of disease, said Moran. “Molecular therapy can target molecules that deliver the therapeutic agent directly to the site of interest, bypassing normal tissue and avoiding the toxic side effects of many current therapies.”