Interview with: Dr. Raymond Russell, President of ASNC

Raymond Russell, III, MD, PhD, FASNC, FACC Associate Professor of Medicine Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Director, Nuclear Cardiology, Rhode Island Hospital President, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology

ePatient : You have been a member of the Nuclear Cardiology community for a long time and you are now the President of ASNC. For those who are not familiar with ASNC, can you describe succinctly its role in the field of nuclear medicine

RR: The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology was founded almost 25 years ago to promote education in nuclear cardiology, to provide nuclear cardiologists with the tools they need to produce high-quality studies that will improve the care of their patients, and to advocate for nuclear cardiologists in the governmental and regulatory arenas. Over the years, ASNC has grown to a membership of about 4500 members from 63 nations and it is our goal to provide the support each of those members need to advance the use of nuclear cardiology.

ePatient : What are the most dramatic changes that you have seen in the field of nuclear cardiology over the past 10 years?

RR: The past 10 years have seen dramatic advances in technology that have improved the diagnostic capabilities of nuclear cardiology. The first innovation is the development of solid-state nuclear medicine cameras that have significantly greater sensitivity and resolution than standard nuclear medicine cameras. This innovation allows us to use smaller doses of radiotracer to image patients and in shorter amounts of time. Taken together, these characteristics enhance patient safety and comfort.

Second, we have seen a greater emphasis on the use of positron emission tomography (PET) for cardiac studies. The greater sensitivity and specificity of PET compared to single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), improves the diagnostic accuracy of our cardiac studies. In addition, PET allows for the quantitative analysis of myocardial perfusion, so that it is possible to evaluate coronary microvascular function in addition to blockages in the major coronary arteries.

Third, we have seen an expansion of the use of nuclear cardiology outside of perfusion imaging, which is used to detect coronary artery disease. Specifically, PET-based metabolic imaging is being used to evaluate for inflammatory disorders in the heart, such as cardiac sarcoid or intracardiac device infection. In addition, we are seeing an increase in the use of nuclear cardiac imaging to diagnose cardiac amyloidosis. These nuclear based techniques increase the chances that a patient can avoid a heart biopsy, which is an invasive procedure.

ePatient : How do you see the field of nuclear cardiology evolving during the next decade?

During the next 10 years, I foresee nuclear cardiology playing an important role in personalized medicine. As we continue to see innovations in camera technology and molecularly-based radiotracers, nuclear cardiac imaging can provide important, patient-specific data to help establish diagnoses and guide therapy. The innovations will also improve the accessibility to nuclear cardiac imaging studies.

The next 10 years will also see continued and enhanced collaboration between ASNC and other societies, such as the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. These collaborations are essential in providing the education and guidelines necessary to ensure that physicians world-wide are providing state-of-the-art nuclear cardiac imaging for their patients.

ePatient : To your opinion, what role do you see the Pangea-ePatient magazine play for nuclear medicine?

Just as the dissemination of information to our physicians is important, providing information to our patients is essential. I see Pangea-ePatient as a valuable resource for patients to gain a greater understanding of their medical problems and the tests that can be used to help in the diagnosis and management of those disorders. Such information empowers an individual to navigate complex healthcare systems and make informed decisions in their health care.