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.
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Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com