Nuclear Medicine

General Information

PO Box 208042 New Haven, CT 06520-8042 Admin Assistant, Lori Raccio

Phone: Fax:

203-785-5102 203-737-1241

The Yale-New Haven Hospital Nuclear Medicine Clinical Service, located in the new Smilow Cancer Hospital, provides many essential nuclear medicine studies for evaluation of infections, bone metastases, fractures, acute and chronic cholecystitis, scans for hyperparathyroid adenoma, congenital hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, cold nodules, extent of thyroid carcinoma involvement, and neuroendocrine tumor detection.

New additions include DaTscan (Ioflupane) scan for evaluation and differentiation of essential tremor from tremor due to PS (idiopathic Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy), Amyvid scans for suspected Alzheimer patients, Ra-223 therapy for bone pain palliation introduced in July 2013 as the first center to give this treatment in the state of Connecticut. We also provide studies for evaluation of differential renal function, renovascular disease, and UPJ obstruction, portal hypertension, gastrointestinal bleed localization, lung scan for differential lung function and pulmonary embolism, as well as tumor staging. and seizure focus localization using PET/CT scan. In terms of therapeutic treatments, we provide radioimmunotherapies, bone pain palliation, as well as radioiodine treatments for thyroid carcinoma patients.

There are 3 major services that place YNHH apart from most other hospitals in Connecticut. We have 2 PET/CT scanners with LySO crystal, one of which is equipped with state-of-the-art 64-slice CT, time of flight and respiratory gating. We have the highest volume of PET/CT studies and radioiodine treatments in the state. We get referrals from all over the state of CT, as well as from MA, NY and NJ. With a close working relationship with Dr. Udelsman, the chairman of Yale Department of Surgery, we have one of the highest sensitivity in parathyroid imaging in the country. We intend to keep improving the quality of our services to help our colleagues with theirs. Since 2008, we have established a Nuclear Medicine Consultation Clinic where we dedicate time to assess and to discuss radiation safety precautions with each patient.

The research mission of the Nuclear Medicine Division is realized through the formation of the Yale University Positron Emission Tomography Center (PET Center). The PET Center is being used to advance the interests of Yale clinicians, scientists and students in molecular imaging. The only focus of the PET Center is to conduct scientific research in human subjects and experimental animals. A new Siemens whole body PET/CT scanner with 128 slices CT has been added to the PET center for oncology and other research projects. There is a high-resolution brain PET scanner (Siemens HRRT), a whole body PET scanner, and a micro PET scanner in operation.

It is anticipated that the PET Center will develop interdepartmental scientific collaborations within the School of Medicine but also creates ties to basic science departments in the wider Yale University community in order to advance basic scientific research and participate in the education of doctoral and postdoctoral trainees.

Research Direction

• Molecular imaging and therapy
• PET and MR imaging
• Improving PET/CT imaging acquisition and quantification
• Validation of new clinical radiotracer
• Radiation exposure assessment
• Internal dosimetry
• Radioiodine treatment for thyroid disease
• Molecular imaging in neuroscience and neurotoxicology
• Small animal imaging, receptor binding assay and autoradiography
• Imaging Biomarkers
• Radioproteomics and Radiogenomics
• Clinical applications of positron imaging and single photon imaging in oncology and non-oncology areas
  
• Radio-targeted therapy