Miletich: Nuclear Neurology Could Launch Revolution in Diagnosing, Treating Brain Diseases

Updated March 8, 2017 This content is archived.

Robert S. Miletich, MD, PhD, interim chair and professor of nuclear medicine, believes the field will one day be as important to neuroscience as it is to cardiology.

“Nuclear neurology is an emerging medical subspecialty,” he said. “My anecdotal experience has been that once clinicians have seen what nuclear neurology can do for them in the care of their patients, they expand their use of it.”

PET and SPECT could potentially improve the detection and treatment of many brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and autism. Miletich is currently studying brain scans obtained from 16,000 patients that range from juveniles to the elderly.