The Princess Margaret “Transformers”

28 PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE Dr. Patrick Veit-Haibach is new to his role as Clinical Director PET-MRI at University Health Network (UHN), but his vision is big and ambitious. “My goal is to explore combining the functional parameters of PET-MRI technology to deliver improved diagnostic imaging for our patients,” says Dr. Veit-Haibach. He was recruited to lead this new area of research in the spring of 2017. So far, it shows real promise. “This imaging technology works very well for detection and characterization of tumours, but can be also used to explore cardiovascular diseases,” says Dr. Veit-Haibach. “We have already seen positive results in primary tumour detection that were not well diagnosed before, but more work is needed to exploit its full potential.” PET-MRI is a hybrid technology that uses state- of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with established molecular imaging tracers like PSMA (pg. 29) and new experimental radiopharmaceuticals to enhance disease characterization. It provides our cancer experts with detailed localized information about a tumour to make a more informed diagnosis and deliver precise treatment. The PET-MRI machine (above) was acquired in 2016, and it is already being used by imaging specialists who are working with cancer experts at The Princess Margaret and cardiovascular researchers at UHN. The advantage of this fully- integrated system is a dose reduction for the patients and reduced imaging times. It is also more suitable in cases that require a higher soft tissue contrast than what is offered by a standard PET-CT. COMBINED IMAGING FOR A PRECISE DIAGNOSIS Dr. Patrick Veit-Haibach Clinical Director, PET-MRI University Health Network RADIATION MEDICINE PROGRAM