Nuclear medicine is a rapidly developing field which focuses on the imaging of physiological processes and the evaluation of treatment of specific diseases. It involves the use of radiopharmaceuticals for both purposes. Different radiopharmaceuticals have different kinetics and can therefore be used to image processes in the body, the function of an organ or the presence of a specific cellular target. In sports medicine, bone scintigraphy and leukocyte scintigraphy play important roles. Radiopharmaceuticals in bone scintigraphy are diphosphonate complexes which are absorbed onto the hydroxyapatite crystal of newly...

This thesis provides farsighted insights in the presence of cardiac sympathetic denervation in different patient groups, the outcome of patients with denervation and the value of SPECT and PET in predicting outcome. Cardiac amyloidosis is associated with denervation and therefore belonging to one of these indications. Imaging of cardiac sympathetic innervation is of interest in these patients, since amyloid depositions can be present along the sympathetic nerves, and thus leading to electromechanical dissociation. Chapter 2 and 3 investigate the use of [123I]-MIBG for the visualization of denervation in...

Cardiac dysfunction leads to decreased organ perfusion. We aimed to measure cardiac and renal perfusion simultaneously with the use of N-13-NH3-microPET in different rat models. Ten male Wistar rats underwent sham surgery (n = 5) or permanent coronary artery ligation to induce myocardial infarction (MI, n = 5). Eleven weeks later N-13-NH3-microPET scan was performed to study the cardiac and renal perfusion. Cardiac perfusion was significantly reduced in MI group, directly correlated with ejection fraction and inversely correlated with MI size (r = 0.89; p <0.001 and r...

Purpose: This study evaluates the prevalence of cardiac metastases in patients with serotonin producing neuroendocrine tumours (NET), examined with F-18-FDOPA PET/CT, and the relationship of these metastases to the presence of carcinoid heart disease (CHD) based on echocardiography. Background: CHD occurs in patients with serotonin producing NET. The diagnostic method of choice remains echocardiography. The precise prevalence of cardiac metastases is unknown given the limitations of standard technologies. Nuclear medicine modalities have the potential to visualize metastases of NET. Methods: All patients who underwent F-18-FDOPA PET/CT because of...