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Radioactive tracers give better scanning images

Consultant Lars Christian Gormsen has been appointed professor at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital. He conducts research into the use of radioactive tracers that can improve the diagnosis of cancer and heart patients.

2021.06.24 | Lene Halgaard

Lars Christian Gormsen is the Department of Clinical Medicine’s new professor. Photo: Pia Crone Madsen.

Lars Christian Gormsen is the Department of Clinical Medicine’s new professor. Photo: Pia Crone Madsen.

 

Not many people associate radioactive substances with a health examination, but for Professor Lars Christian Gormsen from Aarhus University they are the key to better diagnosis of cancer and heart patients. He conducts research into scanning with nuclear medicine and PET, where very small amounts of radioactivity bound to different trace elements are injected into the patient's veins. After this, the blood supply to the heart or the activity of a cancerous tumour, as two examples, can be determined very accurately with a combined PET/CT scan.

Although nuclear medicine methods are associated with a small amount of radiation, they have the great advantage that even very small changes in the function of internal organs can be determined without the need for surgery or tissue samples. Nuclear medicine methods are therefore well-suited for basic research, cancer diagnostics and patient examinations where the effectiveness of medical treatment needs to be monitored for a longer period of time.

In an ongoing research project, the newly appointed professor is using scanning with radioactive tracers to measure the effect of long-term fasting and special diets on cardiac performance and oxygen consumption.

Contact

Professor, Consultant, DMSc Lars Christian Gormsen

Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine

Mobile: (+45) 2281 1631
Email: lars.christian.gormsen@clin.au.dk

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