ELEVENTH ANNUAL MARIO S. VERANI MEMORIAL LECTURE Nuclear cardiology in the present and beyond: Can we meet the challenges?

It was my pleasure and honor to present the 2012 Mario Verani Memorial Lecture. It was a particular honor as Dr. Verani was a friend and colleague for many years. I was selected to head a team of ASNC leaders who flew to Houston to present Dr. Verani the ASNC Distinguished Service Award in the presence of friends, family and colleagues. Dr. Verani was a leader in the development of the field Nuclear Cardiology and was particularly interested in innovative and important changes to keep the field advancing. Under his guidance, as well as other ASNC leaders, Nuclear Cardiology procedures became very important in the assessment and care of cardiac patients. With his leadership in mind, I have chosen to examine where Nuclear Cardiology is at the present and what changes should be made to meet the demands and challenges of the future. I will divide this into three partitions: Nuclear Cardiology in the Present, Nuclear Cardiology in the Future, and The Role of Cardiac PET.