PET/SPECT/CT scanning is a crucial tool for the evaluation of cancer and other diseases. The ability to perform both the diagnostic CT and PET/SPECT scans at the same time and on the same machine improves patient comfort and experience.  It also offers efficiencies for the testing facility, in terms of time to set up the testing and the staff required to run the tests.

To help improve knowledge and understanding of how these systems work, CRCBID’s Education Officer, Jacqui Hislop-Jambrich, has been conducting seminars for nuclear medicine and dentistry students.

In March, Jacqui ran a CT seminar for 11 postgraduate nuclear medicine students from Monash University.   The seminar focussed on the basic physics and instrumentation used in CT and outlined both of the clinical limitations and the strengths of the technology.

“A particularly useful site visit of Monash University’s CT scanning laboratory allowed the students to see an older, single slice unit,” says Jacqui.  “This allowed them to compare it to a newer helical scanner, and identify the benefits of the newer system such as the reduced time it takes to perform a scan”.

Monash University physicist, Dr Russell Horney, talked to the students about the physics aspects of the technology while showing them the different functional perspectives of the older and newer technologies. “It is important that the students are able to understand the advantages of the newer systems to ensure that the patient is provided with the most appropriate examination at the lowest radiation dose,” says Jacqui.

“We also gave them the opportunity to physically lie on a machine and position each other for a few of the routine, as well as the more difficult, clinical CT procedures.  This provided the students with an appreciation for the difficulties patients can have in establishing and maintaining a position for a scan, and how the different body shapes and sizes affect the procedure.”

Dr Horney explained the internal workings of one of the CT scanners. “Students may see CT machines opened up while under maintenance but the only opportunity to see the machine internals and have them explained as well is in laboratories such as this. Diagrams in lectures cannot provide the sound understanding required for optimum operation of the complex technology and the ability to follow technological changes into the future,” he said.

Also in March, Jacqui visited third year Dental School students at the University of Melbourne to talk about advanced radiological imaging of the mandible and maxilla. As technology advances, there is a need for professionals that either perform radiography or refer patients for radiological procedures to constantly update their knowledge of procedures, ensuring that the most appropriate test is performed.

“In this talk, the focus was on the advantages and disadvantages of using the traditional orthopantomogram (OPG).  The older OPG technology provides a great big-picture view of the mandible and maxilla, while the new CBCT technology provides exquisite detail of such structures as mandible and maxillary nerve channels which are important to locate when performing surgery around those areas.

The lecture also included where it might be appropriate to use clinical CT rather than either of the other technologies, and included a brief overview of radiation considerations of all of these technologies.