The PET/CT Training Institute - Advancing the Science of Molecular Imaging

This online course is designed to establish a technologist's expertise in all aspects of RAM and CT radiation safety issues, while also covering topics to include fluoroscopy, X-Ray, and MRI safety matters. This course will help prepare technologist to take the NMTCB (RS) post-primary certification examination.

This online asynchronous self-study learning module will provide up to date review of principles and practices in Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Technologist. Upon successful completion from this course the technologist will earn 50 Hours of SNMMI-TS Voice Credits. This course meets the ARRT requirements for MR Structured Education.
This course will provide a thorough understanding of MR Techniques, Methodologies, Safety Issues, Patient Care, Instrumentation, Quality Control, and MR Imaging Protocols.

75 CEH's SNMMI-TS Voice Credits. This structured online self-study post graduate course offers the technologist a clear understanding of PET, MR, and PET/MR Instrumentation, Safety, Methodologies, Quality Control, and clinical applications.
This course was modelled after the SMRT and SNMMI-TS Joint Task Force for PET/MR didactic education.

75 CEH’s SNMMI-TS Voice Credits. This structured post graduate online self-study course offers the technologist a clear understanding of SPECT, CT, and SPECT/CT Instrumentation, Quality Control, Radiopharmacy, and Clinical applications with case studies.

57.25 CEH’s SNMMI-TS Voice Credits. This structured online self study post graduate course offers the technologist an essential review of Instrumentation, Safety, Quality Control, and Clinical applications.

The PET/CT Training Institute's Alternative Eligibility program instructs students in the use of radioactive material through proper utilization of specialized equipment and techniques. The program prepares students to perform dose calculations, prepare radiopharmaceuticals. Discuss related quality control and quality assurance procedures on instrumentation. Courses include radiation safety and radiobiology with an emphasis in radiation protection, storage and disposal of radioactive materials and inventory and control of radiopharmaceuticals. The program provides entry-level lectures in positron imaging tomography (PET).

This online self study 50 hour course is intended for Technologist who needs an effective way to prepare for, and pass, the NMTCB or ARRT CT Certification Examination. This course curriculum will provide broad fundamental knowledge of CT principles and concepts as outlined in the published Content Specifications of the NMTCB and ARRT. This course provides sample questions and different test strategies to help prepare the student to be successful with the CT certification examination. In addition, the course will consist of an overview of CT Physics, Instrumentation, Radiation Safety and Protection, CT Quality Control, Contrast Medias, Artifacts, Special Procedures, Pediatric and Adult Methodology, Acquisition Protocols, and Cross Sectional Anatomy with and without contrast agents and finally current CT Imaging protocols.

SNMTS Approved for revelant continuing education credits towards a PET Neurology Lab endorsement.

SNMTS Approved for revelant continuing education credits towards a PET Cardiology Lab endorsement.

SNMTS Approved for revelant continuing education credits towards a PET Oncology Lab endorsement.

The PET/CT Training Institute's PET Registry Review program covers a wide range of topics related to PET and CT. This program prepares students for their NMTCB PET examination. Courses include radiation safety and protection, radiopharmacy, instrumentation, and procedural methodologies.

This online self study course meets the CE requirements for Alternative Specific Device Training for Nuclear Medicine Technologist who are operating a dedicated PET or PET/CT system and did not receive onsite manufacturer’s specific training. This course covers the following subjects concerning PET and CT: PET-CT theory and physics; radiation safety; equipment operation; image formation, reconstruction and evaluation; quality control and assurance, and radiopharmaceutical quality control. This course has been approved by the ARRT, SNMTS, Florida Bureau of Radiation Control, and various Accreditation Agencies.

This online self study course is required by technologists who are operating a PET/CT Scanner for the purpose of performing attenuation correction only with the CT scanner. The technologist has also met the requirement for device-specific training needed to perform the CT portion of a PET-CT examination described under s. 468.302(3)(g), FS. This course covers the following subjects concerning PET and CT: Cellular Effects of Radiation, Effects of Initial and Late Exposures to Radiation, Protection of Personnel, Measuring Patient doses from CT procedures, Radiation Safety in PET Imaging, CT Physics and Instrumentation, Acquisition Processing and Display of CT Images, Integration of CT Images into the fused PET/CT study, PET Instrumentation, Acquisition, Processing and Display of PET Images, PET Quality Control, and Troubleshooting Image Artifacts. This course has been approved by the ARRT, SNMTS, Florida Bureau of Radiation Control, and various Accreditation Agencies.

This online asynchronous course will provide an up to date review of principles and practices regarding the NMTCBs Positron Emission Tomography Specialty Examination. Upon successful completion from this course the technologist will earn 24 Hours of SNMMI-TS Voice Credits along with certificates of completion making the course a valuable addition to preparing for the PET Boards. This course will provide a thorough understanding of Diagnostic Procedures, Instrumentation/Quality Control, Radiation Protection, and Radiopharmaceuticals through 4 modules.

Historical Origins of Nuclear Medicine and PET - 0.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Review the historical timeline of the origin of Nuclear Medicine and PET.

