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PET Center of Excellence

is dedicated to all aspects of the development and utilization of positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT, and PET/MR in the detection and management of disease.

The SNMMI's PET Center of Excellence is an organizational component within the SNMMI dedicated to all aspects of the development and utilization of positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT, and PET/MR in the detection and management of disease. Two primary areas of focus of the center are educational programs and practical issues directly related to PET, PET/CT, and PET/MR including clinical practice and procedure guidelines, as well as reimbursement. 

 

The PET Center of Excellence Peter E. Valk, MD, Memorial Lectureship and Award.

The 2017 Peter E. Valk, MD, Memorial Award recipient is George M. Segall, MD, FACNM, FSNMMI.  Congratulations! Dr. Segall presented, "PET/CT and Patient Outcomes" on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 during the SNMMI Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado

PET CoE Newsletters

All issues of the PET Center of Excellence Newsletter are available to PET CoE members in PDF format.

NCCN Practice Guidelines - Narrative Summary of Indications for FDG PET and PET/CT

NCCN Tabular Summary

Tracer Encyclopedia


PET PROS

PET PROS is a resource for referring and interpreting physicians to ensure easy access to important information and useful resources. The goal is to provide a one-stop shop for all your essential PET and PET/CT needs and questions. We encourage your feedback and suggestions for new resources to add to the PET PROS Program.  Please send an email to K. Malaika Walton, Associate Director of Leadership.

Referring/Interpreting Physicians: Understand the advantages and applications of PET/CT in your practice, and access helpful tools to increase the appropriate utilization of PET/CT.

Patients/Advocates: Learn about the latest PET/CT information and the major benefits it offers to patients.

 

Part IV/PQI Project

A project by PET Center of Excellence Intern, David M. Naeger, MD: American Board of Radiology-approved Part IV/PQI Project template and spreadsheet.  This template is also posted on the American Board of Radiology (ABR) website at www.theabr.org/moc-dr-pqi-projects.


Views You Can Use

PET CoE Clinical Tools

PET CoE Podcasts

The PET Center of Excellence has created podcasts for our members to use as helpful resources that can be easily downloaded from our website.

 

ISMRM-SNMMI Co-Provided Workshop on PET/MRI
October 26-29, 2017       Renaissance Blackstone Hotel, Chicago, IL

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

 

ISMRM/SNMMI Co-Provided Webinars

Attenuation Correction and PET Reconstruction

Host: Thomas Hope, MD, University of California, San Francisco and Chair of the PET Center of Excellence PET/MR Working Group.

Moderators:

  • Richard Laforest, PhD, Washington University and Vice-President Elect of the Computer and Instrumentation Council
  • Alan McMillan, PhD, University of Wisconsin

Panelists and Papers:

  • Silin Ren, PhD, Yale University will present Data-driven event-by-event respiratory motion correction using TOF PET list-mode centroid of distribution (Ren S, Jin X, Chan C, Jian Y, Mulnix T, Liu C, Carson RE.  Phys Med Biol. 2017 Jun 21;62(12):4741-4755.)
  • Hongyu An, PhD, Washington University will present A multi-centre evaluation of eleven clinically feasible brain PET/MRI attenuation correction techniques using a large cohort of patients (Ladefoged CN, Law I, Anazodo U, St Lawrence K, Izquierdo-Garcia D, Catana C, Burgos N, Cardoso MJ, Ourselin S, Hutton B, Mérida I, Costes N, Hammers A, Benoit D, Holm S, Juttukonda M, An H, Cabello J, Lukas M, Nekolla S, Ziegler S, Fenchel M, Jakoby B, Casey ME, Benzinger T, Højgaard L, Hansen AE, Andersen FL; Neuroimage. 2017 Feb 15;147:346-359)

Click here to play the recorded webinar

 

Prostate Cancer Imaging
Dr. Thomas Hope of the University of California, San Francisco, with panelists Dr. Steve Cho of the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Baris Turkbey of the National Institute of Health.

Topics:

Click here to play the recorded webinar

 

         PET CoE Sponsored Sessions at the SNMMI 2017 Annual Meeting

CAT5: PET/MRI: A Focus on Oncology (Separate Registration Fee Required)

CE38: PET MR in Pediatrics: Emerging Role and Potential Applications

CE58: PET/CT and Immune Modulation Therapy Assessment

CE62: Peter E. Valk, MD, Memorial Award and Lecture

Membership Dues:

Membership dues if $15 annually. 

