Amsterdam UMC Imaging Center
The Imaging Center has one of the world’s most advanced labs for developing tracers (including radiolabeled drugs and antibodies/biologicals).
The combined use of tracers and imaging technologies enables us to visualize the behavior and efficacy of small molecular drugs and biologicals like antibodies and assess target expression in the human body. Due to this innovation, it is possible to determine at an early stage of development whether particular drugs (small molecules, antibodies, or other therapies) will be effective or not, and most importantly, in which patients. In this era of personalized medicine, individual patients could benefit from the various types of therapies available, and this technology promises to be a powerful tool in the task of selecting the right treatment, for the right patient, at the right time.
To utilize the potential of the unique clustering of knowledge and facilities, collaboration with external stakeholders is now more important than ever. This means cooperation between companies and our own scientific experts, within a neutral environment, in an innovative setting. Join us and meet our new way of working together, in order to speed up the development of new and more effective drugs, mainly in the areas of oncology, neurosciences, cardiology, and chronic inflammation.
We have developed a technology in which drugs are ‘labeled’ with a small amount of radioactive or fluorescent substance to form ‘tracers’. A tracer, combined with imaging technologies, enables us to gain a deeper insight into the performance of a drug within the complex structures and functions of the living body.
The Imaging Center is part of Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, a university medical center, associated with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and located on the very same campus. Our core objectives are to deliver patient care in close association with scientific research, academic teaching, and postgraduate training. More than 15,000 professionals guarantee the smooth and efficient running of the medical center. In addition, each year there are on average over 330,000 outpatient visits, more than 110,000 inpatient days, and an additional 31,500 patients who receive emergency treatment. The scientific research carried out at Amsterdam UMC is closely linked to issues that are important for both the hospital as well as society in general, with its main specialist areas being oncology, neurology, immunology, vital functions, and extramural research.
