News & Views Marie Curie Award and 1992 EANM Congress Go to Portugal Professor J J P de Lima won the honour of b e c o m i n g Congress President for 1992 at the members' assembly of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine in Amsterdam. However, at the closing c e r e m o n y even a greater honour was awarded to Professor de Lima when it was announced that he and his group had won the Marie Curie award for 1990, with their presentation at the conference of ventilation and perfusion in a single image. Professor de Lima presented the work done in the Biophysics Department of the Faculty of Medicine of C o i m b r a , Portugal. The p r e s e n t a t i o n s h o w e d an a p p l i c a t i o n of c o m p u t e r facilities to simultaneously Professor and independently display the local information of ventilation and perfusion from functionallung studies in a single image instead of V/Q ratio images. The image was achieved by setting, on each pixel of the pulmonary area, a thin prism with the height proportional to the

Godinho, Professor de Lima and Dr Maria Filomena Botelho after the Marie Curie award count rate in the same pixel of the perfusion image and modulating the colour of the prisms by the local ventilation. Perspective views of these plots appear as three-dimensional 4parameter histograms. Comparision of the 4-

parameter histograms with the corresponding V/Q ratio images showed that the former were easier to interpret with more information and were more valuable as a complementary diagnostic tool.

New President for the EANM

Professor Serge Askienazy

Professor Serge Askienazy of the SainteAnne Hospital in Paris was elected the President of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine for the next three years. Following an exciting election campaign where the several candidates had to present theirproposals to the meeting of the delegates from all the countries represented in the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, Prof. Askienazy thanked the assembly for their vote of confidence in him. During his period as President, Prof. Askienazy hopes to activate the links between the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, the EEC and the Council of Europe to take advantage

as a European body of the fundings available from Europe as a whole. He also hopes that steps can be made so that training and/or exchange programmes between young nuclear medicine specialists or trainees can be easier. He also feels that the European Association of Nuclear Medicine should be involved in the public education of radiation hazards. With the recent changes in the European scene, the next three years promise to be an exciting time in nuclear medicine as well as in other specialities, and Prof. Askienazy is looking forward to developing the European Association of Nuclear Medicine in all its various spheres.

892

Microwave Project Wins 1990 Amersham International Award

Polish Nuclear Medicine Journal Expatriates from Poland will be interested to hear that there is now a publication called Problemy Medycyny Nuklearnej published regularly by the Polish Nuclear Medicine Society under the editorship of Professor/ Doctor Habmedjanusz PRZEDLACKI. The third issue in 1989 contained a series of interestingarticles with the abstract in English as well as in Polish. These includedtechniques for isolation for the treatment of irradiated persons and the usefulness of lymphoscintigraphy with technetium 99m Nanocoll in clinical practice. Review papers covered the subject of adult respiratory distress syndrome, single photon emission computerized tomography in the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease and the use of Cardiolite - a new marker for isotope heart examination. Further information from: Dr H Przedlacki Zaklad Medycyny Nuklearnej CSK WAM ul. Szaserow 128 Warszawa 60 Poland. Tel No. 29-36-84.

John Maynard (left), Divisional Chief Executive of Amersham International, presents the 1990 Amersham International award to Phil Blower. Tony Coakley, Director of the Kentand Canterbury Hospital Nuclear Medicine Department, is in the centre

Atlas of Human Anatomy At the British Nuclear Medicine Society annual meeting in London the Amersham award was given this year to Phil Blower of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in the SouthEast of England. The Amersham award is a competitive award worth 2000 UK pounds, sponsored annually by Amersham International, for a research proposal into the advancement of radiopharmaceuticals. The 1990 award was made to Dr Philip Blower for a project entitled "Applications of microwaves in radiopharmacy and radiochemistry". Since 1987 Dr Blower has been a radiochemist in the Nuclear Medicine Department at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, UK, and a lecturer in the Biological Laboratory, Universityof Kent at Canterbury, where he leads a research group in what might broadly be described as medical inorganic chemistry. Microwave heating has recently emerged as a useful technique in chemical synthesis for

accelerating slow reactions and facilitating difficult syntheses. Dr Blower seeks to apply this technology in radiopharmaceutical chemistry, both in routine radiopharmacy practice and in the development of new agents which might otherwise not reach application because of slow preparative reactions. It could be of particular benefit in making compounds labelled with short-lived radionuclides. The results of Dr Blower's experimental survey of possible applications will be presented formally at the Annual Meeting of the British Nuclear Society in 1992.

