Abstract

Nuclear Medicine brings together functional Biology and Physics through the use of radioactivity, creating a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UKs National Metrology Institute and is responsible for the traceability of measurements made in all aspects of daily life. Measurement is at the core of many processes and by improving the metrology surrounding nuclear medicine, diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes in the clinical environment can become more effective leading to earlier diagnosis of disease and more effective treatments. This talk will take you on a tour of NPLs current research in nuclear medicine and its application in the real world incorporating the importance of fundamental physics research, traceability, uncertainty and accuracy. Andrew Fenwick received a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2007 before joining the National Physical Laboratory. Andrew studied part-time at the University of Surrey to achieve an MSc in Radiation Detection and Instrumentation in 2012. His PhD thesis entitled ‘Traceability of 89Zr in Positron Emission Tomography’ was accepted at Cardiff University in 2022. Andrew has worked in a range of fields at NPL including decommissioning, nuclear decay data and standardisation but has specialised in nuclear medicine metrology since 2012. He contributes to the primary standardisation of radionuclides, undertakes nuclear decay data measurements and evaluations, and undertakes research on metrology for imaging and dosimetry in nuclear medicine. He works closely with clinical partners and academia to ensure metrological research is disseminated to users around the world. Andrew is currently leading a European Project to establish traceability in nuclear medicine across Europe (Euramet – ETrain) as well as leading PET /CT projects at NPL . Andrew has contributed to more than 70 peer reviewed articles, with over 550 citations. Andrew is a scientific committee member of the International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM) and is a member of the Institute of Physics (IoP), the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM).