The Department of Molecular Imaging (the 'Department'), includes PET-CT and general Nuclear Medicine and provides functional imaging using radiopharmaceuticals (or tracers). 

The Department has had a number of 'first-in-country' landmarks. It was the first Department (of Nuclear Medicine) in the country and later with the Austin Hospital, in Melbourne, had the first PET scanners in the country in 1992. Later came the first 'fast scintillator' PET-CT scanner with Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate (LSO) PET detectors, 1st 64-slice PET-CT, 1st 128-slice PET-CT scanners with time-of-flight (TOF) technology and most recently, Australia's 1st Total Body PET-CT scanner, the Biograph 'Quadra', which was commissioned  in May 2021 and was the second scanner of its kind installed in the world. The Quadra is a 'game changer' as it enables patients to be scanned simultaneously (in one field of view) from top of head to mid thighs, and also substantially reduces the scanning time from approx 15-45 mins to 6 -14 mins. 

In 2002, the Department installed the first public hospital owned and operated on-site medical cyclotron and associated radiochemistry facility in NSW. The cyclotron provides all the PET needs of the Department, and also supplies PET radiopharmaceuticals to other metropolitan and rural public hospitals in NSW and Queensland. 

In January 2014, the Department became the first imaging service in a public hospital in Australia to obtain a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) PET Manufacturing license from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The cyclotron has been constantly enhanced and updated and it operates at very high beam currents permitting consistent and optimal isotope yields. The cyclotron has 99.9% uptime with only 4 unscheduled 'down' days in 22 years of operation, which is remarkable. The PET service is most efficient service in the country and has one of the greatest experiences of any Australian centre, performing over 144,000 scans, since the commencement of operation. On 5 July 2019, the 100,000th patient PET scan was performed, which marked a significant milestone for the Department. 

A hallmark of the Department has been its translation of a research tool (PET) to an indispensable imaging modality for medical and surgical specialties. The introduction of PET heralded strong collaborations with surgical oncologists - cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, upper gastrointestinal, colorectal, melanoma and orthopaedic surgeons - which pioneered the way that cancer was managed within Australia and internationally. The PET radiochemistry facilities have now enabled the production of new PET radiopharamceuticals for cancer and diseases of the nervous system, in particular, the neurodegenerative disorders including the dementias. These tracers are being translated into clinical care on a daily basis.

The Department has a strong track record for performing high quality basic science, animal, clinical and translational research, which is reflected in its continued success in achieving funding from peak granting bodies including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Research Council (ARC), and Cancer Institute of NSW. Staff have published in leading medical, medical imaging and biomedical informatics journals as well as presenting research data at national and international meetings. The Department is also actively involved in teaching and academic supervision of medical professionals, university students, postdoctoral fellows and it also conducts visits for high school students from all over NSW.

The major workload of the Department is in PET-CT and there is high-end infrastructure including a 128-slice PET-CT scanner with time-of-flight (TOF) / high definition reconstruction and continuous bed motion (Biograph Vision Edge) and a Total Body PET-CT scanner (Biograph Vision Quadra). The Biograph Vision Edge was installed in 2019 and was the 1st in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. The Biograph Quadra was installed in 2021 and was the 1st in Australia and the second of its kind installed in the world. The Department's scanners have been validated for numerous national and international clinical trials, where the Department has also acted as a 'Core PET Lab'. 

Since January 2018, the Department has maintained internationally recognised validation of its PET-CT scanners by the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) as part of their Clinical Trials Network PET-CT Scanner Validation Program. In 2019, the PET 'hot lab' was redesigned and upgraded to accommodate multiple PET radiophamaceuticals and an automated dispensing system. In 2021, renovation work commenced in PET - improving the workflow and patient experience. This work will continue in 2025 and beyond in addition to the planned expansion as part of the RPA Redevelopment. Work is also ongoing to expand and improve the existing PET radiochemistry, production, and QC laboratories. This work is expected to be completed in 2025, which will be the cyclotron's 22nd year of routine operation. General Nuclear Medicine has a SPECT-CT scanner and 2 ECAMS and also provides radionuclide therapy, so called 'theranostics' which is beginning to have an increasing role in cancer.

The Department has successful research collaborations with individuals and groups at leading academic and research institutes including: University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Wollongong, Macquarie University, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sendai University in Japan, and a number of Universities in China.