Technician Prize In the technician section of the meeting for the second time the prize winner came from the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. This time the paper was awarded to Janet Wheeler for her presentation on"IndicationsforLeucocyte Scanning in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease". This paper was also presented at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting.

Karger have just published a completely revised edition of Wolf-Heidegger'sAtlas of HumanAnatomy. The book commences with systemic anatomy, followed by illustrations of all the organ systems. Where appropriate the diagrams are matched by X-rays, photographs, CT scans. MRI scans but no ultrasound or. perhaps not surprisingly, radioisotope images. There are excellentcross sections of the brain in both the coronal sagittal and trans-axialplanes.Similarlythere are useful coronal sections of the lungs and heart. In the thorax the segments of the lungs are shown in all the major planes but do not have an illustration of the oblique views so useful in nuclear medicine. Although aimed at the medical student primarily, this book is an excellent reference textbook for nuclearmedicinephysicianswho increasinglyneed anatomical diagrams to aid interpretation of SPET and PET studies. Further information from: A Karger AG, Postfach CH-4009 Basel Switzerland.

893

Nuclear Medicine Department Goes All Digital The Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street London is one of the first U. K. departments of nuclear medicine to go all digital. The Department of Nuclear Medicine at Great Ormond Street has two digital gamma cameras/computers (Elscint, one a SPET and the other a LFOV mobile) plus a static LFOV camera (Aura) linked to a computer (Elscint 009). There are in addition two work stations (Elscint): one is based on a 32-bit system (Elscint SP1) the other on a 16-bit system (Elscint 009). Each work station has a hard disc capacity of 80 megabytes; there is an optical disc on the central work station. An Ethemet allows communicationbetween any 2 work stations plus data storage or retrieval onto an optical disc from any work station. There is apersonal computer (IBM compatible 286) connected via an RS232 to the central work station (32 bit). This PC will also be connected to the Ethernet soon. The only problem with the system at present is that during data storage on the optical disc from aremote station, the central work station slows down considerably. This problem has been circumvented by writing an inhouse software programme which transfers all the patient studies after midnight to the optical disc so that no transfer is required during working hours. A fourth gamma camera (Siemens) linked to another work station (Elscint 009) carries out experimental work, this system being linked via a modem to the 16-bit work station (Elscint 009). Quality control of both Elscint and inhouse software requires specific attention and until a senior full-timephysicist was given specific

Fourth European Symposium on Radiopharmacy and RadiopharmaceuUcals The fourth European Symposium on radiopharmacy and radiopharmaceuticals organized by the Radiopharmacy Group of the Swiss Society of Nuclear Medicine under the auspices of the EANM Task Group on radiopharmaceuticals will be held in May 1st 4th, 1991 in Baden (near Zurich), -

Dr Isky Gordon, Director of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, performs a ventilation scan on an infant using krypton 81 m

responsiblity for the entire system, reliability could not be guaranteed. This network has allowed research to continue on clinical data, experimental animals and the physics aspect of nuclear medicine. Isky Gordon, Director of the Great Ormond Street Nuclear Medicine Facility, told News

and Views that digital nuclear medicine had become a reality in his department and that, provided attention was paid to quality control of the system, high- quality data accumulation and processing was routinely available in a clinical environment.

Switzerland. The main topics of the next meeting will be the implicationof the new EC rules on the production and use of radiopharmaceuticals, safety procedures and regulation of PET radiopharmaceuticals, technicial developments of hospital radiopharmacies, new developments in radiopharmacy with emphasis on brain receptor ligands and products of immunological genetic engineering. There will also be sessions on trainingand pharmacy and the design and ethical aspects of clinical trials.

