SNMMI talks about promoting radiation dose optimization
June 13, 2013
By Frederic Fahey
In nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, small amounts of radioactive agents are administered to the patient to allow the physician to examine molecular processes within the body. These procedures are highly effective, safe and painless diagnostic tools that present physicians with a detailed view of what’s going on inside an individual’s body at the cellular level. For more than 60 years, these studies have been used to evaluate practically all systems within the body, including the heart and brain, as well as to image many types of cancer.
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the society’s Technologist Section recognize that the use of low levels of radiation in these procedures entails some possible risk. Radiation dose for all nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures should be optimized so that the patient receives the smallest possible amount of radiopharmaceutical that will provide the appropriate diagnostic information. SNMMI and SNMMI-TS also recognize that if an appropriate procedure — one that can provide the physician with clinical information essential to the patient’s treatment — is not performed when necessary due to fear of radiation; it can be detrimental to the patient.
The SNMMI and SNMMI-TS believe that the right test with the right dose should be given to the right patient at the right time. When nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures are performed correctly on appropriate patients, the benefits of the procedure very far outweigh the potential risks. The procedure that provides the most useful clinical information is the one that should be performed.
To ensure the appropriate use of these procedures, all nuclear medicine facilities should have comprehensive quality control measures in place, their nuclear medicine physicians should have up-to-date training, and their technologists should be appropriately trained and certified. SNMMI and SNMMI-TS and their members continually strive to improve quality and standards to ensure patients receive the best, safest and most appropriate care.
Moving forward, dose optimization will become a part of SNMMI’s communications, outreach, advocacy and education efforts. This integrated approach will help to provide information and guidance on dose optimization to imaging professionals, referring physicians, policymakers and the public.
To consolidate SNMMI resources on dose optimization in one place, a microsite is being created as part of the SNMMI website and will include dose optimization guidelines and recommendations, journal and newsletter articles, fact sheets and white papers on dose optimization, and a bibliography of dose optimization articles from non-SNMMI publications. Other communication vehicles, such as position papers, presentation materials and other resources will also be created.
Meetings with several key government agencies—including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—and Capitol Hill staff will be arranged in the coming months to discuss dose optimization. Discussions are also underway to consider the development of a national dose index registry for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
The society will develop courses on the topic and will offer them at its Mid-Winter Meeting, at Annual Meeting and at chapter meetings. Webinars, online lectures and sample cases will also be created, as well as self-assessment programs and a Part IV Maintenance of Certification program.
In addition to these activities, SNMMI will continue to actively participate in Image Gently and Image Wisely. SNMMI will also work with other groups to help advance understanding of dose optimization, including the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance and the American College of Cardiology.
Radiation dose for all nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures should be optimized by ensuring that the patient receives the smallest possible amount of radiopharmaceutical that will provide the necessary diagnostic information. We look forward to working with all members of the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging field to achieve this.
About the author: Frederic H. Fahey, DSc, FACR, FAAPM, serves as the Director of Nuclear Medicine Physics and PET at Boston Children's Hospital, and is an associate professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He is the past president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Fahey has written over 70 journal articles and published 18 book chapters and serves as an expert consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is currently president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
In nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, small amounts of radioactive agents are administered to the patient to allow the physician to examine molecular processes within the body. These procedures are highly effective, safe and painless diagnostic tools that present physicians with a detailed view of what’s going on inside an individual’s body at the cellular level. For more than 60 years, these studies have been used to evaluate practically all systems within the body, including the heart and brain, as well as to image many types of cancer.
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the society’s Technologist Section recognize that the use of low levels of radiation in these procedures entails some possible risk. Radiation dose for all nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures should be optimized so that the patient receives the smallest possible amount of radiopharmaceutical that will provide the appropriate diagnostic information. SNMMI and SNMMI-TS also recognize that if an appropriate procedure — one that can provide the physician with clinical information essential to the patient’s treatment — is not performed when necessary due to fear of radiation; it can be detrimental to the patient.
The SNMMI and SNMMI-TS believe that the right test with the right dose should be given to the right patient at the right time. When nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures are performed correctly on appropriate patients, the benefits of the procedure very far outweigh the potential risks. The procedure that provides the most useful clinical information is the one that should be performed.
To ensure the appropriate use of these procedures, all nuclear medicine facilities should have comprehensive quality control measures in place, their nuclear medicine physicians should have up-to-date training, and their technologists should be appropriately trained and certified. SNMMI and SNMMI-TS and their members continually strive to improve quality and standards to ensure patients receive the best, safest and most appropriate care.
Moving forward, dose optimization will become a part of SNMMI’s communications, outreach, advocacy and education efforts. This integrated approach will help to provide information and guidance on dose optimization to imaging professionals, referring physicians, policymakers and the public.
To consolidate SNMMI resources on dose optimization in one place, a microsite is being created as part of the SNMMI website and will include dose optimization guidelines and recommendations, journal and newsletter articles, fact sheets and white papers on dose optimization, and a bibliography of dose optimization articles from non-SNMMI publications. Other communication vehicles, such as position papers, presentation materials and other resources will also be created.
Meetings with several key government agencies—including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—and Capitol Hill staff will be arranged in the coming months to discuss dose optimization. Discussions are also underway to consider the development of a national dose index registry for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
The society will develop courses on the topic and will offer them at its Mid-Winter Meeting, at Annual Meeting and at chapter meetings. Webinars, online lectures and sample cases will also be created, as well as self-assessment programs and a Part IV Maintenance of Certification program.
In addition to these activities, SNMMI will continue to actively participate in Image Gently and Image Wisely. SNMMI will also work with other groups to help advance understanding of dose optimization, including the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance and the American College of Cardiology.
Radiation dose for all nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures should be optimized by ensuring that the patient receives the smallest possible amount of radiopharmaceutical that will provide the necessary diagnostic information. We look forward to working with all members of the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging field to achieve this.
About the author: Frederic H. Fahey, DSc, FACR, FAAPM, serves as the Director of Nuclear Medicine Physics and PET at Boston Children's Hospital, and is an associate professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He is the past president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Fahey has written over 70 journal articles and published 18 book chapters and serves as an expert consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is currently president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.