Luz Saúde : Hospital da Luz at the Molecular Imaging World Summit 2019

Hospital da Luz at the Molecular Imaging World Summit 2019

Rosário Vieira, coordinator of the Nuclear Medicine Department of Hospital da Luz Lisboa took part in the Molecular Imaging World Summit, held in Lausanne (Switzerland), on May 17 and 18. Nearly 200 professionals from all over the world attended the meeting to discuss the latest advances in nuclear medicine and their impact on healthcare provision.

«There was an opportunity to evaluate the scientific progress that results from the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in obtaining medical images», explains Rosário Vieira. Among other topics, this summit, promoted by Siemens Healthineers, also focused on the need to harmonize the certification of nuclear medicine equipment: «The certification of the equipment by the same entity or suchlike allows, with greater rigor, the follow-up of cancer patients and the assessment of results at global level».

Integrated in the Oncology Center of Hospital da Luz Lisboa, the Nuclear Medicine Department is certified by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), fulfilling the requirements it establishes for the obtaining of molecular images through equipment of emission computed tomography and associated reports. «Only in this way it's possible for Hospital da Luz to be a reference for follow-up clinical studies for different pathologies and for the evaluation of the results of new treatments, such as biological ones and immunotherapy», explains Rosário Vieira.

During this summit in Lausanne, the concept of 'theranostics' was also discussed, in which the same molecules are used both for diagnostic and corresponding treatment, although marked with different radionuclides. In May 2018, at the initiative of the Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital da Luz hosted a symposium on 'Theranostics in neuroendocrine tumors and prostate tumors', which brought together scientists and physicians, both European and Portuguese, who work in this medical area of knowledge.