A good technologist can really be an important asset in a PET/CT department like ours. A great technologist should first and foremost reduce patient anxiety, but in this episode I’ll also talk about how a careful and educated technologist is needed to get both complete and accurate images.
During radiotherapy treatment planning, communication between imaging experts and radiation therapists proves to be essential. We as radiologists can help with the displayed image contrast and the different algorithms for segmentation. The radiation therapy experts can tell us about when and how to measure the success of radiation therapy. It turns out that therapeutic response can be measured a number of ways.
A recent talk I presented had me further examining how clinicians, radiologists, and radiation therapists interact during the treatment planning process. I’ll illustrate with a prostate treatment example and later touch on the importance of image quality as it relates to SPECT and PET. A healthy collaboration is essential to maximizing treatment dose, sparing normal tissues, and increasing the chances of a positive outcome.
Dr. Faulhaber continues his thoughts on SNM 2010 with a review of radiopharmaceuticals. He then discusses trends in scanning instruments towards minimum dose, maximum speed, and increased image quality. Dr. Faulhaber also explores the improvements in imaging software and the exciting trend of server-based imaging using cloud technology.
Dr. Faulhaber concludes his three-part series on non-oncologic brain imaging by discussing refractory seizures. He covers the techniques for evaluating intractable epilepsy, including the role of PET in brain surgery guidance. Dr. Faulhaber also discusses why interictal PET combined with ictal and interictal SPECT will have a better chance of finding an epileptogenic focus. He then discusses the importance of co-registering these scans with software and using subtraction techniques.
Dr. Faulhaber continues his three-part series on non-oncologic brain imaging by covering a wide range of dementia. He examines the challenge of diagnosing from a broad spectrum of symptomatic criteria and looks at the dangers of treating one type of dementia as if it were another. Dr. Faulhaber concludes by examining the promising new agents being used for dementia PET imaging, which offer hope for more accurate diagnoses.
Dr. Faulhaber begins a three-part series on non-oncologic brain imaging. He summarizes the CMS approval process, which has led to the evaluation of Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) with PET. He also examines how imaging can help aid in the early diagnosis and in distinguishing between AD and mild cognitive impairment. Early detection and treatment to delay the onset of AD could potentially have a significant impact on the cost of care, which is currently estimated at 150 billion dollars.
Dr. Faulhaber concludes his four-part series for clinical staff by looking at the challenges of radiation therapy. He emphasizes the extreme importance of clear communication among the various clinical teams in understanding the plan and possible treatment protocols. For example, using a flat versus a curved table can have a significant impact on the success of the radiation therapy. Dr. Faulhaber also examines the various methods of drawing PET tumor volumes, including constant threshold edge detection and the more accurate gradient edge detection.
Dr. Faulhaber continues his four-part series for the nurses, technologists, and physicians directly taking care of the patient. He describes the patient’s physiologic parameters that affect what lesions and tumors can and cannot be seen. He also discusses the value of respiratory gating to overcome blurring and the difficulties of minimizing errors when evaluating SUVs.
