[Present and future of nuclear medicine]

In this age of "Medical Imaging", Nuclear Medicine has occupied a preeminent position, heralded by the following four points: the development of novel radio-nuclides containing compounds (radio-diagnostic and radio-therapeutic agents), the power of extremely sensitive new measuring devices, the highly reliable quantification of physio-pathological changes occurring in disease and the guidance to medical diagnosis. On those four points, Nuclear Medicine will continue to spread, but new frontiers are emerging, and it is challenged to provide measurements of consistently reliable accuracy to guide various forms of treatment and radiotherapy requiring a high standard of competence.