Nuclear Medicine Radiology Techniques Course

Lesson 1 • Atomic Structure and Radioactivity

Covers nuclear structure, isotope stability, and decay modes essential to understanding radiopharmaceutical behavior. Provides the physics foundation for all subsequent imaging concepts.

Lesson 2 • Radiation Interactions with Matter

Examines how ionizing radiation transfers energy to tissue and detector materials. Connects interaction mechanisms to image quality and radiation protection strategies.

Lesson 3 • Radiopharmaceutical Principles

Introduces radionuclide selection criteria, labeling chemistry, and biodistribution concepts. Links pharmaceutical design to target organ uptake and image contrast.

Lesson 1 • Radioactive Waste Management

Addresses segregation, decay-in-storage, and disposal pathways for radioactive materials. Ensures regulatory compliance and environmental protection in daily operations.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory Compliance Framework

Covers licensing requirements, authorized user roles, and quality management programs. Links regulatory obligations to safe radiopharmaceutical handling and record-keeping.

Lesson 3 • Radiation Protection Principles

Teaches time, distance, and shielding strategies alongside occupational exposure limits. Establishes the safety framework applied throughout all clinical procedures.

Lesson 4 • Internal Dosimetry Calculations

Introduces MIRD schema, S-values, and organ dose estimation for administered radiopharmaceuticals. Enables accurate patient dose reporting and protocol justification.

Lesson 1 • Gamma Camera Components

Examines collimators, NaI(Tl) crystals, photomultiplier tubes, and pulse-height analyzers. Understanding each component's role is prerequisite to quality control and troubleshooting.

Lesson 2 • Acquisition Parameters and Protocols

Covers matrix size, zoom, energy window selection, and count rate optimization. Proper parameter selection directly determines image resolution and diagnostic quality.

Lesson 3 • Gamma Camera Quality Control

Teaches daily, weekly, and annual QC tests including uniformity, spatial resolution, and linearity. Systematic QC prevents diagnostic errors caused by equipment malfunction.

Lesson 1 • Image Reconstruction Methods

Teaches filtered back-projection and iterative reconstruction algorithms including OSEM. Reconstruction parameter selection determines image noise, resolution, and artifact profiles.

Lesson 2 • SPECT Quality Assurance

Covers center-of-rotation calibration, tomographic uniformity, and phantom-based performance testing. Routine QA ensures consistent SPECT image quality across clinical studies.

Lesson 3 • Attenuation and Scatter Correction

Addresses photon attenuation artifacts and scatter correction techniques used in SPECT. Correction methods improve quantitative accuracy and reduce diagnostic misinterpretation.

Lesson 4 • Clinical SPECT Protocols

Applies acquisition and reconstruction knowledge to cardiac, brain, and bone SPECT protocols. Protocol standardization ensures reproducible, comparable clinical results.

Lesson 1 • PET Physics and Annihilation

Covers positron emission, annihilation radiation, and coincidence detection principles. These physics concepts underpin all PET system design and image formation decisions.

Lesson 2 • SUV Measurement and Quantification

Teaches standardized uptake value calculation, normalization methods, and sources of variability. Accurate SUV reporting is essential for treatment response assessment.

Lesson 3 • PET Detector Systems

Examines scintillator crystals, silicon photomultipliers, and time-of-flight technology in modern PET. Detector performance determines spatial resolution and image signal-to-noise ratio.

Lesson 4 • PET Acquisition and Corrections

Covers 2D vs. 3D acquisition modes, normalization, attenuation, and scatter corrections. Proper corrections are mandatory for quantitative SUV measurements used clinically.

Lesson 1 • Image Co-registration and Fusion

Covers rigid and non-rigid registration algorithms, fusion display tools, and alignment verification. Accurate co-registration is critical for lesion localization and surgical planning.

Lesson 2 • Hybrid Imaging Artifacts

Identifies truncation, respiratory mismatch, contrast agent, and metal artifacts in hybrid images. Artifact recognition prevents misdiagnosis and guides corrective acquisition strategies.

Lesson 3 • Hybrid System Architecture

Covers combined scanner hardware, gantry design, and workflow integration of PET/CT and SPECT/CT. Understanding system layout is prerequisite to optimizing hybrid acquisition protocols.

Lesson 4 • CT Acquisition for Attenuation Correction

Teaches low-dose CT protocols used for attenuation correction maps and anatomical localization. CT parameter selection balances dose minimization with correction accuracy.

Lesson 1 • Pediatric Nuclear Medicine Adaptations

Addresses dose adjustment, immobilization, sedation considerations, and age-specific protocols. Pediatric adaptations minimize radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic image quality.

Lesson 2 • Endocrine and Pulmonary Procedures

Teaches thyroid scintigraphy, parathyroid imaging, and ventilation-perfusion lung scanning. These studies require specific radiopharmaceutical handling and patient instruction protocols.

Lesson 3 • Cardiovascular Nuclear Procedures

Addresses myocardial perfusion imaging, gated blood pool studies, and cardiac PET protocols. Cardiovascular studies require precise stress testing integration and ECG gating techniques.

Lesson 4 • Oncology Imaging Procedures

Covers FDG PET/CT, bone scintigraphy, and tumor-specific receptor imaging protocols. Oncology studies represent the highest-volume clinical application of nuclear medicine techniques.

Lesson 1 • PRRT and Targeted Therapies

Covers peptide receptor radionuclide therapy with Lu-177 and Y-90 for neuroendocrine tumors. Includes pre-therapy dosimetry, amino acid infusion, and cycle management.

Lesson 2 • Bone Pain Palliation Therapy

Addresses Ra-223 and other bone-seeking agents for metastatic bone pain palliation. Covers patient selection, administration technique, and hematologic monitoring.

Lesson 3 • Post-Therapy Dosimetry and Follow-Up

Teaches quantitative post-therapy imaging, organ dose estimation, and treatment response evaluation. Dosimetry-guided follow-up optimizes subsequent therapy cycles and patient outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Radionuclide Therapy

Covers targeted radiation delivery concepts, therapeutic radionuclide properties, and tumor dose requirements. Establishes the radiobiological rationale for each therapeutic application.