Member Benefits

Member benefits include:

 - A forum for discussion and dissemination of basic science and clinical practice information

 - Eligibility to vote in the PET COE Board of Directors elections

 - Quarterly newsletter

 - PET COE Website Resources

 - Clinical Tools Page

 - E-Library

 - Podcasts

 - Sponsored educational symposia related to members’ interest

 - PET COE E-Community

 - A $20.00 discount for PET COE sponsored categorical session.

 

Join or Renew/Modify Your Membership

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Attach a request to your annual membership invoice and remit payment with your SNMMI dues.

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Forward your request in writing with your check for annual center dues ($15) to SNMMI Membership Services, 1850 Samuel Morse Drive, Reston, VA 20190-5316. If you have any further questions about PET Center of Excellence membership, please contact MemberInfo@snmmi.org




  • August 10, 2017 — First Human Application of Novel PET Tracer for Prostate Cancer

    In the featured translational article in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrate the potential of a new PET tracer, Carbon-11 labeled sarcosine, for imaging prostate cancer, and set the stage for its possible use in monitoring other cancers.
    (SNMMI in the News)

  • August 10, 2017 — First Human Application of Novel PET Tracer for Prostate Cancer

    In the featured translational article in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrate the potential of a new PET tracer, Carbon-11 labeled sarcosine, for imaging prostate cancer, and set the stage for its possible use in monitoring other cancers.
    (SNMMI in the News)

  • August 1, 2017 — New Imaging Tracer Allows Early Assessment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Risk

    Yale University researchers have developed a way in which medical imaging could potentially be used to assess a patient's rupture risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Delaying surgical treatment can be life-threatening, and this new type of imaging could allow physicians to diagnose disease and better plan its management. The study is presented in the featured article of the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
    (SNMMI in the News)

  • July 19, 2017 — Brain scans may change care for some people with memory loss

    Findings, reported Wednesday, mark a first peek at a huge study under way to help determine if Medicare should start paying for specialized PET scans that find a hallmark of Alzheimer's — a sticky plaque called amyloid.For now, in addition to people who qualify for the IDEAS study, the Alzheimer's Association and Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging say unusually young dementia patients, younger than 65, also might be candidates for a PET scan. The scans shouldn't be used as a screening tool for people without symptoms or who worry they're at risk. Nor are they for people who can be diagnosed by standard means, or to determine disease severity.
    (SNMMI in the News)

President

Katherin ZukotynskiKatherine Zukotynski, BASc, MD, FRCPC

President, PET Center of Excellence

 

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

These are exciting times for nuclear medicine and PET, and it is my great pleasure to be working with each of every one of you to provide the best possible patient care.

As I write this, improvements in PET/CT equipment are happening at a staggering pace. Time-of-flight imaging has given us the ability to image smaller lesions with less radioactivity. New technologies such as PET/MR are becoming far more ubiquitous in the medical community. Several tracers have gone from research into routine clinical practice, and are enabling better imaging for prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors and dementia. Diagnostic and treatment algorithms for patients are being revolutionized, and PET is being linked with the ability to image and then treat sites of disease detected, expanding our capacity for theranostics.

Research into PET technology, tracers, and clinical practice is continuing to expand our breadth of knowledge. Moving forward, we must take these exciting research results and educate the members of our community who may not be aware of these advancements or know how to use them. To do this, we need strong educational programs for physicians and technologists working in the trenches, as well as those leading our field. We also need strong outreach to all members of the healthcare team, and most importantly, to our patients. Indeed, all stakeholders, including patients and decision-makers, ought to understand the value of PET.

To achieve this, the PET Center of Excellence is planning several continuing education programs at the Annual and Midwinter meetings. We are partnering with other groups, both within the SNMMI and in other Societies. Further, we are preparing Symposia dedicated to specific topics of interest, continuing education articles, and information sessions for patients and members of the healthcare team. The PET Center of Excellence is open to all. Any and all ideas are welcome. Please communicate with us!

We stand on the shoulders of giants and because of what they have done, our time has come. Technological advances in imaging and therapy mean that we can have a tangible and important impact on patient care. We just have to embrace the full potential of our field without fear. Let us work together to show the world what we can do!