The symposiumis aimed at scientists working at hospitals, in the radiopharmaceutical industry and within regulatory bodies.

Further information from: The Secretary c/o Radiopharmacy Division Paul Scherrer Institute CH-5232 Villigen PSI Switzerland. Telephone: 056 99 28 14

894

Changes at the Top Cardioscint Left Ventricular Monitor The Mallinckrodt group in Petten is pleased, and sad at the same time, to announce Peter Vermeeren's promotion to the position of Vice President and General Manager for the U.S. Nuclear Medicine Division in St Louis. Mr Vermeeren has been General Manager in Europe for the last five years, and his enthusiastic mad creative leadership has given the European side of the company a firm base. His experience in nuclear medicine spans over 20 years and he will bring a number of strengths in marketing, business and technical areas not only to the U. S. but also to the global nuclear medicine industry.

Henk van Rossem

Mr Henk van Rossem, who has been with the company for 19 years, has been promoted to the position of General Manager, Nuclear Medicine, Europe. He has extensive experience in the business and will continue to promote and diversify the - exterior contacts the company has established in the recent past.

The development of a lightweight, low cost, miniature scintillation probe has brought the benefits of continuous, long-term monitoring of left ventricle function to the patient's bedside. Transient or rapid changes in left ventricle function cannot be detected by the gamma camera because of their long acquisition time. Beat-to-beat measurement can be made with single crystal/ photomultiplier-type cardiac probes, but the size and weight of the detector make longterm monitoring difficult or impractical. A lightweight, mobile nuclear probe that can be fixed to the patient's chest has been developed. Such miniaturization (the probe is only 4.5 cm by 10 cm) allows accurate measurements at the patient's bedside or while exercising. Trials in the UK have

Along with with the above reorganization is the promotion of Mr Hans van der Grift to the position of Technical Director. He has been with the company since 1964 and has held a number of positions in sales and marketing. Since 1978, he has been Manager of the Logistic Department. He will report to Henk van Rossem.

You have heard of the Cannes Film Festival but have you heard of the of the Nice Cardiology Film Festival?

Replacing Mr van Rossem in his current position is Mr Bart Doedens, MD, who has been promoted to Manager of Marketing and Sales.

Under the sponsorship of the French Society of Cardiology, a jury judged some 15 films produced by pharmaceutical laboratories. The prize was awarded to a film produced by

demonstrated ejection fraction measurements to be within 6% of those of a gamma camera. A dose of only 10 mCi of technetium 99m is required for blood-pool labelling and gives up to 8 h non-imaging radionuclide ventriculography. The continuous, long-term monitoring capability of Cardioscint, along with its ease of use, has enabled researchers to study term and transient haemodynamic changes. For clinicians the benefits of real-time monitoring of the effects of therapy can be realized at the patient's bedside. Further information from: Oakfield Instruments Ltd, Health Care Products, Oakfield Industrial Estate, Stanton Harcourt Road, Eynsham, Oxon. OX8 1JA, England

Nice Film Festival Laboratoires Ipsen made by Rene Clement. Unfortunately, isotope imaging did not feature in the films, but there was some mention of the use of isotopes to determine the best time to operate on cases of aortic insufficiency in the conference, which was held parallel with the festival. Perhaps in a few years we will have isotope film stars.

