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The post-war period of the late 1940s and the 1950s was a productive time for developments in the use of radionuclides to diagnose and treat human disease. But the field failed initially to capture the imagination of clinicians. Nuclear Medicine Society (NMS) was formed in 1966 and later in the early 1970s efforts were concentrated on the creation of annual meetings, AGM and collaboration with various national and international organisations. Nuclear medicine as a specialty and BNMS as a society have evolved significantly over the years. The success and challenges behind the scenes from 1966–2016 is shared in this article.

There is a long tradition in the use of radionuclides in the UK for the study of human physiology and more recently for imaging human pathology. Starting with von Hevesy in 1911 who performed the first radiotracer experiment in Manchester medical physicists and doctors have developed many radionuclide techniques and equipment for imaging normal physiology and human disease. Notable have been the invention of the radionuclide measurement of Glomerular Filtration rate, early scanners with background subtraction and persistence screens, colour scanning, radioimmunoassay for thyroid hormones, the first semiconductor gamma camera, and the first brain blood flow images with HM-PAO. First studies using cyclotron produced radionuclides demonstrated the increased uptake of FDG in cancer. Strontium 89 was commercialized for the treatment of pain in prostate cancer. The UK can be proud of its continuing contribution to the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Training in Nuclear Medicine in the UK has evolved over the years. It was in the late 1960s that physicians became involved in the developing speciality and a key driver was the creation of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine at the Middlesex Hospital. Nuclear Medicine in those days included much more in-vitro work. Nuclear Medicine training program has evolved significantly over the years due to significant advances in tracers and techniques. This memoire is a personal view, based on a (fallible) memory and documents kept over the years.

When radio-isotope departments were developed in the early 1950’s most studies on patients involved laboratory based techniques using blood samples etc. Usually run by physicists who often made their own equipment with the investigations carried out by physics technicians. However, with the advent gamma camera imaging, the specialty evolved and the training of nuclear medicine technologists has changed over the years reflecting increased complexity of equipment and procedures. This chapter explores the historical changes and milestones in the British nuclear medicine technology and technologists from technologist viewpoint.

The earliest nuclear medicine studies were performed without any imaging, just using blood or urine samples or external counting. The first nuclear medicine study that produced anything like an ‘image’ of organ function was performed in Liverpool and but today nuclear medicine has produced cutting edge technology like the PET/CT and PET/MRI. Many scientists have made and continuing to make important contributions to nuclear medicine throughout the UK, towards its growth and expansion. This chapter will briefly summarise the Evolution of Nuclear Medicine Physics in the UK.

The institute of Nuclear Medicine (INM) Founded in 1961 with Professor J.E. Roberts as the first director (1961–1963), and later under the direction of Professor E S Williams (1963–1985) and matured into international Institute under the directorship of Professor Peter J. Ell. Leading the speciality in the UK, the INM developed with the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and the Institute of Cancer Research, the first intercollegiate Master of Science Course (MSc) in Nuclear Medicine. This gained wide recognition, and at the INM, some 100 MSc graduates, mostly from overseas, obtained their diploma over the ensuing years. This chapter will briefly summarise some significant early contributions from the institute of Nuclear Medicine.

In the UK, the institute of Nuclear Medicine in London has played an important role in the development of radionuclide investigation of brain. This chapter summarises the very early days of blood brain barrier imaging with labelled pertechnetate, and the use of 3" and 5" sodium iodide crystal scanners in the 60’s, with added simple data processing in the 70’s, progress was continuous, with the introduction of SPET, lyphophilic Tc99m labelled tracers for blood flow studies, the emergence of dopamine transporter imaging in patients with presumed Parkinson’s disease, followed by PET/CT and assessment of glucose metabolism with labelled FDG, and finally the UK introduction of PET/MR and the investigation of the dementias, with labelled amyloid.

The first cardiac images were produced using a rectilinear scanner but further advances were made with the development of more suitable radioactive tracers and more sophisticated imaging equipment. The invention of the Anger’s gamma camera in 1957 opened the door for rapid development, initially with blood pool imaging, progressing to myocardial imaging, cardiac PET, and the multi-faceted discipline that is now an essential part of clinical cardiology. This chapter will summarise the History of Nuclear Cardiology in the UK.

The history of paediatric nuclear medicine in the United Kingdom is closely related to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for Children. Paediatric nuclear medicine at GOSH is inseparably linked to Professor Isky Gordon, a was a consultant radiologist with special interest in nuclear medicine at GOSH. The paediatric nuclear medicine unit at GOSH is a reference point of paediatric nuclear medicine practice in the UK and abroad. Ground breaking work has been done and novel work is in progress. This Chapter will summarise the growth and expansion of Paediatric Nuclear Medicine services at the GOSH and in the UK.

Adventure with the kidneys started at the Middlesex Hospital culminating in 1971 with Britton and Brown’s monograph Clinical Renography. and the team later cleaned up the renogram with Computer assisted blood background subtracted, CABBS, Renography etc. Clinicians and scientists from the UK have played a major and significant role in developments of radionuclide renal studies have an established place in Nephrology and Urology. This chapter explores the early days of radionuclide renal studies with special emphasis mainly to the work at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.