RESEARCHER'S PET PROJECT DIAGNOSIS DEVICE POINTS TO REVOLUTION IN MEDICINE.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer When Dr. Michael Phelps recently won national recognition for his work in cancer research, a UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX colleague knew it could help provide broader use of technology Phelps developed to detect disease. Phelps has been testifying in Washington, D.C., at hearings to consider making the positron emission tomography scanner Noun 1. positron emission tomography scanner - a tomograph that produces cross-sectional X-rays of metabolic processes in the body PET scanner tomograph - X-ray machine in which a computer builds a detailed image of a particular plane through an object from he helped invent more accessible under federal Medicare coverage, and his UCLA peer said the recent award adds weight. ``I think he has always been very actively engaged in making this diagnostic procedure available to people,'' said Dr. Judith Gasson, director of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. ``Having now received this award, and the recognition that comes with it, will hopefully elevate the debate.'' Phelps, the chairman of UCLA's pharmacology department and UCLA's Norton Simon professor, along with colleague Dr. David E. Kuhl of the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. , won the Charles F. Kettering Prize from the General Motors Cancer Research Center, which carries a $250,000 award. In giving the honor, the panel of judges Panel of Judges is an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia. Members
The Encino father of two said that after having won many awards over the years, this honor tells him the scientific community has come to recognize a new era in medicine. ``If you jump ahead, which we can't do, 10, 20 years, medicine is going to be very different than it is today - we're at the front end of that,'' said Phelps. ``The thing that was important to me was that prize recognizes that we've gone to the other side now.'' Phelps and his colleagues created the positron emission tomography scanner in 1974, two years before he came to the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , where he now heads up various programs, officials said. Unlike X-rays or other medical imaging procedures that look at how diseases like cancer damage the structure of an organ, Phelps said the PET scan PET scan (pĕt) or positron emission tomography (pŏz`ĭtrŏn' ĭmĭsh`ən təmŏg`rəfē) looks at how the disease damages an organ's function. Originally a research tool, Phelps worked to open up PET clinically and established the first center at UCLA in 1990, the university said. The result has been more accurate detection of some cancers, he said, and earlier detection of some diseases like Alzheimer's, which the scanner has detected in some patients five years before symptoms emerge. ``That's a huge contribution because it's a whole way of imaging that didn't exist before,'' Gasson said. In 1999, then-President Clinton awarded Phelps with the Enrico Fermi Award Enrico Fermi Award given for “exceptional and altogether outstanding achievement” in atomic energy. [Am. Hist.: Misc.] See : Prize , the government's oldest science and technology prize. Being able to accurately figure out what's wrong with a patient, Phelps said, rather than getting sidetracked by additional problems that can emerge, enables doctors to provide better treatment. PET also helps monitor treatment to see what's working and what's not, he said. ``It not only made the diagnosis more accurate, it also changed the way we treat the patient,'' he said. Phelps recently led a national campaign to gain Food and Drug Administration approval of PET for all cancers, cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease Disease that affects the heart and blood vessels. Mentioned in: Lipoproteins Test cardiovascular disease and epilepsy, UCLA said. He also collected information that lead to having Medicare reimbursement for PET scans for these diseases. Phelps returned to Washington, D.C., last week to speak at a hearing before the Health Care Financing Administration Health Care Financing Administration, n.pr department in the U.S. agency of Health and Human Services responsible for the oversight of the Medicaid and Medicare benefit programs, including guidelines, payment, and coverage policies. that was considering Medicare reimbursement of PET for breast cancer, ovarian, cervix cervix /cer·vix/ (ser´viks) pl. cer´vices [L.] 1. neck. 2. the front portion of the neck. 3. cervix uteri. and uterine cancer uterine cancer Malignant tumour of the uterus. Cancers affecting the lining of the uterus (endometrium) are the most common cancers of the female reproductive tract. , he said. Additionally, Phelps was recently honored with a Department of Energy award for PET's role in enabling physicians to better detect breast cancer, UCLA said. Phelps, back at UCLA last week, hoped that with his recent honors, the medical community would increasingly embrace the technology that he believes charts a new course. ``All the science and medicine has said PET is now the new world,'' said Phelps. ``We're at the point now to give it back.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: UCLA's Michael Phelps recently won national recognition for his research. UCLA |
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