SNM, the largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, recently announced several initiatives to advance the field of molecular imaging through support from its 'Bench to Bedside' campaign. SNM, the largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, recently announced several initiatives to advance the field of molecular imaging through support from its 'Bench to Bedside' campaign.

The 'Bench to Bedside' fundraising effort, launched last summer, has received nearly $3.3 million in corporate pledges from GE Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, IBA Molecular, Philips, MDS Nordion, Cardinal Health and FluoroPharma to bring molecular imaging advances from preliminary research into clinical implementation. Through collaboration with the members of SNM’s Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence, the society will support translational research; facilitate clinical research and clinical trials; support outreach activities; increase advocacy efforts; and train the current imaging workforce and educate future generations of practitioners on the applications of molecular imaging.

“We are at an important phase, moving from the initial planning stage into an advocacy, educational and research phase of our five-year action plan to bring molecular imaging research from bench to bedside,” said SNM President Martin P. Sandler. “As we move forward, we always keep the focus on how our initiatives relate to the all-important goal of transforming patient care,” he added.

Molecular imaging is the use of state-of-the-art imaging technologies (such as PET, SPECT, MRI and others) to 'see' biological targets or pathways in the body, as well as being effective in the diagnosis of disease, treating it and evaluating how well the therapy is working. Molecular imaging is at the forefront of 'personalized medicine' — it can provide patient-specific information that allows tailored treatment of disease. It can show a precise (molecular) level of detail that provides new information for diagnosis, for determining which kinds of therapy will work for which patient, and for tracking the results of a specific therapy to see exactly how well it is working. It is also key to development of pharmaceuticals and genetic therapy.

SNM’s Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence focuses on education, clinical trials, research and advocacy. The center has been gearing up this year by forming task force teams with medical and basic science experts in different core areas. These subject matter experts are providing guidance in the creation of education and professional development programs, new grants and awards, and protocols and standards for the field.

New activities in the upcoming months include development of a new informational Web site and increased advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. The Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence will launch a new Web site, independent of SNM’s Web site, this summer. The new site will be a repository of information for researchers, physicians, patients or anyone interested in molecular imaging. SNM members will meet with legislators and decision makers in Washington D.C., during the society’s annual meeting this June, and issues relating to molecular imaging will be on the agenda.

“We feel that it is important to share as much information as possible in order to help the science grow faster,” said Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence President Martin G. Pomper. “We feel that giving molecular imaging researchers a home on the Internet is a good place to start the exchange of ideas,” he indicated.

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