Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May 21;10(1):57.
doi: 10.1186/s13244-019-0741-7.

State of affairs of hybrid imaging in Europe: two multi-national surveys from 2017

Sergios Gatidis  1 , Thomas Beyer  2 , Minerva Becker  3 , Katrine Riklund  4 , Konstantin Nikolaou  5 , Clemens Cyran  6 , Christina Pfannenberg  5
Affiliations

State of affairs of hybrid imaging in Europe: two multi-national surveys from 2017

Sergios Gatidis et al. Insights Imaging. .

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the current state of hybrid imaging in Europe with respect to operations, reading and reporting, as well as qualification and training.

Methods: The first survey (LOCAL) was sent to the heads of the departments of radiology and nuclear medicine in Europe in 2017, including 15 questions regarding the organisation of hybrid imaging operations, reporting strategies for PET/CT and the existence of relevant training programmes. The second survey (NATIONAL) consisted of 10 questions and was directed to the national ministries of health of 37 European countries addressing combined training options in radiology and nuclear medicine.

Results: In the LOCAL survey, 61 valid responses from 26 European countries were received. In almost half of the institutions, hybrid imaging was performed within a single department, mainly in nuclear medicine departments (31%). In half of the centres (51%), PET/CT reports were performed jointly, while in 20% of the centres, reporting was performed by nuclear medicine physicians. Radiologists were responsible for presenting hybrid imaging results in clinical boards in 34% of responding sites. Integrated hybrid imaging training was available in 41% sites. In the NATIONAL survey, responses from 34 countries were received and demonstrated a heterogeneous landscape of official training possibilities in radiology and nuclear medicine with limited opportunities for additional qualifications in hybrid imaging.

Conclusions: The results of these surveys demonstrate a notable heterogeneity in the current practice of hybrid imaging throughout Europe. This heterogeneity exists despite the general consensus that strong professional cooperation is required in order to ensure high clinical quality and to strengthen the clinical role of hybrid imaging.

Keywords: Hybrid imaging; PET/CT; Procedures; Survey; Training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Location of and (b) responsibility for hybrid imaging modalities
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(a) Reporting and (b) presenting of hybrid imaging results
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(a) Existence of and (b) support for joint training programmes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Hricak H, Choi BI, Scott AM, Sugimura K, Muellner A, von Schulthess GK, Reiser MF, Graham MM, Dunnick NR, Larson SM. Global trends in hybrid imaging. Radiology. 2010;257(2):498–506. doi: 10.1148/radiol.10100579. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beyer T, Townsend DW, Brun T, Kinahan PE, Charron M, Roddy R, Jerin J, Young J, Byars L, Nutt R. A combined PET/CT scanner for clinical oncology. J Nucl Med. 2000;41(8):1369–1379. - PubMed
    1. Bailey DL, Pichler BJ, Guckel B, Antoch G, Barthel H, Bhujwalla ZM, Biskup S, Biswal S, Bitzer M, Boellaard R, Braren RF, Brendle C, Brindle K, Chiti A, la Fougere C, Gillies R, Goh V, Goyen M, Hacker M, Heukamp L, Knudsen GM, Krackhardt AM, Law I, Morris JC, Nikolaou K, Nuyts J, Ordonez AA, Pantel K, Quick HH, Riklund K, Sabri O, Sattler B, Troost EGC, Zaiss M, Zender L, Beyer T. Combined PET/MRI: Global Warming-Summary Report of the 6th International Workshop on PET/MRI, March 27–29, 2017, Tubingen, Germany. Mol Imaging Biol. 2018;20(1):4–20. doi: 10.1007/s11307-017-1123-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mariani G, Bruselli L, Kuwert T, Kim EE, Flotats A, Israel O, Dondi M, Watanabe N. A review on the clinical uses of SPECT/CT. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2010;37(10):1959–1985. doi: 10.1007/s00259-010-1390-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beyer T, Hicks RJ, Freudenberg LS. Life is not black and white, nor just shades of gray. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2018;45(5):816–821. doi: 10.1007/s00259-018-3943-1. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources