http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is a national leader in pediatric radiology, performing more than 225,000 tests a year. Children’s is proud to offer an expert staff skilled in a variety of radiology services, such as MRI, iMRI, CT, fluoroscopy, X-ray, ultrasound, and PET/CT. Children’s radiology staff includes radiologists, technologists, nurses, and child life specialists. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit organization, is committed to enhancing the lives of children through excellence in patient care, research and education. Managing more than half a million patient visits annually at three hospitals and 16 neighborhood locations, Children’s is one of the largest clinical care providers for children in the country. en-us Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:27:26 -0400 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:43:00 -0400 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss blogs@rt-image.com blogs@rt-image.com blogs@rt-image.com http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm false http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm/2010/6/8/Nuclear-Medicine-Isotope-Shortage-When-Will-It-end Nuclear Medicine has been experiencing Tc99m shortages for a couple of years now, but it has never been as bad as it is now. The root of the issue is a shortage of molybdenum, a byproduct of nuclear fission. Molybdenum is then placed in containers called "generators" which, over a two week period, deliver a supply of Technetium-99m. Tc99m is used in more than 16 million nuclear imaging procedures per year nationwide. Due to the shortage, clinicians have adopted a range of strategies over the past few months, trying to use the available isotopes frugally by utilizing other modalities. Below is a brief history on what caused this shortage: 1. Canada's National Research Universal facility (NRU): Repair started May 2009 and is projected to last at least until August 2010. NRU produced 40% of the world's supply before the reactor went down. 2. Holland's Petten Reactor: Shut down for 6 months for regular scheduled maintenance until the end of July/August 2010. The Dutch reactor also prodcued 40% of the world's supply. With the two main reactors out of service, the severe shortage of Tc99m was created. 3. Poland's Maria Research Reactor: Could help produce molybdenum 99, but is not allowed to ship to the U.S. at this time. 4. Reactors in Belgium, France, Australia, and South Africa: Produced the lowest percentage of molybdenum 99 and have cranked up production to their maximum capacity. Regardless, these four reactors only produce 20% of the world's market. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has not felt the crunch as severely as many other facilities, but Children's still has been greatly affected for many procedures. The Nuclear Pharmacies for most parts can "squeeze" out the few drops of material we need for our kids. This is lucky for us, because nationwide Nuclear Medicine departments are affected by the reduction of work load, isotope shortages, cost increases, lay offs and/or reduction of hours worked, and lack of sufficient reimbursement for the now higher isotope costs. Lack of work in Nuclear Medicine was unheard of just a few years ago and there were not enough Nuclear Medicine Techs to go around. Now most Techs are holding on to their positions, which has decreased the turnover rate. Ingrid Hall RT(N), Nuclear Medicine Team lead, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Nuclear Medicine Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:43:00 -0400 http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm/2010/6/8/Nuclear-Medicine-Isotope-Shortage-When-Will-It-end http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm/2010/5/3/So-What-Exactly-Do-Those-Nuclear-Medicine-Folks-Do When you think of Radiology, most people think of X-rays, CTs and maybe even MRI or Ultrasound. Those of us who work in this field know something about Nuclear Medicine, but the average person may not even know it exists, and that we are actually a part of Radiology. I've heard things like, "Hmm, nuclear medicine, what exactly is that? I've never heard of that, is that like an X-ray?" I did an in-service for Radiology nurses that I have worked with for the last 8.5 years, and to my surprise, they were glued to my presentation as if it was a new and emerging modality! I thought they would be bored to pieces hearing information about a modality they work around every day. I learned that even though we had been working together for a long time, and that they had some knowledge about my department, there was still that bit of information that brought it all together for them. So for those of you that know a bit about us, but could stand to have a few gaps filled in, here goes: Nuclear Medicine imaging involves administering radioactive pharmaceuticals into the body either orally or via IV, which attaches to organs, tissues, or bone. What that means is that a radioisotope is attached to a pharmaceutical that is specific for a body part. That pharmaceutical "carries" the isotope with it to that body part. These isotopes give off gamma rays, and our gamma camera "picks" up those gamma rays and through a series of internal electronics, the camera makes the picture. It takes several minutes for the camera to pick up those gamma rays to make a single picture so our imaging time is much longer compared to other modalities. The pictures we obtain are functional as opposed to seeing structure and anatomy like on an X-ray. For example, when you take an X-ray of the leg, you can see the structure of the leg and if there are any breaks or fractures and so forth. If we do a bone scan, our isotope goes to any place in the bone that is trying to "repair" itself. The repair could be from a fracture, break or even a cancerous process. The camera defines the actual function that is taking place within the bone. We may even pick up a fracture that could not yet be seen on X-ray because as soon as that fracture takes place an active process of repair starts that we can see. The same holds true for many other body parts. You name the organ, we probably have a scan that can tell you how that organ is functioning! So the mystery about Nuclear Medicine unfolds a bit more--yes, we are a part of Radiology, and in my humble opinion, a good compliment to our sister modalities! Gina Griffin, CNMT Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston Team Leader-Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Nuclear Medicine Mon, 03 May 2010 11:06:00 -0400 http://ce.rt-image.com/blog/AtlantaChildrens/index.cfm/2010/5/3/So-What-Exactly-Do-Those-Nuclear-Medicine-Folks-Do