EDITOR’S PAGE Ready to Pass the Baton George A. Beller, MD This will be the last of sixty Editor’s Pages I have written over the last ten years. I will be completing my term as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology (JNC) with this issue. Serving the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology as editor of its journal has been a most gratifying and rewarding experience. It was a privilege to work with such a superb group of associate and section editors who contributed their expansive knowledge and expertise to the editorial process. My sincere thanks goes out to Rob Gropler, Leslee Shaw, Rob Beanlands, Kevin Allman, Denny Watson, Ken Nichols, Dennis Calnon, Marcelo DiCarli, and David Glover. Throughout my editorship, Wendy Passerell has been our Managing Editor, in which capacity she has maintained the high quality of each issue’s production. I am most appreciative of Wendy’s dedication to excellence; she has been a pleasure to work with. In addition, our JNC team was blessed with an editorial board of nearly 100 members hailing from many different countries. I thank all of them for their service, their willingness to review many submitted manuscripts over the years, and their suggestions for improving the quality and educational mission of the journal. Finally, I want to thank experts in noninvasive imaging from around the world who participated in the peer review process with objectivity and fairness and who offered constructive criticism on manuscripts, making them more suitable for publication. A few years ago, many of us were concerned about the future of the JNC when two new cardiac imaging journals were established. Although these journals have achieved significant success, the JNC not only survived but continued to publish high-quality manuscripts and review articles without a change in the number of papers submitted by authors or in the percentage of papers accepted for publication. In fact, this past year the JNC received its highest impact factor ever, putting it in the top tier of imaging journals worldwide. During the past decade, the JNC has remained the premier medical journal for reporting on the many technical advances in
J Nucl Cardiol 2013;20:958–9. 1071-3581/$34.00 Copyright Ó 2013 American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. doi:10.1007/s12350-013-9809-9 958
nuclear cardiology hardware and software, and on the progress in made in hybrid nuclear/CT imaging. Although the main focus of the JNC has always remained nuclear cardiology, the journal has also published articles relevant to other imaging technologies, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cardiac CT imaging, and even echocardiography. This editorial decision has permitted clinicians and researchers whose work is predominantly in the field of nuclear cardiology to keep abreast of progress in the other imaging disciplines. Our editorial team deemed it important to disseminate new knowledge derived from basic and clinical research to clinical imaging experts so as to enhance the breadth and quality of their imaging laboratories. This is reflected by various of our series: ‘‘Major Advances in Nuclear Cardiology,’’ ‘‘From Bench to Imaging,’’ ‘‘Controversies in Nuclear Cardiology,’’ ‘‘Advances in Non-Nuclear Imaging Technologies,’’ and ‘‘Images That Teach.’’ This current issue of the JNC reflects well the wide variety of topics covered in original papers and review articles. Topics include papers on advances in metabolic imaging, molecular imaging in cardiovascular disease, the role of radionuclide imaging in heart failure, the value of gated SPECT for assessing regional and global left ventricular function, stress perfusion imaging in the emergency department, hybrid imaging prior to renal transplantation, hybrid PET/MRI, measurement of flow reserve with rubidium-82 and new technology related to attenuation maps for cardiac SPECT in presence of respiratory motion, and effects of acquisition time and reconstruction algorithm on image quality and clinical interpretation. By reading research reports in original articles, and being brought up to date with reviews of the literature, editorials, perspectives and ASNC practice guidelines, the readers of the JNC have been taken on a journey of major progress in the fields of nuclear cardiology and hybrid PET- and SPECT- CT imaging. During my past ten years as Editor-in-Chief, I have witnessed impressive advances in these areas, including stress-only SPECT imaging, high-speed SPECT with new CZT camera technology, attenuation correction in SPECT, absolute flow measurement with PET, molecular imaging of atherosclerotic plaques and myocardial pathology, multimodality imaging, wider application of coronary calcium CT imaging, F-18 FDG/MRI multimodality imaging of sarcoidosis, imaging of left ventricular
Journal of Nuclear CardiologyÒ Volume 20, Number 6;958–9
dyssynchrony, introduction of regadenoson for vasodilator stress imaging, clinical validation of the worth of cardiac autonomic imaging with I-123-MIBG, development of F-18 Flurpridaz for PET perfusion imaging, reduction in radiation dose from imaging procedures, use of net reclassification improvement (NRI) to calculate incremental value of imaging tests and application of Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) to reduce unnecessary procedures in the clinical setting. These are just a sampling of the many advances reported in the JNC over the last decade. There is no doubt that advances in nuclear cardiology reported in the JNC and other journals have improved patient care. The translation of research findings to application in the clinical setting is now quite rapid. New researchers are entering the field, and progress will continue in the improvement of technology, image quality and diagnostic accuracy. Under the leadership of Dr Ami Iskandrian, our new Editor-in-Chief,
Beller Ready to Pass the Baton
959
the JNC will continue to be the main vehicle by which new knowledge will be communicated to those working in the field of nuclear cardiology. Dr Iskandrian is one of the world’s leading experts and a pioneer in the field of nuclear cardiology. There is no doubt that his vast research and teaching experience, together with that of his associate editors, will make the JNC even better. I wish him well in his new leadership role. I truly have enjoyed these last ten years and have learned so much from my peers. I again want to express my appreciation to everyone who volunteered time and knowledge to make the JNC a worthwhile journal for our specialty. I am indeed grateful to the staff at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology for their support and encouragement these past ten years, which made my job easier and enjoyable. Finally, I thank my wife, Katherine Brooks, for her assistance in editing many of my Editor’s Pages. It is now time to pass the baton to Dr Iskandrian!
