CE credit: For CE credit, you can access the test for this article, as well as additional JNMT CE tests, online at https://www.snmmilearningcenter.org. Complete the test online no later than September 2022. Your online test will be scored immediately. You may make 3 attempts to pass the test and must answer 80% of the questions correctly to receive 1.0 CEH (Continuing Education Hour) credit. SNMMI members will have their CEH credit added to their VOICE transcript automatically; nonmembers will be able to print out a CE certificate upon successfully completing the test. The online test is free to SNMMI members; nonmembers must pay $15.00 by credit card when logging onto the website to take the test. With new radiopharmaceuticals constantly in development, the field of nuclear medicine is ever evolving. This continuing education article reviews some of the newer, less frequently used radiopharmaceuticals for PET diagnostic imaging and related therapeutic protocols. The radiopharmaceuticals discussed include U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved tracers as well as tracers that are in clinical trials and have yet to obtain Food and Drug Administration approval. This article contains straightforward information on each tracer discussed, including disease process imaged or treated, half-life, energy, primary uses, basic protocols, distribution, and side effects. Although not all tracers may be available in rural locations, this information can be helpful in determining future patient-care offerings.

Publication of MIRD Monograph: Radiobiology and Dosimetry for Radiopharmaceutical Therapy with Alpha-Particle Emitters was supported by the SNMMI MIRD Committee to provide clinicians with information on radiopharmaceutical therapies that use a-particle emitters. George Sgouros, the MIRD committee chair, stated that the objective of this book is to "provide guidance and recommendations for human dosimetry" in these therapies. The book begins with an introduction to a-particles and an excellent historical overview of the use of radioactivity and a-emitters since 1896, followed by an explanation of the radiobiology of a-particles (how they work) and relative biological effectiveness (what the radiation dose to patients might be). In a section covering radiation dosimetry, readers are told how a-particles affect each part of the body, including the bone marrow and normal organs, as well as the effects at the cellular level. This part of the book can help guide clinicians in tailoring radiopharmaceutical therapy to a specific patient. Challenges concerning detection of a-particles are then discussed, with an important piece of the puzzle being an understanding of the instruments capable of detecting a-particles. It is also important to understand how the different a-particleemitting tracers are delivered, and the book includes a valuable section detailing the different methods of localization.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract