Medical Imaging

Medical imaging is one of the fastest growing fields in medicine. The development of new imaging modalities, contrast agents, molecular probes and radiopharmaceuticals has significantly improved our ability to study biological structures and functions in health and disease, and continues to contribute to the evolution of medical care.

Imaging technologies that require the use of radiopharmaceuticals fall within the field of nuclear medicine. About 1.5 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed annually in Canada. Over 80% of all nuclear medicine investigations involve radiopharmaceuticals labeled with Technetium-99m (^99mTc).

Technetium-99m is derived from Molybdenum-99 (⁹⁹Mo). About 30-35% of the world's supply of ⁹⁹Mo is made at the National Research Universal (NRU) nuclear reactor at Chalk River. The recent closure of the NRU has resulted in a major interruption in supply, leading to a serious situation in the health care system.

The continuing uncertainties in the supply of medical isotopes have caused both the clinical and biomedical research communities to start looking for alternative ways to produce the ^99mTc needed for vital clinical procedures and also to explore the potential of alternative medical isotopes to replace ^99mTc.

CIHR has been working closely with Health Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, other research agencies, research experts, and the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Medical Isotopes (established by Health Canada following the closure of the NRU in late 2007) to plan a research strategy that will build on Canada's existing scientific and research expertise in medical imaging.

This collaboration resulted in an Funding Opportunity and a consultation workshop:

Funding Opportunity

Alternative Radiopharmaceuticals for Medical Imaging: The funding opportunity was launched on June 16, 2009, with the final application deadline on September 15, 2009.

The funding decision for this competition was made public on November 4, 2009.  A total of 19 applications were received, of which 7 were approved for funding.  CIHR and NSERC jointly awarded a total of $5.4 million to the 7 grants (CIHR: $3.0 million; NSERC: $2.4 million).  The title and a summary for each of the 7 funded projects can be found in the "Alternative Radiopharmaceuticals for Medical Imaging" funding decisions data report.

Consultation Workshop

Medical Imaging Workshop, October 6-7, 2009 in Vancouver: Workshop involving Canadian medical imaging experts to discuss the state of the science in medical imaging (nuclear and non-nuclear), identification of areas where a targeted investment of funds might lead to advances in the field, and addressing the medical needs created by a potential reduction in access to Molybdenum-99. (Report coming soon)