895

Elscint Achieves 3.3 mm Resolution

Elscint APEX SP-4HR Ultrafast High-Resolution Integrated Nuclear Gamma Camera

Elscint Limited has announced the introduction of the newest member of its APEX SP Series, the Apex SP-4/HR High Resolution Gamma Camera. The APEX SP Series is the second generation of digital cameras introduced by Elscint. In recent evaluations the camera has demonstrated an excellent resolution of 3.3 mm over the entire field of view. This recordbreaking resolution is achieved by a newly designed detector head with 61 high quantum efficiency photo-multiplier tubes which employ unique electron-optics and advanced camera electronics. The camera also has an all-purpose integrated computer. Amongst the imaging performance records set by the APEX SP Series are the highest

single-detector scanning efficiency, the fastest count rate performance up to 500 k counts per second with full digital corrections. The Elscint Anger cameras have held the count rate record since 1974. The outstanding performance of the APEX SP series is made possible by a synthesis of technological innovations pioneered by Elscint, including the "beyond 32-bit computer architecture". Further information on the Elscint series of Gamma Cameras is available from your local Elscint distributor or Elscint Advanced Technology Center P.O. Box 550, Haifa 31004. Tel (4) 540540

Symposium Reviews Labelling Techniques for Blood Elements For those interested in techniques for radiolabelling cellular blood elements. Over the past 14 years experimental and clinical applications of indium-III-oxine have been the subject of numerous symposia held locally and internationally. In a recent conference in Vienna, Austria nearly 15 new agents were reported to have been applied to imaging a variety of haematological disorders. The use of technetium 99m hexamethyl propylene amine oxime dominated the symposium. This agent has been used both to label cells and, more recently, antibodies. A Pennsylvania-based small business firm, Xynaxis, presented an unscheduled overview of their technology which allows investigators to label lipid bilayers of cell membrane with stable or radioactive fluorescent markers that remain in association with the cells and permit identification of daughter cells as the label partition between them. It seems that, in the near furore, such tracers will play a role in monitoring cell distribution survival and even migration in previously known abnormal lesions under investigation. Membership of the ISORBE which sponsored the Vienna Symposium is open to any physician, basic scientist, or technologist working in the broad scope of the field of labelling of blood elements. Further details can be obtained from: Dr Matthew Thakur President ISORBE Nuclear Medicine 804 Main Building Thomas Jefferson University 1lth & Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19107

Sir Edward Pochin

New Cyclone 10/5 Cyclotron for KUL Ion Beam Applications of Belgium announce that the first of their new Cyclone 10/5 cyclotrons will be installed and commissioned soon at the Katholiek Universiteit Leuven (KUL). Located in Leuven near Brussels, KUL is one of the oldest and mostprestigious universities in Europe. The Cyclone 10/5 will be used in KUL's advanced pure and applied PET

research programs. Investigations to be carried out at KUL include: metabolism of the brain and the heart, pharmacology, oncology and, in general, problems related to the dynamic metabolism of specific molecules. Further information from: IBA, Chemin du Cyclotron, 2 B-1348 Louvain-La-Neuve BELGIUM Tel: (32) 10-47.58.58

The more senior members of the nuclear medicine community who knew him will be sad to hear of the death of Sir Edward Pochin who died at the age of 80. He was one of the original pioneers in the use of radiation, especially for therapeutic purposes in treating diseases of the thyroid. In recent years he had spent most of his time in the radiation protection sphere, being a member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). He was a modest, unassuming man, often present but not predominant at nuclear medicine conferences. He will be greatly missed.

896

Amsterdam EANM Congress 1990 Prof van der Schoot

Professor van der Schoot, the Congress President, greets Professor Irie President of the Japanese Nuclear Medicine Society at the official reception of the Amsterdam Congress. In the centre is Professor Richard Holmes, the immediate past President of the American Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Scheduling the lectures for a large conference is not easy- Professor Ernest Pauwels (Chairman of the Scientific Committee) and Professor Jan van der Schoot (Congress President) puzzle over the programme plan.

Bartec Have Moved Bartec Medical Systems who recently acquired the assets and product rights of Nodecrest Ltd. have moved to: Impression House, Invincible Road, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7NP, U.K. Telephone 0252.376737

Frans and Nelleke van Veeren at the technologist reception. Frans was the chairman ofthetechnologist programme organizing committee.

Stuart Hesselwood of Birmingham enjoying a welcome cup of coffee with Dave Thomas and Traub Richter at the Dupont stand.