Nuclear Decay Mathematics - 1.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Review the use of the Texas Instruments TI 30 X II Series calculator to solve for radioactive decay, radioactive dilution, radiation exposure, effective half life, radiation intensity, and half value layers.Define the units of radioactivity, exposure, radiation absorbed dose, and dose equivalents.

Background Radiation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Discuss the sources of exposure to ionizing radiation.To include natural background radiation such as cosmic, cosmogenic, and terrestrial sources, as well as technologically modified sources.

Atomic Structure, Nuclear Stability - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Describe the structure of the atom and its components and their properties.Explain the structure of the chart of the nuclides and define the line of stability.Write the correct form of radionuclide notation.��

Alpha and Beta Decay - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Name and describe the primary forms of alpha and beta decay. Diagram the schematics of the various radioactive decay processes.

Gamma Decay, Positron Decay and Electron Capture - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Name and describe the primary forms of Gamma, Positron, and Electron Capture decay. Diagram the schematics of the various radioactive decay processes. List positron-emitting radionuclide and their properties.

Photon Interaction in Matter - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Describe the interactions of photons and particles interacting with matter.

Gaseous Detectors Used in the PET Lab - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Review the theoretical and practical concepts in radiation detection instrumentation; calibration, maintenance standards; practical uses of gaseous detectors, quality assurance testing for nuclear medicine instrumentation including GM detectors, ionization chambers.

Scintillation Detectors Used in Nuclear Medicine and PET - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Review the theoretical and practical concepts in radiation detection instrumentation; scintillation detectors, and multi-channel analyzers; quality assurance testing for nuclear medicine instrumentation, and gamma spectrometry of commonly used nuclear medicine radio-nuclides; scintillation cameras and PET Scanners. List the detector crystals that can be used in Nuclear Medicine and PET Imaging.

The History of Radiobiology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope; R)

Review the history of Radiobiology, and the leaders who contributed in the research.Define the terms related to the measurement of radiation.

Cellular Anatomy and Physiology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Indicate the parts of the cells, their functions and differentiate between mitosis and meiosis.

Cellular Effects of Radiation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Examine the physical and biological factors affecting cell radio-sensitivity.Inspect the direct and indirect effects of radiation.Evaluate the radiolysis of water.Analyze the types of dose-response relationships.Discuss the target theory and explain cell survival curves.

Effects of Initial Exposure to Radiation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Discuss the hematological, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system syndromes.Describe the local tissue damage to the skin, eyes and gonads.Explain hematological and cytogenesis effects.��

Effects of Long-Term Radiation Exposure to Radiation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Discuss epidemiology.Examine radiation-induced malignancies.Identify life span shortening.Discuss genetic damage.Explain irradiation of the fetus.Analyze stochastic and non-stochastic effects.

Protection of Personnel - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Discuss the rationale for radiation protection.Explain personnel dosimeters, dosimetry reports, and duties of the Radiation Safety Officer.Define the dose-limiting recommendations for diagnostic imaging personnel.DiscussALARA principles.Discuss how using distance can decrease radiation exposure.Illustrate the inverse square law.Identify garments that can be worn to reduce radiation exposure and explain when such garments should be used.

Measuring Patient Dose from Computed Tomography - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Discuss the historical perspectives of measuring a dose of radiation delivered to a patient using ionization chambers, multi scan average dose index, and CT dose indexes.Review Spiral and Helical CT Scanner dosimetry.Discuss methods for reducing the overall patient radiation dose in a CT exam.

Radiation Safety in PET Imaging - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Discuss the principles and methods of radiation protection in Nuclear Medicine and PET, health physics units, measurement, and dose-limiting regulations for occupationally and ��non occupationally exposed individuals; radiation surveys; techniques and decontamination methods; monitoring of radioactive waste, radiation dose measurements, and radionuclide accountability; special topics, including precautions with PET patients, and in management of accidentally contaminated individuals.

CT Physics and Instrumentation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Provide an overview of CT Physics, the CT Scanner Imaging System, and basic instrumentation components.

Acquisition, Processing and Display of CT Images - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Review the clinical application of data processing techniques; principles of tomographic imaging; CT image acquisition, processing, reconstruction, filtering and displaying of CT image sets.

Overview of CT Quality Control Procedures - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Discuss various quality control tests and frequency of performing the quality control test on CT Scanners.Review basic artifacts demonstrated on routine quality control tests.

An Overview of the Integration of CT Procedures into the Combined PET/CT Examination - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Review the fundamentals acquisition parameters of the PET and CT systems.Describe the detection of true, scatter, and random events.Describe transmission imaging and its need and use in attenuation correcting PET images.Characterize the visual presentation of nonattenuation and attenuation corrected images.Define SUV and explain how it is calculated and used.

PET Instrumentation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Explain the fundamental operation of a coincidence, dedicated and hybrid PET Imaging system.List the detector crystals that can be used for PET imaging and describe their properties.Discuss 2D and 3D imaging and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Acquisition, Processing and Display of PET Images - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Review basic acquisition, processing, and display parameters used to create the PET Image.

