African Radiopharmacists Put New Skills to Use

Radiopharmaceuticals are a key component of nuclear medicine, and are crucial to fighting cancer and several other medical conditions. Their use, however, requires extensive personnel training on patient safety and equipment handling.

An IAEA-sponsored training course took place from January to March 2017 at Goce Delcev University in Stip and the University Institute for Positron Emission Tomography in Skopje of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In addition to the experienced staff at Goce Delcev University and IAEA experts, the instructors and lecturers included radiopharmacy professors and practitioners from universities and laboratories across Europe.

The training course covered both the theoretical and practical aspects of radiopharmacy, with lectures on basic science and demonstrations of the most commonly used diagnostic nuclear imaging techniques, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). During the course, radiopharmacists from across Africa have acquired new skills and knowledge in this area and have since shared what they learned with their co-workers back home.

Read more at: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/african-radiopharmacists-put-new-skills-to-use

Source: IAEA