Teaching 1. Quality Improvement and Audit in nuclear medicine according to the EU standards and IAEA guidelines
– Strategies and policies. Procedures in nuclear medicine department for an efficient management and success of departmental operation.
– Human resources development. Importance of total knowledge, skills, creative abilities of the workforce. Suitable training in handling radioactive sources. Adequate tools for objective monitoring of training.
– Administration and management of nuclear medicine practice. Important to an efficient and successful practice in the department. Importance of written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all tasks.
– Radiation regulation and safety. Basic safety standards and Council Directive 59/2013. Procedures for regular monitoring of workplace contamination. Procedure contamination. Procedures for radioactive waste management.
– Patient radiation protection. Written SOPs for identification of patients prior receiving radioactivity for investigation. Reference values of the administered radioactivity according to values in Basic Safety Standards and Council Directive 59/2013. Specific procedures for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
– Quality control (QC) of imaging equipment. Comprehensive system of QC for all imaging equipment in nuclear medicine is essential for optimal patient examination. QC of the instrumentation according to NEMA standards. QC of planar, SPECT, hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT systems.
– Evaluation and assurance of quality system. The quality management system should be implemented and regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with the EU standards in nuclear medicine.
– Computer system and data handling. QC of image and data processing. Policy for security assessment of all information technology (IT) in nuclear medicine. Importance of certification of equipment according to IAEA/ National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) publications (2009).
– QI of general clinical services. SOPs based on international, EANM or and national guidelines. Importance of justification of imaging procedures by nuclear medicine physicians. Surveillance of patients in nuclear medicine department.
– Assessment of imaging procedures. Patient preparation. Procedures done according to SOP (radiopharmaceutical activity, acquisition parameters, processing tools). QC of images and data sets. Reporting according to guidelines (IAEA publication 2006, Nuclear Medicine Resource Manual).
– Assessment of non-imaging procedures. QC of radiopharmaceuticals and labelled blood cells. QC of probe. QC of processing parameters. Documentation of adverse events during procedures. QC of medical report.
– General radionuclide therapy. SOPs according to EANM guidelines (2011) and IAEA publications 2006, Nuclear Medicine Resource Manual). Patient preparation for radionuclide therapy. Record of administered therapeutic activity. Inpatient therapy: appropriate radioprotection measures.
– Assessment of radionuclide therapy. Justification and decision on radionuclide therapy based on EU standards, IAEA guidelines. Appropriateness of radionuclide therapy based on multidisciplinary team decision. Traceability of all patient data including administered activity.
– Radiopharmacy operational levels 1 and 2. Radiolabelled red and white blood cells training procedures (IAEA publication Competency-based radiopharmacy training, 2010). Preparation protocols for labelling. QC of labelling procedures.
– Radiopharmacy operational level 3. Radionuclide purity assessment. QC of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostics and therapy according to EANM standards. Radioactive waste disposal.
– Radioimmunoassay. Assessment of hormones and tumor markers. QC of laboratory diagnostic. Periodical review of analytical phase. Periodical review of post-analytical phase.
Teaching 2. Quality control, acquisition and processing methodology according to the EU standards and technologist’s guides in nuclear medicine
– Basic principles of nuclear medicine. Physics in nuclear medicine. Interaction of radiation with matter and the fundamentals of dosimetry
– Radiation protection and dose calculation and optimisation. International basic safety standards and radiobiology principles. The basic concepts of dose optimisation for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involving the use of radionuclides/ EANM technologist’s Guide on Radiation protection and dose optimization (2016).
– Quality control tests for conventional nuclear medicine modalities such as planar gamma camera imaging, SPECT /EANM technologist’s Guide on Quality control of Nuclear Medicine instrumentation and protocol standardization (2017)
– Quality control tests for hybrid SPECT/CT, PET/CT systems and CT/EANM Technologist’s Guide on Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation and Protocol Standardization (2017)
– Quality control of non-imaging instruments such as radionuclide dose calibrators, intraoperative probes, body uptake probes and well counters/EANM Technologist’s Guide on Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation and Protocol Standardization (2017)
– Radiopharmacy practice for technologists. Radiopharmacy design, preparation, and dispensing; documentation according to the EU regulations for laboratory diagnostics. Conventional and PET radiopharmaceuticals. Quality control of radiopharmaceuticals/ EANM Technologist’s Guide on Radiopharmacy (2008)
– Thyroid and parathyroid imaging. Optimisation of protocol design. Standardization of acquisition and processing. Planar and SPECT protocols/EANM technologist’s Guide on Parathyroid Imaging (2005)
– Brain SPECT and PET imaging. From metabolism to perfusion; studies of brain function in different conditions, including dementia, epilepsy, movement disorders and brain tumours. Optimisation of protocol design. Key role of technologists in patient care; challenges and solutions when facing patients with limited ability to cooperate and due to demanding nature of the examination./ EANM echnologist’s Guide on Brain Imaging (2015).
– Myocardial perfusion imaging. Guidance on patient preparation and the different types of stress protocol and presentation of the main advantages and disadvantages of the multidisciplinary approach and advanced practice. Radiopharmaceuticals for myocardial perfusion imaging. SPECT, SPECT/CT, D-SPECT and PET/CT protocols and the imaging equipment, with image processing and software. The causes and effects of potential artefacts and pitfalls in myocardial perfusion imaging /EANM Technologist’s Guide on Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (2014).
– Lung perfusion and ventilation imaging. Planar and SPECT protocols, image processing and standardization. Contraindications for imaging. Pulmonary embolism and patient care during imaging; case study of urgent nuclear medicine practice.
– Static and dynamic renal imaging. Guidance on patient preparation protocols and radiopharmaceutical used for imaging. Dynamic acquisition and image processing and quantification. Standardization of the procedures according to the EANM guidelines/EANM technologist’s Guide on Dynamic renal imaging (2009).
– Bone scintigraphy. Radiopharmaceuticals for bone scan. Planar whole body and SPECT protocols, image processing and standardization. Three-phase bone scan for investigation of musculoskeletal infections.
– Principles and practice of PET/CT in oncology. The principles of PET radiochemistry. PET/CT protocols and the imaging equipment, and the current state of clinical applications of PET/CT in the fields of oncology. The causes and effects of potential artefacts and pitfalls/EANM Technologist’s Guide on Principles and Practice of PET/CT Part 2 (2011).
– Principles and practice of PET/CT for radiotherapy planning. PET/CT protocols and imaging equipment, the current state of clinical applications of PET/CT in the radiotherapy planning. Role of technologist in the process of radiotherapy planning/EANM technologist’s Guide on Principles and practice of PET/CT in radiotherapy planning part 3 (2012).
-Role of technologists and nurses in radionuclide therapy. Clinical and technical aspects of radionuclide therapy. Radiation protection and dose optimization in radionuclide therapy according to EU legislation. Basic safety standards and Council Directive 59/2013/ EANM technologist’s Guide on Radionuclide metabolic therapy (2013).
