Performance evaluation of the 3D-ring cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) StarGuide system according to the NEMA NU 1-2018 standard.

Background: The application of semi-conductor detectors such as cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) in nuclear medicine improves extrinsic energy resolution and count sensitivity due to the direct conversion of gamma photons into electric signals. A 3D-ring pixelated CZT system named StarGuide was recently developed and implemented by GE HealthCare for SPECT acquisition. The system consists of 12 detector columns with seven modules of 16 × 16 CZT pixelated crystals, each with an integrated parallel-hole tungsten collimator.

The Italian young medical physicist scenario: Results from the young AIFM group survey.

Purpose: The young working group of the Italian Association of Medical and Health Physics (AIFM) designed a survey to assess the current situation of the under 35 AIFM members.

Methods: An online survey including 65 questions was designed to gather personal information, educational issues, working and research experience, and to evaluate the AIFM activities. The survey was distributed to the under 35 members between November 2022 and February 2023, through the young AIFM mailing list and social media.

Role of radiomic analysis of [F]fluoromethylcholine PET/CT in predicting biochemical recurrence in a cohort of intermediate and high risk prostate cancer patients at initial staging.

Aim: To study the feasibility of radiomic analysis of baseline [F]fluoromethylcholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for the prediction of biochemical recurrence (BCR) in a cohort of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

Material And Methods: Seventy-four patients were prospectively collected. We analyzed three prostate gland (PG) segmentations (i.

Impact of patient's habitus on image quality and quantitative metrics in 18F-FDG PET/CT images.

Purpose: To study how the quantitative parameters of 18F-FDG PET imaging change with the emission scan duration (ESD) and the body-mass-index (BMI) in phantom and patients on a time-of-flight (TOF)-PET/CT system.

Methods: The image-quality phantom with (b-NEMA-IQ, BMI = 29.2 kg/m) and without (NEMA-IEC, BMI = 21.

Sound and Light Levels in a General Intensive Care Unit Without Windows to Provide Natural Light.

Background: Appropriate levels and patterns of sound and light in an intensive care room help to maintain the patient's normal physiological functions. High sound levels can disrupt the patient's normal sleep architecture, cause hearing deficits, and induce the onset of delirium. Intensive care unit patients frequently report poor sleep, partly due to the environment.

Extremity exposure of nuclear medicine workers: results from an EANM and EURADOS survey.

Background: Extremity exposure during the handling of unsealed radioactive sources is a matter of concern for nuclear medicine workers. Next to Tc and F, other radiopharmaceuticals have seen an increase in their use over the last decade. However, limited information on their impact on extremity dose is available.

EFOMP's protocol quality controls in PET/CT and PET/MR.

This article presents the protocol on Quality Controls in PET/CT and PET/MRI published online in May 2022 by the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP), which was developed by the Working group for PET/CT and PET/MRI Quality Control (QC) protocol. The main objective of this protocol was to comprehensively provide simple and practical procedures that may be integrated into clinical practice to identify changes in the PET/CT/MRI system's performance and avoid short- and long-term quality deterioration. The protocol describes the quality control procedures on radionuclide calibrators, weighing scales, PET, CT and MRI systems using selected and measurable parameters that are directly linked to clinical images quality.

Fetal dose estimation for Virtual Tangential-fields Arc Therapy whole breast irradiation by optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed tumor in pregnant women and radiation therapy should carefully be weighted up because of the dose to the fetus. The aim of this study was to investigate fetal dose in a patient treated with Virtual Tangential-fields Arc Therapy (ViTAT), an innovative technique for whole breast irradiation. Optically stimulated luminescence detectors (OSLDs) were calibrated on a Varian TrueBeam linac, with both a 6X and 6XFFF beam quality, and used for out-of-field measurements.

Size-specific dose estimates for pediatric head CT protocols based on the AAPM report TG-293.

Purpose: To establish the Size Specific Dose Estimate (SSDE) typical values for pediatric head CT examinations based on the AAPM report TG-293; to provide a new stratification based on the water-equivalent diameter (D), given that SSDE is related to the head size.

Methods: 296 Head CT scans of pediatric patients collected using a dose monitoring software were retrospectively analysed. Typical values were derived stratifying data by age in three methods: the first proposed by the European Guidelines on Diagnostic Reference Levels for Pediatric Imaging (RP185), the second by the National Istisan Report 20/22 and a local one related to the clinical protocols (LStrata).

Quality control in PET/CT and PET/MRI: Results of a survey amongst European countries.

Purpose: An EFOMP Working Group (WG) was created in 2020 to establish recommendations for PET/CT/MRI Quality Control (QC). The WG's intention was to create a document containing a set of measurements suitable for routine practice. In order to map the current situation in PET facilities, the WG prepared a survey addressed to European Medical Physics Experts (MPE).

