SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SimonMed is proud to announce we will offer GE HealthCare's radiopharmaceutical diagnostic tracer, DaTscan™ (Ioflupane I 123 injection), with DaTQUANT™ nationally starting immediately in all of our markets.

DaTscan was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an expanded label which includes use in patients with suspected Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). The new indication is in addition to its use with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging to visualize dopamine transporters (DaT) in the brains of adult patients with suspected Parkinsonian syndromes. With the expanded indication, DaTscan is now available to more patients, including those with suspected DLB, in the U.S.

Approximately one in five patients with dementia suffers from DLB, making it the second most common form of degenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease1. The clinical signs and symptoms of DLB can be atypical and overlap with other forms of dementia, leading to up to 70% of patients with DLB being misdiagnosed, often as having Alzheimer's disease2. This new indication enables SimonMed clinicians to use DaTscan as part of their diagnostic workup to help differentiate DLB from other forms of dementia. Early and accurate diagnosis of DLB can help ensure specific appropriate treatment and specialized care for patients, while enabling them and their caregivers to more effectively manage the disease and plan for the future3.
John P. Uglietta, MD, Emeritus Medical Director of Neuroradiology at SimonMed Imaging (SMI) said: "SimonMed is the National Leader in imaging patients with movement disorders having done more DaTscans than any other single medical entity in the country. Additionally, SMI was an early adopter of using DaTQUANT as a quantitative objective tool to aid in the visual interpretation of DaTscan to improve accuracy and diagnostic confidence over visual interpretation alone. Today, we are the largest specialty outpatient radiology practice in the US utilizing DaTscan with DaTQUANT and we have standardized our protocol to include DaTQUANT with every DaTscan ordered across all of our National imaging centers. The extensive experience of SimonMed Neuroradiologists interpreting DaTscans and FDG PET-CT scans of the brain significantly improves the confidence level of receiving an accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's related movement disorders and now offering improved accuracy of obtaining a confirmed diagnosis of DLB."

Amanda Hamilton, General Manager, Molecular Imaging of GE HealthCare's U.S Pharmaceutical Diagnostics division said: "We are pleased to support our longstanding customer SimonMed in their efforts to offer broad access to leading-edge diagnostic Neuroimaging options for clinicians and their patients. Our expanded DaTscan label is an example of GE HealthCare's commitment towards advancing the future of Molecular Imaging through research and innovation, by delivering products and solutions that help empower better patient care and outcomes. We look forward to our continued collaboration with SimonMed including potential future clinical studies for new SPECT imaging agents and new PET-CT agents."


About SimonMed Imaging
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, SimonMed is one of the largest independent outpatient medical imaging providers and physician radiology practices in the United States. SimonMed has 147 sites across 11 states and nearly 200 subspecialty-trained radiologists.

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