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Mark H. Crosthwaite, M.Ed., CNMT, PET, RS, FSNMMI-TS
Monday/Wednesday 9:30- 10:20 a.m..
828-3264
Room 3003

Course Syllabus: CLRS 318 Nuclear Medicine: Procedure II
Spring 2023

Course Description

Two credit hour semester course with two hours of lecture. Prerequisite: CRS 317 and CRS 321. Presentation of the techniques employed in the performance in Nuclear Cardiology imaging procedures. Topics include anatomy and physiology, pathology, patient preparation, contraindication, radiopharmaceuticals, dose route of administration, biodistribution, imaging protocols, equipment setup, and common findings.

Required text/reading

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Nuclear Medicine Imaging, Terminology and Technical Aspects by E.S Crawford and SS Husein (2010) - Is recommended, but currently unavailable
Date of Lecture - by the week
1/17 Course Introduction/Cardiac Diseases/Thallium Kinetics
1/24 99mTc-Radiopharms/Stress and Pharmacologic MPI Procedures
1/31 Planar and SPECT Processing/Polar Maps
2/7 Exam I
2/14 Application and Processing with Cedars and Emory Tool Box

2/21 MPI Anatomy and Gated SPECT

2/28 Transmission Imaging and SPECT Resolution
Week of March 07 - SPRING BREAK
3/14 Artifacts and Dection of CAD with 201Tl vs 99mTc Tracers
3/21 Exam II
3/28 RBC labeling and Gated Blood Pool
4/04 First Pass
4/11 Cardiac Sarcoidosis and Amyloid Plaque Imaging
4/18 PET Cardiology
4/25 Exam III
5/02 Reviewand catchup if necessary
5/08 Week of Final Exam - TBA

This course follows the MCV campus schedule.

Additional Lecture material will be attend from
Procedures Standards Manual, SNMMI - see Cardiovascular System. For updates go to: http://www.snmmi.org/procedurestandards. As of 1/10/23 there are no updates in the cardiology section.

- SNMMI Procedure Standard for Gated Equilibrium Radionuclide Ventriculography - Link
- ASNC-SCCT-SNMMI Guideline for Cardiac SPECT/CT and PET/CT 1.0 - Link
- ACR-SNMMI-SPR Practice Guideline for the Performance of Cardiac Scintigraphy - Link
- SNMMI Procedure Standard for Myocardial Perfusion Imaging 3.3 - Link

Evaluation

Grading Policy:
Grades will be based on objective tests consisting of registry type multiple choice questions as well as discussion questions. The grading scale is as follows:

Percent Grade
93-100 A
85-92 B
77-84 C*
69-76 D
68 > F
*minimum passing grade

Students are expected to score at least a cumulative grade of 77% according to the weighting factors described below.

Exam 1: Cardiology I MPI 20%
Exam 2: Cardiology II MPI 20%
Exam 3: First Pass & MUGA 20%
Assignments/quizzes/Kahoo 15%
Final Exam 25%


Exams/Quizzes, Assignment, and Attendance Policies
  1. Exams will encompass information discussed during lectures, handouts given in class, and homework/reading assignment. Failure to take an exam on a scheduled exam day will automatically cause a 7% deduction from the total letter grade. Make-up must be scheduled and completed ASAP, so that the entire class has the opportunity to review the results. The only exception given to this policy will be if the student has made prior arrangements with the instructor.
  2. There will be unannounced quizzes and/or Kahoot throughout the semester that may occur at the beginning of class. Make-up quizzes will not be given. A quiz, if given, will be completed within the first 5 minutes of class. Should you arrive late and the 5 minute time period is not over, you may use the remaining time to complete the quiz and hand it in. You will be allowed to drop your lowest grades. Attendance is considered mandatory.  Failure to show up means that you may miss a quiz that translates to zero points. Therefore, you need to show up and on time.
  3. The Department Chair establishes policies and schedules for all CLRS final exams. The Department Chair must approve of any changes regarding scheduling the course final exam. A penalty may be imposed for missing a scheduled final exam.

  4. Any assignment or homework given in class must be completed in the time designated by the instructor. Late assignments will not be accepted.
  5. This is one of the professional courses in which the lowest passing grade is "C".
  6. There will be a lab assignment in which each student will have to sign on to our computer system and process an MPI study via Ceder's protocol.
  7. If any student wishes to miss class due to a religious holiday, in accordance with University policy, you must inform the instructor no later than 1/27/23.

