TECHNOLOGIST News

The 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine was held June 18–22 in Toronto, Canada. At the meeting several outstanding members of the Technologist Section were honored for their scientific and leadership contributions to the section.

JNMT AWARDS

The authors of 3 scientific papers published in JNMT during 2004 were honored for outstanding contributions to the scientific literature of nuclear medicine technology.

JNMT Editor Beth Harkness, CNMT, presented the awards and certificates at the SNMTS business meeting held in conjunction with the SNM Annual Meeting. The first-place award carried a $500 prize.

First Place

Janelle M. Wheat, NMedRadSc, and Geoffrey M. Currie, NMedRadSc, CNMT, School of Clinical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, for “Impact of Patient Motion on Myocardial Perfusion SPECT Diagnostic Integrity: Part 2,” J Nucl Med Technol. 2004;32:158–163.

Second Place

Stacey A. Ross, CNMT, RT(N), Molecular NeuroImaging LLC, New Haven, CT, and John P. Seibyl, MD, Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, New Haven, CT, for “Research Applications of Selected ¹²³I-Labeled Neuroreceptor SPECT Imaging Ligands,” J Nuc Med Technol. 2004;32:209–214.

Third Place

A. Robert Schleipman, RT, CNMT, Department of Health Physics and Radiopharmacology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Victor H. Gerbaudo, PhD, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Frank P. Castronovo, Jr., PhD, Departments of Health Physics and Radiopharmacology and Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, for “Radiation Disaster Response: Preparation and Simulation Experience at an Academic Medical Center,” J Nucl Med Technol. 2004;32:22–27.

Outstanding Educator Award

Jan Winn, MEd, CNMT, RT(N), of Edmond, OK, was named recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award by SNMTS at the Technologist Section’s June 21 business meeting during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the SNM in Toronto. Winn has been an associate professor in the department of radiologic technology in the College of Allied Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (Oklahoma City) since 2000. She is also the departmental vice chair, nuclear medicine program director, and Web program director.

SNMTS Presidential Distinguished Service Award

Eileen O. Smith, MBA, CNMT, was presented with the SNMTS Presidential Distinguished Service Award by 2004–2005 SNMTS President Nanci A. Burchell, CNMT, FSNMTS. Smith is currently the director of special project development at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders and Molecular NeuroImaging, LLC. She retired from Yale University School of Medicine in 2001, where she served as the administrative and technical director of the NeuroSPECT research facility. She has volunteered for the last 15 years at the national level of SNMTS, having served most recently as the scientific and program co-chair for 2 consecutive years. She has worked with executive committees in addressing the needs of SNMTS members and has held both elected (Finance Committee, delegate to the House of Delegates) and appointed (Membership Task Force chair and multiple committee memberships) positions.

SNMTS Fellowship Awards

SNMTS President-Elect D. Scott Holbrook, CNMT, PET, and Danny Basso, CNMT, NCT, were named Fellows of the SNMTS at SNM’s 52nd Annual Meeting. This honor, established by the National Council in 1995, recognizes professional excellence and acknowledges significant contributions by technologists to the practice of nuclear medicine.

Technologist section Awards

Technologist Section awards for scientific papers, posters, student presentations, cardiology, and brain imaging were also presented at the Annual Meeting. The abstracts for each presentation listed here can be accessed through SNM’s Web site via the Online Meeting Planner (www.snm.org/meetingplanner), which provides postmeeting access to Annual Meeting abstracts and other materials through September 23, 2005.

Scientific Abstracts

First Place ($500 and Plaque)

Nancy M. Swanston, Deborah M. Acoy, Osama Mawlawi, Homer A. Macapinlac, and Donald A. Podoloff for “Assessing the Radiation Exposure to Personnel Positioning PET/CT Patients,” abstract 1730.

