Whither, or wither nuclear medicine?

In summary it appears that the future of the use of radionuclide procedures will show a continual increase in demand, utilization and growth of Nuclear Medicine as a discipline. The future of nuclear medicine physicians is less clear. Can they continue as a Renaissance model, interpreting all studies on all organs with equal expertise, or will they gradually be absorbed into organ or organ imaging sections to become a specialist on all imaging techniques on that organ? Is it true that the high technological advances that have been incorporated into Nuclear Medicine may be difficult to integrate into another discipline. For example, PET imaging is very much a part of Nuclear Medicine now and its expected growth in the future, along with the accompanying cyclotron and radiochemistry complexities, may prove to be a very large bite for any other discipline to follow. This integration, if it occurs, will not be overnight. Few radiologists practicing today in non-nuclear medicine areas would feel comfortable assuming the responsibilities of radionuclide studies, based on their three to six month stint in Nuclear Medicine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)