Nuclear Medicine

In 2006, the Department of Nuclear Medicine was reorganized into a comprehensive clinical department integrating nuclear medicine imaging, radionuclide therapy, an in vitro analysis laboratory, and a nuclear medicine preclinical laboratory (formerly the Isotope Room, established in 1980). In 2013, it was approved as the 《Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging》; in 2014, it was approved as the 《Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Engineering Technology Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging》 and the 《Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Industrial Innovation Team》; in 2015, it was approved as the 《Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Science and Technology Innovation Team》; in 2016, it was recognized as the 《Leading Medical and Health Discipline of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region》; and in 2021, it was approved as the 《Innovation Studio of the Inner Mongolia Federation of Trade Unions》. The department currently has 39 staff members, including 1 discipline leader, 10 academic backbones, 4 senior-ranking professionals, 11 associate-senior-ranking professionals, 1 doctoral supervisor, 9 master’s supervisors, 7 doctoral degree holders, and 8 master’s degree holders. It has 1 expert receiving the State Council Special Allowance, 4 “Prairie Talents” of the autonomous region, 5 first- and second-level talents under the New Century 321 Talent Project, and 2 first- and second-level young innovative talents under the “Prairie Talents” Project Young Innovative Talent Development Program. Five staff members are visiting scholars at prestigious institutions, including the Finnish National PET Centre, the University of Louisville in the United States, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the United States, and California State University, Long Beach. The department currently occupies approximately 5000 square meters and is equipped with 1 PET/MRI scanner, 2 PET/CT scanners, 2 SPECT/CT scanners, 1 SPECT scanner, 1 bone densitometer, 1 small γ-camera, 1 small-animal PET/CT scanner, 1 small-animal SPECT scanner, 1 small-animal fluorescence imaging system, 1 radioautography instrument, 2 cyclotrons, 10 standardized hot cells for synthesis and dispensing, and 8 automated synthesis modules, among other equipment. More than 15000 PET/CT and SPECT/CT examinations, more than 220000 in vitro tests such as radioimmunoassays, and more than 800 radionuclide therapy treatments are completed annually. More than 20 radiopharmaceuticals are independently produced and synthesized using cyclotrons, and more than 20 radiopharmaceuticals are independently eluted and labeled. The department is also continuously innovating and developing new imaging agents; in particular, the development of cardiac receptor imaging agents has filled a gap in domestic research in this area. In recent years, the department has undertaken more than 100 research projects, including 16 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects (including 1 joint-fund project), 1 major instrument invention project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 1 major science and technology special project of the autonomous region, and more than 10 major and key projects funded by the Natural Science Foundation of the autonomous region. It has received 1 Third Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award and more than 40 science and technology awards, including the First Prize of the Natural Science Award of the autonomous region, and has obtained more than 30 invention patents.