During the SNM [Society of Nuclear Medicine] House of Delegates meeting held Jan. 26-29 in Orlando, Fla., at the Mid-Winter meeting, the body approved a proposed amendment to the SNM bylaws that would change the name of the association to the “Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.”

"Although we have been and continue to be a nuclear medicine society, we have also more formally embraced the role that molecular imaging and therapies play in our specialty, in our journals, education and more," Carolyn J. Anderson, PhD, SNM president, wrote in November 2011, to its members. "It is appropriate at this critical juncture to consider whether the name 'Society of Nuclear Medicine' adequately describes who we are and where we are headed. It has certainly served us well over these past 60 years and has come to represent the most prestigious international organization in the field of nuclear medicine. However, as molecular imaging expands, we need to incorporate emerging imaging technologies beyond those that utilize radioactivity."

SNM said it has been involved in a five-year campaign to embrace all molecular imaging modalities.

The next step in the name change process is a member vote, which will take place at the SNM 2012 Annual Meeting, June 9-13 in Miami.