News
Molecular Imaging News
January 6, 2005
Los Angeles Times, Reuters Press Hits Bring SNM News to Millions
SNM
SNM President-Elect Peter S. Conti, M.D., Ph.D., was used as a source for the Dec. 13 Los Angeles Times article, “A Need to Know: Is It Alzheimer’s?” Conti, who was identified as SNM’s president-elect in the article, explained that PET scanning could eventually be used to follow the progression of that disease and assess whether medications are working—and that an earlier diagnosis could help families plan for the future. Conti is director of the PET center and an associate professor at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times is one of the country’s top five most widely read newspapers, with a circulation of 1.3 million. Even more individuals read the article because it was circulated to other newspapers and related Web sites (Orlando Sentinel, NorthJersey.com) through the Los Angeles Times–Washington Post News Service.
An SNM press release, “Study Shows PET/CT Imaging Can Help Diagnose and Define Occult Recurrent Cancer,” generated news stories that were distributed by Reuters, the largest international multimedia news agency (327,000 subscribers), and Yahoo! News (237 million visitors in 25 countries). Lead author and SNM member Ora Israel, M.D., and a team of Israeli physicians asked the question, “Is FDG-PET/CT Useful for Imaging and Management of Patients With Suspected Occult Recurrence of Cancer?” in the December Journal of Nuclear Medicine. ScienceDaily Web site (45,000 daily visits) carried the release as well.
SNM’s reaction to news of the approval of coverage for PET for Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia under specified circumstances was published in the Nashville Business Journal (7,000) and subsequently on MSNBC’s Web site (21.5 million).
The December “From the SNM President” column in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine was published on the RedNova Web site (more than 150,000 daily visitors). SNM President Mathew L. Thakur, Ph.D., discussed “SNM to Establish Center of Molecular Imaging as New Field Emerges, Grows Rapidly.” Thakur is the director of radiopharmaceutical research and nuclear medicine research at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa. He is also a professor of radiology and radiation oncology and nuclear medicine there and a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center.
In late November and early December, USA Today (the nation’s largest daily newspaper; 2.1 million readers); MSNBC.com; Reuters; Newsday (578,809); and MDLinx, about.com and MedlinePlus Web sites all carried information about SNM and patients who travel after having nuclear medicine procedures.
Other recent press hits include “Nuclear Imaging Detects Early Coronary Disease” in the FDA News and “Nuclear Medicine Facility Survey: SNM 2003 Survey Reporting on 2002 Cost and Utilization” on the RedNova Web site.
