No continuing education credits
1) Technegas – Pearls and Pitfalls of Lung Imaging
Presenters: Hayley Olson
Learning Objectives:
– Discuss Technegas (in a technical sense – “what is it?”) how the radiopharmaceutical is created, how to operate the machine to perform the scan and relate this to advantages such as technologist exposure, quality of images produced, SPECT vs. planar imaging, patient compliance, ease/ability for patients to perform the scan, timing of breaths, etc. as well as outline main disadvantages of Technegas, those being mainly cost and accessibility.
– Compare and contrast Technegas with Aerosol Lung imaging using case study examples, outlining key features in biodistribution and how it relates to image quality and sensitivity/specificity for diagnosing pulmonary embolism.
– Explore the radiation dose received by the patient for Nuclear Medicine lung scans compared to other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT), highlighting a key demographic of those at risk for pulmonary embolism (pregnant women).
– Briefly explore the use of Technegas in the Canadian Nuclear Medicine market as it is approved by Health Canada, compared to other parts of the world, for example Australia, Europe and may briefly mention comparison with the US as they are still pending FDA approval.
2) New Challenges and Considerations for Radiation Safety in Nuclear Medicine
Presenters: Joe Cortese
Learning Objectives:
– Explore new and emerging technologies in nuclear medicine.
– Discuss the challenges in maintaining compliance with CNSC regulatory requirements when new and emerging technologies arise in nuclear medicine.
– Provide examples of practical ways to ensure best practices in radiation safety are followed when new isotopes are introduced to a nuclear medicine department.