Technologist News

SNMMI TECHNOLOGIST SECTION PRESENTS AWARDS, ELECTS NEW OFFICERS AT 2014 ANNUAL MEETING

More than 5,300 physicians, technologists, physicists, scientists, and exhibitors gathered at the SNMMI 2014 annual meeting, held June 7–11, in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to the more than 100 continuing education sessions, nearly 2,000 scientific papers and posters were presented at the meeting and more than 150 companies were represented on the exhibit hall floor. During the meeting, SNMMI-TS inducted new officers, who will serve through June 2015. Several technologists were also recognized for their outstanding contributions to nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and the society.

OUTSTANDING JNMT ARTICLES FOR 2013

The editor of JNMT, Norman E. Bolus, MSPH, MPH, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, and members of the journal’s board of editors announced in May the winners of annual awards for outstanding articles. The awards were presented on June 10 during the SNMMI-TS business meeting during the annual meeting.

• Elin Wallstén, Jan Axelsson, Torbjörn Sundström, Katrine Riklund, and Anne Larsson, “Subcentimeter tumor lesion delineation for high-resolution ¹⁸F-FDG PET images: optimizing correction for partial-volume effects.” J Nucl Med Technol. 2013;41:85–91.

Elin Wallstén

• Akira Suzuki, Kichiro Koshida, and Kosuke Matsubara, “Adjustment of overestimated CT-based attenuation correction on bone SPECT/CT after hip-resurfacing arthroplasty.” J Nucl Med Technol. 2013;41:203–207.

Akira Suzuki and Norman Bolus

• James Z. Long, Mark S. Jacobson, and Joseph C. Hung, “Comparison of FASTlab ¹⁸F-FDG production using phosphate and citrate buffer cassette.” J Nucl Med Technol. 2013;41:32–34.

James Long

In addition, the following paper was selected for the JNMT Editors’ Choice Award for Best Continuing Education Paper in 2013.

• Anthony W. Murray, Mark C. Barnfield, Michael L. Waller, Tania Telford, and A. Michael Peters, “Assessment of glomerular filtration rate measurement with plasma sampling: a technical review.” J Nucl Med Technol. 2013;41:67–75.

Anthony Murray

2014–2015 SNMMI-TS OFFICERS

SNMMI-TS introduced a new slate of officers during the annual meeting. April Mann, MBA, CNMT, NCT, RT(N), FSNMMI-TS, manager of noninvasive cardiology at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, was elected as the 2014–2015 president. “Under the leadership of Scott Holbrook, BS, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, the section has worked through several important initiatives that have helped to grow and change the field,” said Mann. “Over the next year, I plan to continue several of the initiatives started in the previous year, while adding a few additional areas of focus that, I hope, will strengthen the section and field.” Mann stated that the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging continues to face external pressures, including continued scrutiny due to patient radiation exposure, continued perceptions of overutilization of testing, decreases in reimbursement, and the nation’s economy contributing to loss of technologist jobs. During her term, she will focus on providing training and education on the various credentialing pathways for technologists and will address quality and safety issues in regard to nuclear medicine technology.

April Mann

Aaron Scott

Also during the meeting, SNMMI-TS announced the election of Aaron Scott, MIS, CNMT, NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, a nuclear medicine advanced associate at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia, as the 2015–2016 president. “SNMMI-TS is a valuable society for members in many ways, a point I plan to highlight throughout my term as president-elect,” said Scott. “First, I’d like to make the organization appealing to prospective members, encouraging them not only to join but also to become active members and have their voices heard. Another goal of mine is to make the SNMMI-TS career center the primary search engine for jobs in the field.” In light of the recent radiopharmaceutical shortages, Scott also plans to ensure that the nuclear medicine public is made aware in a timely manner of shortages affecting the field. “In the event of a shortage,” he said, “SNMMI will post alternative radiopharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals that will ensure accurate results.”

SNMMI-TS OUTSTANDING TECHNOLOGIST AWARD

Kathy M. Krisak, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, nuclear medicine technologist and chair of the radiation safety committee at the Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke, Massachusetts, was awarded the 2014 SNMMI-TS Outstanding Technologist Award. Krisak has been a member of the New England Chapter and its executive committee for over 2 decades, serving in various leadership capacities, and is an SNMMI-TS fellow.

Scott Holbrook and Kathy Krisak

SNMMI-TS OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARD

Leo A. Nalivaika, CNMT, RT(N), MBA, FSNMMI-TS, was awarded the SNMMI-TS Outstanding Educator Award. An SNMMI-TS fellow, Nalivaika is a nuclear medicine technologist/clinical instructor at UMass Memorial Healthcare. At the national level, he has participated as the New England Chapter’s representative on NCOR and he currently holds the position of speaker. Nalivaika has also served on the executive committee of the New England Chapter, along with being a member of various committees and councils, and has been a member of SNMMI-TS for more than 30 years.

