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The Status of Neuroimaging with SPECT and PET in Germany: Results from the 1st Survey on Nuclear Neuroimaging in Germany in 2023
Buchert Ralph, Drzezga Alexander, Schreckenberger Mathias, Langen Karl Josef, Meyer Philipp T. Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine, 2025-04-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The advent of disease-modifying therapies for neurodegenerative diseases may result in a growing demand for nuclear neuroimaging procedures presenting opportunities but also challenges to the nuclear medicine community. Whether capacity and expertise in Germany are sufficient to meet an increasing demand for nuclear neuroimaging is under discussion. Against this background, the Neuroimaging Working Group of the German Society of Nuclear Medicine initiated the first survey on the status of nuclear neuroimaging in Germany in 2023. 82 institutions participated in the survey: 33 practices, 15 community hospitals, 34 university hospitals. Primary findings were the following. In practices, brain scans are less frequently performed than in hospitals and are often limited to dopamine transporter SPECT. Brain PET is mainly performed in hospitals, and in community hospitals it is often restricted to FDG PET. Nevertheless, availability of amyloid PET with well-certified quality can be taken for granted. Thus, access to amyloid PET will not be a major bottleneck for new treatments of Alzheimer's disease. Adequate reimbursement and clear anchoring in clinical guidelines have the greatest potential to advance nuclear neuroimaging in Germany. Clinical dopamine transporter SPECT is largely in agreement with procedure guidelines. An area for improvement is the limited availability of MR images to avoid misinterpretation of structural/vascular lesions as nigrostriatal degeneration. The survey provides the first systematic assessment of the status of nuclear neuroimaging in Germany. It underscores the capacity of the German nuclear medicine community to meet an increasing demand for neuroimaging procedures, its adherence to procedure guidelines and identifies topics for improvement.
Key findings
- The advent of disease-modifying therapies for neurodegenerative diseases may result in a growing demand for nuclear neuroimaging procedures presenting opportunities but also challenges to the nuclear medicine community.
Why it matters
This survey of nuclear neuroimaging in Germany found that availability of amyloid PET with well-certified quality can be taken for granted, so access to amyloid PET will not be a major bottleneck for new Alzheimer's treatments. It does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 37/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record and senior author's track record, so those were left out: it earned 34 of the 92 points we could judge it on, which is 37 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-17) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Freiburg: institution h-index 1,062 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 10 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40233814) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 34 / 92 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 34 of the 92 points we could judge it on is 37 out of 100. |
| Total | 37 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ralph, B., Alexander, D., Mathias, S., Josef, L. K., & Meyer Philipp, T. (2025). The Status of Neuroimaging with SPECT and PET in Germany: Results from the 1st Survey on Nuclear Neuroimaging in Germany in 2023. Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2566-1487
Vancouver
Ralph B, Alexander D, Mathias S, Josef LK, Meyer Philipp T. The Status of Neuroimaging with SPECT and PET in Germany: Results from the 1st Survey on Nuclear Neuroimaging in Germany in 2023. Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine. 2025. doi:10.1055/a-2566-1487. PMID: 40233814.
BibTeX
@article{ralph2025-40233814,
author = {Ralph, Buchert and Alexander, Drzezga and Mathias, Schreckenberger and Josef, Langen Karl and Meyer Philipp, T.},
title = {{The Status of Neuroimaging with SPECT and PET in Germany: Results from the 1st Survey on Nuclear Neuroimaging in Germany in 2023}},
journal = {Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1055/a-2566-1487},
pmid = {40233814},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2566-1487}
}
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