Advances in Nuclear Medicine Mean Patient Protection Needs Strengthening

Radiation protection measures for patients will need rapid updating to keep pace with exciting new developments in nuclear medicine, according to experts at a recent IAEA meeting on the topic.

The latest data estimates that 40 million diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures are performed each year. Meanwhile, the rapid development of new radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and treatment is increasing the number and variety of such procedures.

At IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, experts from around the world met to evaluate the global trends, advances and challenges in protecting patients in modern nuclear medicine, and assess the effectiveness of current protection measures.

They highlighted that new nuclear medicine procedures are already showing "excellent" results in clinical studies and will likely become more widespread in the near future.

However, due to the dynamic nature of these developments, guidelines are often lacking.

"Together, we identified common challenges in the radiation protection of patients in modern nuclear medicine and provided recommendations for filling gaps in guidance and harmonizing radiation protection practices," said IAEA Radiation Protection Specialist Chadia Rizk.