Frontiers in nuclear medicine and technology. Editorial

Abstract

This special issue of Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics contains the full length papers of invited oral communications presented at the symposium entitled: “Frontiers in Nuclear Medicine Technology” held at the Studie Centrum voor Kernenergie — Centre d'Etude de l'Energie Nucléaire (SCK — CEN), Mol, Belgium from Thursday 6 to Friday 7 May 1999. Invited lectures on specific topics were presented with an emphasis on general principles. The issue was completed by inviting a selection of proferred papers. The symposium aimed at presenting new developments in nuclear medicine with regard to hardware, connectivity, software and methodology. The papers of this issue reflect various aspects of the rapidly changing focus of nuclear medicine towards a quantitative three-dimensional imaging modality. The organisation of this symposium in Belgium was not merely a consequence of the geographic affiliation of the organisers but also reflects the density of nuclear medicine facilities in Belgium, being the highest in Europe. The interest in the conference topic was illustrated by the attendance of more than 150 participants. The symposium hosted an industrial exhibition with contributions from 12 industrial companies. The symposium was organized under the auspices of the Belgian Ministry of Public Health (“Ministerie van Volksgezondheid en Leefmilieu — Ministère de la Santé Publique et de l'Environnement”), the Belgian Society of Nuclear Medicine (“Belgisch Genootschap voor Nucleaire Geneeskunde — Société Belge de Médecine Nucléaire” (BGNG — SBMN)), the Dutch Society of Nuclear Medicine (“Nederlandse Vereniging voor Nucleaire Geneeskunde” (NVNG)), the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Association of Radiopharmaceutical Producers and Medical Equipment Suppliers (ARPES) and the European Society of Engineers in Medicine (ESEM). The organizers gratefully acknowledge the support of all institutional and industrial sponsors. We are furthermore indebted to the reviewers of the papers, who all did an excellent job by completing their task at short notice. Finally, we thank the editors of Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics for the opportunity to present the Proceedings of the symposium in this form. Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved