80025566: Quantitative Nuclear Medicine to Improve Patient Outcomes 2011

Nuclear medicine studies are now being used much more often to assess treatment response and as an endpoint in clinical trials. It has become imperative to express the results of these studies in objective and quantitative terms as opposed to simply qualitative ones. This course will cover how to generate quantitative data with PET/CT, SPECT/CT and planar imaging. The methods to do this will be described and illustrated with studies from patients with disease involving many different organs. The workshops will provide an opportunity for the registrants to learn more about the methods used to generate quantitative data. Participation in reading patient studies will illustrate how the material presented in the didactic lectures is used. An emphasis on linking quantitative data to clinical outcome will be discussed throughout the course. There will be ample time to ask questions.

Objectives
After attending this activity, the participant will demonstrate the ability to

• Apply quantitative parameters to the nuclear medicine studies that are performed in their clinical practice.
• Create quantitative information in PET/CT, SPECT/CT and planar imaging studies.
• Compare studies performed in the same patient before and after treatment and assess the response with objective numbers.

Target Audience(s)

nuclear medicine physicians and radiologists who perform and read nuclear medicine studies. It will also be appropriate for technologists and other interested health professionals in the use of quantitation in medical imaging.