Second Place ($300 and Plaque)

Nancy M. Swanston, Osama Mawlawi, Tinsu Pan, Richelle Campbell, Homer A. Macapinlac, Reginald F. Munden, Mylene Truong, and Donald A. Podoloff for “Evaluating the Effect of Varying CT Acquisition Parameters on PET/CT Studies,” abstract 1718.

Third Place ($200 and Plaque)

Peter F. Cutrera, Michael Zimmer, Mark Mistretta, and Stewart M. Spies for “Clinical Techniques to Assess Degree of Pulmonary and Extra Hepatic Shunting to GI Tract Before ⁹⁰Y-Glass Microsphere Treatment for Colorectal Liver Metastases,” abstract 1722.

Scientific Posters

First Place ($200 and Plaque)

Martin A. Schmitt, Scott T. Stringer, Peggy L. Denning, Renee J. Burney, Jan L. Brule, and David J. Perry for “A New Approach for Training New PET Technologists in Radiation Safety,” abstract 1781.

Second Place ($150 and Plaque)

Katsuyuki Tanimoto, Yusuke Ito, Toshiaki Tani, Fuminori Morita, Yoshitaka Uchida, and Keisuke Nakagawa for “Correction of SUV Values Using the Brain and Blood Glucose,” abstract 1772.

Third Place ($100 and Plaque)

Ryan S. Jackson, Crystal Botkin, Stephanie Anastas, Penny Yost, and Medhat M. Osman for “Prevalence and Patterns of Physiologic Muscle Uptake Detected With True Whole Body ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT,” abstract 1773.

Student Abstracts

First Place ($100 and Plaque)

Nicholas R. Nelson, Michael Zimmer, Peter F. Cutrera, Nancy A. McDonald, Cynae G. DeRose, and Stewart M. Spies for “Dose Calibrator Assay of ¹²³I Using a Commercially Available Copper Filter,” abstract 1803.

Second Place ($50 and Plaque)

Lori M. Friant, Nancy A. McDonald, Peter F. Cutrera, Michael Zimmer, and Stewart M. Spies for “Stability of High Specific Activity ⁹⁰Y Zevalin®,” abstract 1802.

Third Place (Plaque)

Hiral D. Patel, Michael Zimmer, Peter F. Cutrera, Nancy A. McDonald, and Stewart M. Spies for “Efficient Radiolabeling of Multiple ^99mTc Sestamibi Preparations,” abstract 1806.

Cardiovascular Council Technologist Awards

First Place ($300)

Royce L. Rutler and Michael K. O’Connor for “Effect of Table Support on the Accuracy of the Alignment Between the SPECT and CT Images in Myocardial Perfusion Studies on a GE Hawkeye System,” abstract 1703.

Second Place ($200)

Kirshnan Prabakaran, Narendra Singh, Lary V. Crisco, Fazel Baig, and Terri McCallister for “Effect of Image Quality and Symptoms Tolerance on Low-level Exercise with Adenosine Infusion,” abstract 1702.

Third Place

Michael P. White, Denise M. Emerson, Robert M. Smith, and Thomas I. Knox for “The Addition of Low-level Treadmill Exercise Reduces the Time Between Injection and Imaging for Patients Undergoing Adenosine Rest/Stress SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging with Tc-99m Sestamibi,” abstract 1701.

Brain Imaging Council Technologist Awards

First Place ($300)

Michele L. Early, I. George Zubal, Kenneth L. Marek, and John P. Seibyl for “Automated, Objective Striatal Analysis of Dopamine Transporter Images Compared with a Standardized ROI Analysis in Parkinson Disease Patients,” abstract 1707.

Robert Schleipman and Stacy Ross display their JNMT awards.

Nancy Swanston, Nancy McDonald, Hiroyoshi Fukukita, and Penny Yost with awards for best scientific abstracts and posters. McDonald, program director of the School of Nuclear Medicine Technology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, accepted for Peter Cutrera, and Fukukita, president of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine Technology, accepted for Katsuyuki Tanimoto.