Nuclear medicine is a medical imaging specialty involving the use of radioactive compounds for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. As a medical branch, it is considered part of Diagnostic Imaging, but differs substantially from Radiology with respect to the source of the radiation made visible by the diagnostic devices. Nuclear medicine adopts also some types of radioactive emissions for therapeutic purposes, allowing the employment of the metabolic properties of the radiopharmaceuticals for the cure of certain clinical conditions and malignant diseases.Nuclear medicine is a relatively recent discipline and owes its origins to the discovery of natural radioactivity and the development of the first instruments for medical diagnostics. From the introduction of the first gamma camera of Anger, the technology has greatly improved. The evolution has led to the development of SPECT and PET technology and in the recent years to the introduction of hybrid tomographs allowing the combination in one session of both functional and morphological images.The purpose of this textbook is to illustrate synthetically the principals of nuclear medicine diagnostics, with reference both to the technical part and main clinical indications. The booklet is addressed primarily to the degree courses for technologists, but can be reasonably used in other courses and medical training programs where there is necessity for relatively simple, yet complete and clinically relevant concepts of nuclear medicine discipline. As a complement, the manuscript will end with a dedicated section summarizing some concepts of nuclear medicine therapy.

This is the first book to explore the epistemology and ethics of advanced imaging tests, in order to improve the critical understanding of the nature of knowledge they provide and the practical consequences of their utilization in healthcare. Advanced medical imaging tests, such as PET and MRI, have gained center stage in medical research and in patients' care. They also increasingly raise questions that pertain to philosophy: What is required to be an expert in reading images? How are standards for interpretation to be fixed? Is there a problem of overutilization of such tests? How should uncertainty be communicated to patients? How to cope with incidental findings? This book is of interest and importance to scholars of philosophy of medicine at all levels, from undergraduates to researchers, to medical researchers and practitioners (radiologists and nuclear physicians) interested in a critical appraisal of the methodology of their discipline and in the ethical principles and consequences of their work.

Nuclear Medicine has greatly contributed to the diagnosis and treament of neuroendocrine neoplasms. This issue of PET Clinics will focus not only on the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, but also theranostics. Topics include SPECT and other PET tracers, F-DOPA, Ga-DOTA-peptides, Yttrium- and Lutetium-based therapy, and the role of FDG PET. It also covers key information of theranostics.

This new atlas, the fourth of a successful series, is a completely revised and updated edition of a previously published FDG PET-CT atlas. In the past few years, considerable progress has been made in the field of PET-CT imaging, and this new edition takes full account of these recent developments. Furthermore, its educational mission has been broadened: beyond serving as a straightforward guide to FDG PET-CT imaging it now encompasses the integrative use of contrast-enhanced CT and MRI. The new edition also includes non-oncological indications for FDG PET-CT. The atlas aims to help imaging practitioners to recognize physiological and benign pathological FDG uptake and illustrates in a case-based, practical manner the PET-CT appearances of all the major tumors and infectious, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative disorders. The main clinical applications are covered, and learning points and pitfalls are clearly articulated. The consistent, user-friendly format facilitates image interpretation and allows rapid review of key information needed for FDG PET-CT imaging.

This atlas is a concise but comprehensive guide to the diverse patterns of response to immunotherapy as observed on Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) and other conventional imaging modalities, including CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The purpose for this publication is to fill the gap between the growing clinical relevance and utilization of immunotherapy in medical oncology, mainly based on checkpoint inhibitors, and the need for experienced imagers with reliable tools assessing response to treatment. A series of disease-oriented chapters will present the imaging findings during immunotherapy in the major oncological settings, with helpful comparison of functional (PET/CT) and morphological (CT/MRI) patterns of response in individual cases. To complete the atlas, a dedicated chapter will focus on major pitfalls and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) affecting image interpretation during the course of immunotherapy. The concluding chapter will lastly examine the available data and potential developments of immuno-PET, which is considered as the novel frontier of research in this oncological scenario. The atlas will be of high value for radiologists and nuclear medicine specialists at all levels of experience.