J Nucl Cardiol 2013;20:958–9. 1071-3581/$34.00 Copyright Ó 2013 American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. doi:10.1007/s12350-013-9809-9 958
nuclear cardiology hardware and software, and on the progress in made in hybrid nuclear/CT imaging. Although the main focus of the JNC has always remained nuclear cardiology, the journal has also published articles relevant to other imaging technologies, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cardiac CT imaging, and even echocardiography. This editorial decision has permitted clinicians and researchers whose work is predominantly in the field of nuclear cardiology to keep abreast of progress in the other imaging disciplines. Our editorial team deemed it important to disseminate new knowledge derived from basic and clinical research to clinical imaging experts so as to enhance the breadth and quality of their imaging laboratories. This is reflected by various of our series: ‘‘Major Advances in Nuclear Cardiology,’’ ‘‘From Bench to Imaging,’’ ‘‘Controversies in Nuclear Cardiology,’’ ‘‘Advances in Non-Nuclear Imaging Technologies,’’ and ‘‘Images That Teach.’’ This current issue of the JNC reflects well the wide variety of topics covered in original papers and review articles. Topics include papers on advances in metabolic imaging, molecular imaging in cardiovascular disease, the role of radionuclide imaging in heart failure, the value of gated SPECT for assessing regional and global left ventricular function, stress perfusion imaging in the emergency department, hybrid imaging prior to renal transplantation, hybrid PET/MRI, measurement of flow reserve with rubidium-82 and new technology related to attenuation maps for cardiac SPECT in presence of respiratory motion, and effects of acquisition time and reconstruction algorithm on image quality and clinical interpretation. By reading research reports in original articles, and being brought up to date with reviews of the literature, editorials, perspectives and ASNC practice guidelines, the readers of the JNC have been taken on a journey of major progress in the fields of nuclear cardiology and hybrid PET- and SPECT- CT imaging. During my past ten years as Editor-in-Chief, I have witnessed impressive advances in these areas, including stress-only SPECT imaging, high-speed SPECT with new CZT camera technology, attenuation correction in SPECT, absolute flow measurement with PET, molecular imaging of atherosclerotic plaques and myocardial pathology, multimodality imaging, wider application of coronary calcium CT imaging, F-18 FDG/MRI multimodality imaging of sarcoidosis, imaging of left ventricular
Journal of Nuclear CardiologyÒ Volume 20, Number 6;958–9
dyssynchrony, introduction of regadenoson for vasodilator stress imaging, clinical validation of the worth of cardiac autonomic imaging with I-123-MIBG, development of F-18 Flurpridaz for PET perfusion imaging, reduction in radiation dose from imaging procedures, use of net reclassification improvement (NRI) to calculate incremental value of imaging tests and application of Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) to reduce unnecessary procedures in the clinical setting. These are just a sampling of the many advances reported in the JNC over the last decade. There is no doubt that advances in nuclear cardiology reported in the JNC and other journals have improved patient care. The translation of research findings to application in the clinical setting is now quite rapid. New researchers are entering the field, and progress will continue in the improvement of technology, image quality and diagnostic accuracy. Under the leadership of Dr Ami Iskandrian, our new Editor-in-Chief,
Beller Ready to Pass the Baton
959
the JNC will continue to be the main vehicle by which new knowledge will be communicated to those working in the field of nuclear cardiology. Dr Iskandrian is one of the world’s leading experts and a pioneer in the field of nuclear cardiology. There is no doubt that his vast research and teaching experience, together with that of his associate editors, will make the JNC even better. I wish him well in his new leadership role. I truly have enjoyed these last ten years and have learned so much from my peers. I again want to express my appreciation to everyone who volunteered time and knowledge to make the JNC a worthwhile journal for our specialty. I am indeed grateful to the staff at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology for their support and encouragement these past ten years, which made my job easier and enjoyable. Finally, I thank my wife, Katherine Brooks, for her assistance in editing many of my Editor’s Pages. It is now time to pass the baton to Dr Iskandrian!
