Nuclear medicine and diagnostic imaging expert visits Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 28 (ACN) Doctor of Science Diana Paez Gutierrez, head of the Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Cuba from July 25 to August 1.

The Nuclear Communicators Network (RECNUC by its Spanish acronym) reported that Paez Gutierrez (Colombia) will offer her Cuban colleagues an overview of the current state of nuclear medicine in the world and the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.

She will also exchange on the national production plan of Positron Emission Tomography, known as PET, and the medical reports on PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography + Computed Axial Tomography) studies in Cuba.

The expert will hold meetings at the facilities of the Specialized Center for Diagnosis and Radiotherapy of the Center for Surgical Medical Research (CIMEQ), where a cyclotron is installed for the production of radiopharmaceuticals for PET diagnosis.

Positron Emission Tomography is a nuclear medicine technique that uses radiopharmaceuticals labeled with positron emitters that make it possible to obtain biochemical-metabolic images of the human body, RECNUC explained.

It added that PET/CT is a hybrid instrument that makes it possible to obtain simultaneous metabolic and anatomical images of the region of the organism under study.

The IAEA works with its Member States and partners to promote the safe and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

Its Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section aims to enhance its capabilities to address health needs through the use of nuclear medicine and diagnostic imaging.