Image Gently, SNM launch pediatric dose reduction campaign
The Image Gently campaign and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) have launched the “Go With the Guidelines” campaign to encourage community hospitals, academic hospitals and clinics to observe new North American Guidelines for Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmaceutical Dose in children.
The dose recommendations, calculated on a straight weight basis, have been tested in children’s hospitals and are compatible with high-quality imaging and further dose reduction in the first decades of life.
“Standardization helps ensure that all pediatric nuclear medicine providers consistently get quality medical images while using the lowest amount of radiation possible,” S. Ted Treves, MD, strategy leader of the Image Gently/SNM initiative and chief of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in a statement.
The launch of the “Go With the Guidelines” campaign reiterates the central message of Image Gently, according to the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which advises radiologists who perform nuclear medicine imaging exams on children to follow the North American Guidelines for Pediatric Nuclear Medicine and to determine the appropriate radiopharmaceutical dose based on body weight.
To foster awareness of the guidelines, Image Gently and SNM are distributing thousands of 11x14-inch posters that remind medical practitioners to use these new guidelines for 11 frequently performed imaging studies in children. Posters are provided at no cost and can be found inside various medical imaging journals this fall. The poster also can be downloaded from the Image Gently website.
The dose recommendations, calculated on a straight weight basis, have been tested in children’s hospitals and are compatible with high-quality imaging and further dose reduction in the first decades of life.
“Standardization helps ensure that all pediatric nuclear medicine providers consistently get quality medical images while using the lowest amount of radiation possible,” S. Ted Treves, MD, strategy leader of the Image Gently/SNM initiative and chief of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in a statement.
The launch of the “Go With the Guidelines” campaign reiterates the central message of Image Gently, according to the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which advises radiologists who perform nuclear medicine imaging exams on children to follow the North American Guidelines for Pediatric Nuclear Medicine and to determine the appropriate radiopharmaceutical dose based on body weight.
To foster awareness of the guidelines, Image Gently and SNM are distributing thousands of 11x14-inch posters that remind medical practitioners to use these new guidelines for 11 frequently performed imaging studies in children. Posters are provided at no cost and can be found inside various medical imaging journals this fall. The poster also can be downloaded from the Image Gently website.
Evan Godt, Writer
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.