VIDEO: Cardiac CT training requirements for radiologists and technologists
Brian Ghoshhajra MD, MBA, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains what specialized training is needed to perform coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).
There has been a big increase in interest in cardiac CT following the publication of the ACC 2021 Chest Pain Evaluation Guidelines last fall, which raised CT angiography (CTA) to a 1A level of evidence. This has prompted many centers to consider creating CTA programs.
Ghoshhajra said CTA requires a specific patient set up, CT protocols and the ability to read the exams that some radiologists and cardiologists may not have been trained to do, or need to increase their proficiency. In the discussion, he outlines what centers need to do for specialized cardiac CT training.
He said technologists and nurses play a key role because they need to be more technically savvy to freeze the motion of the heart, set up ECG leads required for CT image gating when the heart is in specific positions of the cardiac cycle, and to be able to administer heart rate control drugs such as beta-blockers.
There are many sessions on this type of training at the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT). Ghoshhajra is the director of the 2022 annual meeting and noted there is a sizable technologist section within SCCT to help train or improve skills with continuing education and networking.
Related Cardiac CT Content:
VIDEO: The new role of cardiac CT in chest pain evaluation — Interview with Brian Ghoshhajra MD
PHOTO GALLERY: Duly Health adopts outpatient cardiac CT as a standard of care
VIDEO: Cardiac CT now recommended as a front-line chest pain assessment tool — Interview with Leslee Shaw, PhD
VIDEO: The new role of cardiac CT under the 2021 chest pain evaluation guidelines — Interview with Eric Williamson, MD, SCCT President
Structured reporting boosts clinicians’ CCTA comprehension
VIDEO: Mitigating the contrast media shortage impact on CT imaging — Interview with Brian Ghoshhajra MD
VIDEO: Contrast media shortage impacting cardiac CT imaging — Interview with Eric Williamson, MD
VIDEO: Office-based cardiac CT and FFR-CT offer a new business model
VIDEO: HeartFlow FFR-CT sees increased interest after inclusion in the 2021 Chest Pain Guidelines
VIDEO: Use of CT to assess coronary plaques — Interview with Leslee Shaw, PhD