Chuen-Yen Lau ^1* Mostafa Yuness Abdelfatah Mostafa ²

• ¹ National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, United States
• ² Minia University, Minya, Minya, Egypt

Nuclear medicine enables non-invasive functional assessment through imaging of radiopharmaceutical (radioactive ligand) activity to support diagnosis, management and monitoring of diverse conditions [1][2][3]. Results provide quantitative measures of activity along with varying degrees of anatomic localization.Incorporation of nuclear medicine techniques into clinical research and care has been rewarding, but comes with challenges [4,5]. Nuclear medicine strategies are comparatively expensive and require dedicated infrastructure and human resources that are unavailable in some settings. For example, healthcare facilities may not have access to necessary radiopharmaceuticals, expertise to perform positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanning [6], or facilities to house and maintain specialized equipment.Radiation exposure of patients and staff poses additional logistical barriers that must be addressed to ensure safety. Despite this confluence of challenges, ever-evolving nuclear medicine techniques continue to contribute to scientific discoveries and improved patient outcomes. Combining nuclear medicine approaches with other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has greatly improved its diagnostic power. With improving technology and ongoing discoveries, the contributions of nuclear medicine will continue to expand. Incorporation of nuclear medicine techniques in diverse settings will depend upon demonstrated value and increased access, including better affordability, convenience and precision.This series of reviews in nuclear medicine https://www.frontiersin.org/researchtopics/58013/reviews-in-nuclear-medicine-2023 highlights ongoing innovation in the field and demonstrates how integration of nuclear medicine techniques can improve patient care for stroke, depression and prostate cancer. The included articles show ways in which radiopharmaceuticals can be used for diagnostic, therapeutic and combined theranostic applications. The first article addresses the need for therapeutic options in the setting of metastatic This collection of reviews in nuclear medicine offers excellent examples of ways in which nuclear medicine can contribute to improved health outcomes. A common thread is that findings vary, and challenges remain. These challenges revolve around optimizing performance of nuclear medicine techniques, identifying populations that will benefit from these approaches, and translating results into standardized methods that will improve health outcomes. Addressing these challenges will require collaboration across clinical and preclinical stakeholders to build on an ever-increasing fount of experience in the field.