Teaching/Learning Methods

  1. Class lectures will be face-to-face, however, Zoom will be considered based on Covid-19 pandemic status.
  2. Reading assignments: The student must be prepared for class. The reading assignments will be the basis for class discussions; therefore, the student must complete all reading assignments including handouts and notes before they are discussed in class.
  3. Pop quizzes via Kahoot may be given at beginning of class. Participation of the quiz will result in full credit and failure to take this quiz will result in a Zero.

General Course Objectives

  1. Describe:
    1. The anatomy/physiology and method of radiopharmaceutical localization in the target organ/system.
    2. The common pathologic disorders being diagnosed by the various nuclear exams discussed.
    3. Normal pathologic distribution of radiopharmaceuticals and image interpretation of such.
    4. Common abnormal study findings.
    5. Biologic, physical, and effective half-life as it relates to organ dose and image quality.
    6. Modifications of the study for use in pediatric patients.
  1. Explain:
    1. Instrumentation parameters and requirements.
    2. Acquisition protocol: including views, sequencing, end-point, etc.
    3. Common artifacts encountered with each study.
    4. Primary photon energies used for imaging.
  1. Identify:
    1. Specific radionuclide for each nuclear medicine procedure presented.
    2. The rationale for radiopharmaceutical selection.
    3. Indications for the study.
    4. Optimal organ localization time for appropriate imaging sequence.
    5. Patient positioning and landmarks.
    6. Study type for the acquisition: SPECT, dynamic, planar, etc.
  1. State:
    1. Patient preparation.
    2. Correct dose amount for an adult.
    3. Correct route of administration of the appropriate radiopharmaceutical.
    4. Computer data acquisition and processing parameters.

Comment on Course Objectives - For more detail on your course objectives visit Blackboard and go to the individual Study Guides for each exam. The objectives will represent the examination content for each unit.

Policy Regarding Calculators
The Department of Radiation Sciences will only allow use of non-programmable (non-graphing) calculators.  Students will not be allowed to use programmable (graphing) calculators during any type of examination.  In addition, students will not be allowed to share calculators during any examination.

Electronic Device Policy
Electronic devices are not to be used in class without prior instructor approval; notebook computers are not allowed; text messaging is not allowed; cell phones should be on vibrate for emergency purposes only.

VCU Honor Code and Student Conduct
Students are responsible for being familiar with and adhering to the VCU Honor Code and student conduct policy as outlined in the current VCU Resource Guide, available at: https://policy.vcu.edu/university wide-policies/policies/honor-system---intermittent

ADA Policy
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require VCU to provide academic adjustments or accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Students seeking academic adjustments or accommodations must self-identify with the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities on the appropriate campus. After meeting with the Coordinator, students are encouraged to meet with instructors to discuss their needs and, if applicable, any laboratory safety concerns related to their disabilities. Please refer to Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity at https://saeo.vcu.edu/about-saeo/.

Policies Regarding the Academic Calendar and Course Schedule
The Department of Radiation Sciences abides by the VCU academic calendar for the MCV campus (see http:www.vcu.edu/academiccalendars/)

Academic Calendar
The Department of Radiation Sciences abides by the VCU academic calendar for the MCV Campus (see http://www.vcu.edu/academiccalendars/).

UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

The updated statements for syllabi and blackboard pages are available at https://provost.vcu.edu/academic-affairs/operations/syllabus-statements/
Topics Include:

  1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (https://alert.vcu.edu/signup/). Keep your information up-to-date.
  2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
  3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
  4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (http://www.vcu.edu/alert).
  5. Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234).
  6. Report suspicious activities and objects.

How to Prepared for Emergencies at VCU

  1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (http://www.vcu.edu/alert/notify). Keep your information up-to-date.
  2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
  3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
  4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (http://www.vcu.edu/alert).
  5. Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234).
  6. Report suspicious activities and objects. s

Related Syllabus Topics

Additional information related to this syllabus is available at the following link: https://uploads.provost.vcu.edu/syllabus.pdf

Course Objectives

Exam one

  1. Review cardiac disease and anatomy
  2. Evaluate radiopharmaceutical kinetics
  3. Evaluate stress protocols (treadmill and pharmacological)
  4. Assess the different methods to acquire an MPI procedure
Exam Two
  1. Discuss the different components that comprise a MPI SPECT
  2. Review processing and quantification of an MPI procedure
  3. Know your myocardial anatomy
  4. Identify SPECT artifacts and how to prevent them
  5. Discuss the statistics beyond MPI imaging
Exam Three
  1. Evaluate the applications of first pass in cardiac imaging
  2. Review the application of gated blood pool imaging of the myocardium
  3. Assess cardiac scaroidosis and how NM is used to evaluate this disease
  4. Discuss methods to evaluate amolyoid plaque
  5. Review PET cardiology

 

 

 

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clrs318spring2023.htm