"Bench to Bedside” Molecular Imaging Campaign

This concentrated fundraising initiative, which will span the next five years, was jumpstarted with the first pledge from lead donor GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK). Additional pledges have been received from these four firms: Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging (North Billerica, MA, USA), Siemens Medical Solutions USA (Malvern, PA, USA), Philips Medical Systems (Best, The Netherlands), and FluoroPharma (Boston, MA, USA).

"The use of molecular imaging to monitor the development and management of diseases at the molecular level will have a significant impact on healthcare over the next 5, 10, and more years,” said SNM president Dr. Peter S. Conti, professor of radiology, pharmacy, and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (USC, USA).

SNM is an international, multidisciplinary society of more than 16,000 physician, technologist and scientist members in 78 countries. It recognizes the critical role for molecular imaging in future patient care for diagnosis, for predicting treatment response and for monitoring treatment response and individual treatment plans, according to Dr. Conti. "Patients with cancer, heart disease, stroke, or debilitating neurological conditions benefit from earlier, more accurate diagnoses and safer, more effective treatments when their medical care includes scanning technologies such as positron emission tomography (PET) with computed tomography (CT), or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT),” he added.

After months of extensive consultation with molecular and nuclear imaging industry leaders, four specific areas of need were identified: supporting advocacy for molecular imaging; educating and promoting collaboration with referring physicians and patient groups; training and educating the current imaging workforce and future generations of practitioners on the applications of molecular imaging; and supporting innovations in translational research--the research that converts a development from basic science into practice--from bench to bedside.

The society plans to fund outreach activities to referring physicians and patient groups; support translational clinical studies and small innovative trials; and provide research grants and fellowships to advance new medical developments, according to Dr. Conti.


Related Links:
Society of Nuclear Medicine
GE Healthcare