Conventionally, the majority of operations to control the actions of a gamma camera would have been conducted using a handset, either hardwired to the system (image below) or via a radio frequency / wifi mode. Obviously the nuclear medicine practitoner needs to ensure they follow the practical domains of minimising time near a radioactive source, keeping a safe distance from a radioactive source and ensuring adequate shielding is in place to minimise dose and optimise image quality. The is however a sense of a 'connection' between the patient and practitioner when using the handset, which creates in itself a environment of trust, role identity and autonomous practice.
Given the advent of hybrid imaging environments, such as SPECT/CT and PET/CT, there is consideration for the safe use of the x-ray source, which is used to create the transmission date for the attenuation correction and anatomical detail (if appropriate) for the fused data sets. The introduction of an x-ray source has re-shaped the traditional nuclear medicine environment, especially in terms of the creation of a physical barrier and the use of communication intercoms (image below), CCTV and increased automatic / remote position aids for examinations.
Being able to remotely position aspects of a hybrid scan (especially in PET/CT) is reducing the visible contact with patients, which on one hand is positive from a minimisation of personal dose levels, however practitioners working within these emerging environments are having to remap their working practices, redefine clinical protocols and even redesign departments to accommodate aspects such as dedicated changing rooms for patients.
