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| Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine |
| Formation | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Australia and New Zealand |
| Region served | Australia; New Zealand |
| Leader title | President |
Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine is a professional society representing practitioners in nuclear medicine across Australia and New Zealand. It serves clinicians, physicists, radiopharmacists, technologists and researchers with activities spanning education, guideline development, advocacy and research collaboration. The society interacts with governmental and institutional bodies, academic centres, hospitals and international organisations to advance nuclear medicine practice.
The society was founded in the late 1960s amid expanding clinical use of radiopharmaceuticals at centres such as Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Auckland District Health Board, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Christchurch Hospital. Early development drew on expertise from pioneers associated with Atomic Energy Commission (Australia), Australian Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and academic departments at University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Auckland and University of Otago. Milestones included adoption of technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals popularised in centres linked to Sir John Eccles-era biomedical research and expansion concurrent with imaging technology advances from vendors such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers and Philips Healthcare. The society’s evolution paralleled regulatory changes influenced by Therapeutic Goods Administration and New Zealand’s MedSafe.
Membership comprises nuclear medicine physicians, nuclear medicine technologists, medical physicists, radiopharmacists and trainees drawn from institutions including Royal Women's Hospital, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Auckland Hospital, Wellington Hospital and private imaging providers such as Ramsay Health Care and I-MED Radiology Network. Governance includes an elected council with roles comparable to those in Royal Australasian College of Physicians and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons governance structures, and committees interfacing with bodies like Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and Health Quality & Safety Commission (New Zealand). Affiliated chapters and special interest groups mirror international societies including Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, European Association of Nuclear Medicine and Asian Regional Cooperative Council for Nuclear Medicine.
The society organizes annual scientific meetings, workshops and satellite symposia rotating through cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington and Brisbane. Programmes feature invited speakers from institutions like Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Oxford University Hospitals and Karolinska Institutet, and sessions on modalities developed at centres including Mayo Clinic Arizona and Massachusetts General Hospital. Meetings commonly collaborate with conferences such as Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists events, joint sessions with Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and industry exhibitions by GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers and Canon Medical Systems.
The society publishes clinical guidance, position statements and consensus documents addressing practice standards for procedures pioneered at centres like Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. These guidelines align with recommendations from international authorities such as International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organization, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and European Association of Nuclear Medicine. Publications appear in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Nuclear Medicine, European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, EJNMMI Physics and national newsletters circulated among members working at institutions such as Royal Adelaide Hospital and Monash Medical Centre.
The society provides continuing professional development, training curricula and examination support comparable to programmes by Royal Australasian College of Physicians and Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine. It offers workshops on radiopharmacy techniques used in centres like ANSTO and practicum links with university departments at University of Sydney, University of Melbourne and University of Auckland. Certification pathways interface with regulatory frameworks administered by Therapeutic Goods Administration, MedSafe and hospital credentialing systems at major tertiary centres including Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Members lead and participate in multicentre trials and translational research collaborations with partners such as ANSTO, CSIRO, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Auckland Bioengineering Institute and international groups at Stanford University, Imperial College London and National Institutes of Health. Research domains include developments in positron emission tomography tracers, hybrid PET/CT and PET/MR techniques linked to technology from Siemens Healthineers and GE Healthcare, and radiopharmaceutical production models exemplified by ANSTO. Collaborative grants have interfaced with funding agencies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council and Health Research Council of New Zealand.
The society advocates for workforce planning, funding for imaging services and safe use of radiopharmaceuticals, engaging with agencies like Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and New Zealand’s Medical Council of New Zealand. It develops professional codes aligned with standards from Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and supports quality assurance practices found in major hospitals such as Royal Melbourne Hospital and Christchurch Hospital. Advocacy efforts address policy discussions with state health departments including New South Wales Ministry of Health and Victorian Department of Health as well as national policy forums involving Department of Health (Australia) and Ministry of Health (New Zealand).
Category:Medical associations of Australia Category:Medical associations of New Zealand