A Pilot Australian Study Using the 2007 SNM Lung Perfusion SPECT Phantom
Introduction
Each year the Quality Assurance Committee of SNM runs a Proficiency Testing Program using a specially constructed hardware phantom. The ANZSNM was recently given a 2007 Lung Perfusion SPECT Phantom and invited to participate in the program.
Phantom
The phantom is designed to test the whole imaging process – acquisition, analysis and interpretation. Physicians are asked to interpret the images, identify perfusion defects and determine the probability of pulmonary embolus, when given various ventilation image and chest radiograph scenarios.
The phantom comes with a set of instructions for preparing and scanning the device, reporting forms, CME and VOICE applications (if applicable), test questions, and a subscriber feedback questionnaire. In addition to testing the ability of the participant to identify known perfusion defects it can also be used to assess whether SPECT adds any further information cf. planar imaging alone and to investigate the merits of different acquisition and reconstruction protocols.
Pilot study
The phantom was circulated to a number of teaching hospitals and private practices in Australia and each centre was invited to provide up to 4 submissions (varying SPECT camera, physician etc.). The submitted data was evaluated in conjunction with the Quality Assurance Committee of the SNM. Each participating facility received a confidential individualized report for each set of results submitted and an anonymised comparison summary report of all participating facilities.
The results from this survey will be presented.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Quality Assurance Committee of SNM for the phantom and support with the project.