An Overview of PET Quality Control Procedures - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Discuss the quality assurance program used for calibrating coincidence, dedicated and hybrid PET Imaging systems.

Troubleshooting Image Artifacts in PET/CT - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Discuss the origin of PET and CT image artifacts and describe their prevention.

Physics of Positrons and Production of PET Tracers - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Describe positron decay and the production of annihilation photons.List the positron emitting radionuclide and their properties.

PET Radiopharmacy Quality Control - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Describe the difference between quality control relative to radionuclide purity, radiochemical purity, and chemical impurities.Discuss aseptic technique in the hot lab.Discuss the difference between sterile compounds and compounds containing pyrogens and the tests for ensuring these properties.

PET/CT Oncology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: 0.75 I; 0.75 R)

Discuss the radiopharmaceuticals, localization, adult dose range, method of administration, patient preparation. Review the instrumentation settings and procedural setup for a PET Whole Body Oncology examination.

PET/CT Oncology and Patient Preparation - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Discuss the indications, contraindications, patient history, and procedure for PET Whole Body Oncology examination.Review normal and abnormal results.

PET/CT Neurology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: 0.75 I; 0.75 R)

Clinical Indications for Brain PET - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Discuss the indications, contraindications, patient history, and procedure for PET Brain Perfusion examination.Review normal and abnormal results.

PET/CT Cardiology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: 0.75 I; 0.75 R)

Discuss the radiopharmaceuticals, localization, and adult dose range, method of administration, patient preparation, Rubidium Generator settings and procedural setup for Rest/Stress Rubidium-FDG Cardiac PET/CT examination.

Clinical Indications for Cardiac PET - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: I)

Discuss the indications, contraindications, patient history, and procedure for Rest/Stress Rubidium-FDG Cardiac PET/CT examination.Review normal and abnormal results.

The History of Radiobiology - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope; R)

Review the history of Radiobiology, and the leaders who contributed in the research.Define the terms related to the measurement of radiation.

Basic Math Skills for NMT I - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Demonstrate with a TI 30 X II S calculator how to perform common Nuclear Medicine and PET mathematical problems. Topics discussed include radioactive dilutions, effective half life, decay, pre-calibration, and unit's conversion.

Basic Math Skills for NMT II - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Review how to perform common Nuclear Medicine and PET mathematical problems.Topics discussed are half value layers, shielding, and inverse square law.

Production of Radionuclide - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review the fundamental concepts of radiopharmaceutical production and radionuclide generator systems.

PET Radiopharmaceuticals - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review the fundamental concepts of basic radiochemistry of Tc99m and PET radiopharmaceuticals, design criteria of radiopharmaceuticals and mechanism of localization.

Radiopharmaceutical QC - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review the quality assurance of Tc-99m and PET radiopharmaceuticals, radiochemical and radio-nucleic purity, sterility, and pyrogenicity.

The Nuclear Pharmacy - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review the daily start up procedure for the PET/CT department.Discuss daily recordkeeping principles, and discuss maintenance requirements to daily quality control.�

Radioactive Receipt - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review Code of Federal Regulations requirements for incoming radioactive shipments.Review placards and labeling processes.Discuss wipe test and survey test requirements.

Radioactive Disposal - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: R)

Review Code of Federal Regulations requirements for radioactive waste storage, disposal, and return shipments.

Introduction to Survey Meters - 1.5 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Describe the construction and operating principles of gas-filled detectors, including ionization chambers.Describe the quality control procedures and frequency of calibration for the survey meter.

Introduction to Dose Calibrators - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Describe the construction and operating principles of the dose calibrator. �Describe the quality control procedures and frequency of calibration for the dose calibrator.

Introduction to Scintillation Detectors - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Explain the operations of various types of scintillation detectors used in Nuclear Medicine and PET Imaging systems.

The Electronics of Scintigraphy - 2.0 CEH(s) - (CA Scope: NI)

Methods for Reducing Radiation Exposure in the PET/CT Lab: PET Component - 2.0 CEH(s) – (CA Scope: R)

This online self-study course is intended to inform the technologist in practical methods to reduce the radiation exposure in the PET/CT Lab to the patient, visitors, and staff.

Methods for Reducing Radiation Exposure in the PET/CT Lab: CT Component - 2.0 CEH(s) – (CA Scope: R)

This online self-study course is intended to inform the technologist in practical methods to reduce the radiation exposure in the PET/CT Lab by modifying key CT acquisition parameters, utilizing immobilization devices, and assisting the physician with sedation medications to minimize patient motion.

Basic Instrumentation of SPECT/CT: SPECT Component - 1.5 CEH(s) – (CA Scope: NI)

This online self-study course is intended to inform technologist on basic instrumentation, quality control, acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis of SPECT imaging.

Basic Instrumentation of SPECT/CT: CT Component - 2.0 CEH(s) – (CA Scope: NI)

This online self-study course is intended to inform technologist on basic physics, instrumentation, quality control, acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis of CT imaging.