Alzheimer's UK and NHS Trusts

Alliance Medical is contributing 2,000 scans, together with radiotracers, to a national clinical research programme to support early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

It is part of a wider initiative to improve research access to PET-CT scanners across the country which will see leading academic institutions and local clinicians collaborating on clinical trials across a range of diseases and disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and heart disease.

The programme is made possible thanks to the Molecular Imaging Collaborative Network (MICN), led by Alliance Medical, which has been commissioned to provide PET-CT scanning services across 31 locations in England. As well as upgrading many scanners to fixed static locations with state-of-the-art digital technology capability, the MICN has undertaken to provide additional capacity for research - standardising and accrediting all scanners to create a national integrated PET-CT network for clinical, research and trial use that is arguably the largest in the world.  

The national PET-CT network allows research collaboration between local clinicians and leading academic centres.

Each of the 31 centres will have NCRI and EARL accreditation to allow local participation in multi-centre trials, coordinated by the Christie Academy of Advanced Imaging.  This will be enhanced through standardised procedures across the MICN network.

This research will have a real impact on patient outcomes by enabling data to be published faster than before and allowing best practice to be determined and implemented across the country.