Nuclear medicine procedures involving SPECT, SPECT/CT and planar imaging have dropped an average 2.5 percent per year from 2008 to 2012 to more than 14.8 million imaging studies, down from 16 million exams, according to an October 2013 market report by IMV.

Cianna Medical, Inc., a women’s health company, today announced the outcomes of a large, retrospective study demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the SAVI® breast brachytherapy applicator. Researchers reported favorably low recurrence rates, high rates of survival and excellent cosmetic outcomes. SAVI is a strut-based applicator that delivers a form of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) known as breast brachytherapy, a 5-day course of targeted radiation for early-stage breast cancer.

As molecular imaging continues to evolve, there will be some growing pains to go along with the successes. Recent top stories in molecular imaging have illustrated both the ups and the downs.

The Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) guidelines for tracking outcomes and measuring quality indicators need to be strengthened for better assessment of quality of care, according to a study published online Nov. 21 in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The National Institutes of Health have recently announced eight projects largely funded by the NFL that will study the long-term effects of repeated head injuries and will hopefully develop better tools for diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and concussions, according to an article published on Dec. 17 by NPR.org.

The combination of choline (Cho)/creatine (Cr) and N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/Cho ratios measured in the posterior periventricular white matter at term-equivalent age is predictive of motor outcome at one year in infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation, according to a study published online Dec. 17 in Radiology.

The PET amyloid imaging agent F-18 Florbetaben may soon be available in South Korea as a result of a licensing agreement and partnership between producer Piramal Imaging and Ci-Co Healthcare, according to a Nov. 21 announcement from Piramal.

Northstar Medical Technologies was awarded $21.8 million in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The grant was provided in an effort to develop a sustainable American supply of molybdenum-99 using alternative medical isotope production methods that do not require the use of high-enriched uranium, according to a Nov. 21 announcement.