Leo Nalivaika

PRESIDENTIAL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

The 2014 SNMMI-TS Presidential Distinguished Service Award was presented to David Gilmore, MS, CNMT, RT(N), FSNMMI-TS, Lynne T. Roy, MBA, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, and Jessica Williams, CNMT, RT(N), at the annual meeting.

David Gilmore

Gilmore has been a member of SNMMI-TS for more than 20 years and has served in numerous leadership roles, including president. He successfully led SNMMI-TS in the development of its graduate statement and in developing new grants for graduate-level education. Gilmore is also a SNMMI-TS fellow.

Roy is currently the director of imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She has been a guest lecturer at many national and international meetings and is the author of many articles. She is a past president of the SNMMI-TS and currently serves as the chair of the SNMMI-TS advocacy committee. She is an active member of AHRA (the Association for Medical Imaging Management) and presently serves as chair of the university health consortium imaging council.

In the past decade Williams, member-at-large on the SNMMI-TS executive board, has helped revitalize the professional development and education fund as well as develop new fundraising initiatives. Williams is a nuclear medicine technologist at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania and a member of the New England Chapter.

Jessica Williams

SNMMI-TS PRESIDENT’S PLAQUE

D. Scott Holbrook, BS, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, was awarded the SNMMI-TS president’s plaque and gavel for his service as 2013–2014 president for the section. Holbrook is a pharmaceutical research and regulatory affairs consultant at Invivo Molecular Imaging LLC in Gray, Tennessee. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in nuclear medicine technology from Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, and attended East Tennessee State University, Quillen College of Medicine, in Johnson City, Tennessee. Holbrook received fellow status in the SNMMI-TS in 2005 and was the recipient of the Mallinckrodt Medical Award of Excellence in 1997.

Since 1998, Holbrook has been involved with SNMMI-TS on many levels, most recently as SNMMI-TS president-elect, cochair of the SNMMI Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation (CMIIT) research task force and member of the CMIIT editorial board, SNMMI-TS representative to the Education and Research Foundation, chair of the SNMMI-TS professional and education research fund, and member on the SNMMI-TS strategic planning task force. He has published more than 12 journal articles, contributed to 1 book chapter, and shared his knowledge in more than 60 invited-speaker presentations.

Scott Holbrook and April Mann

SNMMI-TS ABSTRACT AWARD WINNERS 2014

Technologist Oral Presentation Awards

First Place

Michael Everding, “Impact of continuous bed motion (CBM) PET/CT scanners on clinical operation.”

Second Place

Lance Burrell, “A comparison of three PET phantoms for evaluating spatial resolution.”

Third Place

Patrick Wojtylak, “Initial experiences in PET/MRI for imaging dementia.”

Technologist Oral Cardiovascular Presentation Awards

First Place

Geoffrey Currie, “Ambient temperature and cardiac accumulation of FDG.”

Second Place

Gregory Passmore, “Measurement of the interactions of low energy gamma rays with dense metals for applications in nuclear cardiology collimators.”

Third Place

Russell Folks, “Validation of oblique image real-time reorientation from short axis (SA) slices during myocardial perfusion SPECT interpretation.”

Technologist Oral Nuclear Oncology Presentation Award

First Place

Sam Belakhlef, “Occurrence frequency of unsuspected pneumothoraces in cancer patients undergoing PET/CT and ¹⁸F-FDG imaging.”

Technologist Oral PET Presentation Award

First Place

Michael Everding, “Impact of continuous bed motion (CBM) PET/CT scanners on clinical operation.”

Technologist Poster Presentation Awards

First Place

Hamzah Ahmed, “Pilot study: adsorption of radiopharmaceuticals onto unit dose syringes.”

Second Place

Michael Czachowski, “Analysis of optimal delayed scanning times with florbetapir F-18 (Amyvid) in patients with cognitive impairment.”

Third Place

Yoya Tomita, “Effects of misalignment between CT attenuation and emission PET images in ¹³N-ammonia myocardial PET/CT.”

Student Oral Technologist Presentation Awards

First Place

Ann Havrilla, “Value of Tc-99m-bicisate (ECD) balloon test occlusion in preoperative assessment of stroke risk prior to internal carotid artery sacrifice.”

Second Place

Timothy Naegle, “Optimizing clinical DaTscan imaging.”

Third Place

Clinical Venzke, “Utilization of the Pixon method with whole body bone imaging.”

Student Nuclear Oncology Presentation Award

First Place

Allison Woodwick, “Do intradermal lymphoscintigraphy injections with Tc99m-tilamanocept produce less perceived pain than filtered Tc99m-sulfur colloid injections?”