Cord Blood Platelet Gel as a Treatment of Occipital Pressure Injuries in Newborns: Report of Two Cases.

Background: A Pressure Ulcer (PU) is a severe event and could create discomfort to newborns. In newborns, one of mostly stricken location by PU is occipital area. Recent studies have highlighted that Cord Blood Platelet Gel (CBPG) might be a better alternative compared to traditional treatment.

Review of extremity dosimetry in nuclear medicine.

The exposure of the fingers is one of the major radiation protection concerns in nuclear medicine (NM). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the exposure, dosimetry and protection of the extremities in NM. A wide range of reported finger doses were found in the literature.

Value of 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT in predicting response to radical radiotherapy in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: This study aims to establish whether metabolic parameters obtainable from FCH PET/CT can predict long-term response to radical radiotherapy (rRT) in patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: Drawing on a single-center database, we retrospectively reviewed the pre-treatment FCH PET/CT scans of 50 patients who underwent rRT between 2012 and 2017. Patients were enrolled if they had a follow-up of at least 3 years after rRT.

Robotic Therapy: Cost, Accuracy, and Times. New Challenges in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The medication process in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), can be challenging in terms of costs, time, and the risk of errors. Newborns, especially if born preterm, are more vulnerable to medication errors than adults. Recently, robotic medication compounding has reportedly improved the safety and efficiency of the therapeutic process.

Performance evaluation of a new time of flight PET/CT scanner: Results of a multicenter study.

Purpose: The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the performance of the upgraded version of the Ingenuity TF PET/CT scanner, according to the NEMA NU-2 2012 standards.

Methods: Spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate response, scatter fraction, image quality and accuracy were evaluated on three Ingenuity TF scanners installed in Italian hospitals. Furthermore, energy and timing resolution were measured.

Impact of acquisition count statistics reduction and SUV discretization on PET radiomic features in pediatric 18F-FDG-PET/MRI examinations.

Purpose: The evaluation of features robustness with respect to acquisition and post-processing parameter changes is fundamental for the reliability of radiomics studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of PET radiomic features to acquisition statistics reduction and standardized-uptake-volume (SUV) discretization in PET/MRI pediatric examinations.

Methods: Twenty-seven lesions were detected from the analysis of twenty-one 18F-FDG-PET/MRI pediatric examinations.

Quantitative analysis of image metrics for reduced and standard dose pediatric F-FDG PET/MRI examinations.

Objective:: The study performs a comprehensive analysis of image metrics to objectively support the reduction of injected activity in pediatric oncology F-FDG PET/MR (F-fludeoxyglucose PET/MR) examinations. Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR), Normalized Noise (NN), tumor burden, and standardized uptake value (SUV) parameters stability were investigated to robustly define the acceptable reduced activity level that preserves the clinical utility of images, considering different PET applications.

Methods:: 21 PET/MRI examinations performed on a 3-Tesla Biograph mMR scanner were analyzed.

Internal radiation dose assessment of radiopharmaceuticals prepared with cyclotron-produced Tc.

Purpose: Technetium-99m ( Tc) is the radioisotope most widely used in diagnostic nuclear medicine. It is readily available from Mo/ Tc generators as the β decay product of the Mo (T  = 66 h) parent nuclide. This latter is obtained as a fission product in nuclear reactors by neutron-induced reactions on highly enriched uranium.

Efficiently train and validate a RapidPlan model through APQM scoring.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to propose and validate an intuitive method for training and to validate knowledge-based planning (KBP) systems based on a patient-specific plan quality scoring.

Methods: A sample of 80 clinical plans of prostate cancer patients were ranked on the basis of the Adjusted Plan Quality Metric (APQM%). This quality metric was computed normalizing the Plan Quality Metric (PQM%) score to the best possible OAR sparing estimated by the Feasibility DVH (FDVH) algorithm.

Gamma camera calibrations for the Italian multicentre study for lesion dosimetry in Ra therapy of bone metastases.

Purpose: The aim was to calibrate gamma cameras in the framework of the Italian multicentre study for lesion dosimetry in Ra therapy of bone metastases. Equipments of several manufacturers and different models were used.

Methods: Eleven gamma cameras (3/8- and 5/8-inch crystal) were used, acquiring planar static images with double-peak (82 and 154keV, 20% wide) and MEGP collimator.

The impact of automatic devices for capillary blood collection on efficiency and pain response in newborns: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The heel stick is the method of choice in most neonatal units for capillary blood sampling, and it represents the most common event among all painful procedures performed on newborns. The type and design of heel stick device and the clinical procedure to collect a blood sample may have an impact on newborn pain response as well.

Objective: To compare the pain response and efficiency of different automated devices for capillary blood collection in newborns.