UW Radiology and United Imaging host successful Symposium

The inaugural Global PET/MR Symposium: Focus on Oncology was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the University of Washington (UW) Medicine South Lake Union Campus. The Symposium was sponsored by United Imaging and UW Radiology and included guest speakers and panel discussions. Seventy radiological professionals attended, with the majority joining from the Seattle area, and several traveling from across the country and abroad.

A committee led by Professor Delphine L. Chen, M.D., Professor and Chair Dushyant Sahani, M.D., F.A.C.R., F.S.A.B.I. and Professor Paul Kinahan, PhD, FIEEE, FAAPM, organized the event with Morgan Wang, Ph.D., Bram Stolk, Ph.D., Abram Voorhees, Ph.D., Lingzhi Lance Hu, Ph.D., and Adam Chandler, Ph.D., all from United Imaging. Rounding out the UW’s organizational committee were Catherine Wieland and Robin Brooks.

Shelly Sakiyama Elbert, professor of bioengineering and Vice Dean of Research and Graduate Education at the UW School of Medicine, Dr. Sahani, and Dr. Abe Voorhees from United Imaging kicked off the Symposium with overviews about what Radiology, the UW School of Medicine, and United Imaging are doing to support advancements in molecular imaging research.

“The symposium participants were invigorated by their shared passion for pushing the boundaries of advanced medical imaging to support precision medical advances,” said Dr. Sahani about the event.

“I was excited to see the level of engagement from our speakers with our students, post-doctoral fellows, clinicians, and radiologists who attended,” said Dr. Chen.

“United Imaging was proud to sponsor this inaugural PET/MR symposium at University of Washington. The field of PET/MR continues to expand into realms of oncological therapeutics and the speakers at this symposium exemplified this trend. Even more importantly, the collaborative discussions between faculty, students, and industry continue to impress upon me how important these initiatives are to making healthcare accessible to all patients,” contributed Stolk.

“PET/MR is a strategic product for United Imaging. We have been actively developing new features to further expand its clinical applications. The symposium fosters significant synergy between clinical needs and technology innovations,” added Hu.

Speakers for the program included:

1. Professor Dr. Wolfgang Weber, Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine for the University Hospital of Technical University of Munich, who presented on Vision for molecular imaging and growth of nuclear medicine

2. Dr. Nadine Mallak, Clinical Director of PET/MRI program, Oregon Health Sciences University, who spoke on Value and opportunities for growth in PET/MR and molecular/multimodality imaging.

3. Dr. Shetal Shah, Director of PET Imaging, Cleveland Clinic, who presented on The 8-ates: A roadmap for creating a clinical PET/MR service line

4. Dr. Simon Cherry, Co-Director of the EXPLORER Molecular Imaging Center, University of California, Davis, who spoke on Positron Emission Tomography: Evolution and Revolution

5. Dr. Harshad Kulkarni, Chief Medical Advisor at BAMF Health, who presented on Set-up of a State-of-the-Art Theranostics Center: Initial Clinical Experience Living the Vision

6. Dr. Delphine Chen, Director of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who spoke on Institutional experience with PET/MR

7. Dr. David Lewis, Section Chief of Nuclear Medicine, University of Washington, spoke on Molecular imaging and potential PET/MR applications for neurologic disease

8. Dr. Lingzhi Lance Hu, Vice President, United Imaging, presented on United Imaging Research and Development

Abstracts were presented by Dr. Joseph Wisehart, Dr. Ridvan Arda Demirci, Dr. Asim Afaq, and Dr. Paul Kinahan.

The Symposium, “reminded me why I love imaging research so much, both for the new ideas shared and the time for 1-1 and small group discussions,” said Dr. Kinahan. “The discussion was lively and thoughtful. … There were insightful questions and answers on the benefits and challenges of academic-industrial partnerships and translation of discovery to practice.”

Said Dr. Chen: “Many were impressed with the depth and relevance of the information on both clinical and operational aspects and discussions on various perspectives. I was encouraged to hear how many already were looking forward to our next symposium!”