ASNC Guidelines and Standards
We are providing links to the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), which offers a variety of Imaging Guidelines for Nuclear Cardiology Procedures
Under these links you will also find clinical updates, information statements and other relevant documents.
The guidelines are a set of state-of-the-art applications and protocols developed for the Nuclear Medicine Cardiology community.
The proper choice of equipment to acquire clinical data for specific purposes and a well-designed quality assurance program are both essential requirements for optimizing diagnostic accuracy. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) are intended to provide appropriate means of assessing equipment function in conjunction with nuclear cardiology imaging.
First-pass radionuclide angiocardiography is used to determine global and regional measures of ventricular function at rest and/or during stress. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) provide a description of the techniques to to assess left and right ventricular function, and to evaluate and measure left-to-right cardiac shunts.
Equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography is used to determine global and regional measures of ventricular function at rest and/or during exercise stress or pharmacologic intervention. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) provide a description of the techniques to acquire and process the data necessary to assess parameters of ventricular performance
- Stress Protocols and Tracers - 2009
Several stress protocols (exercise, pharmacologic, or a combination of both) are available which can be tailored to each patient's specific condition for use in conjunction with cardiac imaging. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) provide a description of such tests and their optimal clinical application.
Although single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is preferable for myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, in exceptional cases planar imaging may be useful or may be the only modality available. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) describe best possible appropriate means of performing cardiac perfusion studies with planar techniques.
Gated Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography(SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging is the most common nuclear modality used to determine perfusion changes and ventricular function at rest and/or during exercise stress or pharmacologic intervention. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) provide a description of the techniques to acquire and process the data necessary to assess perfusion parameters and ventricular performance with SPECT.
Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a well-validated means to assess myocardial perfusion, left ventricular function, and viability. Technologists performing PET scans as well as physicians interpreting them should have a sound knowledge of recommended standards for the performance, interpretation, and quality control of cardiac PET. The following guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) are intended to provide state-of-the-art knowledge on cardiac PET applications and protocols.
The myocardial perfusion scan report is the final product of a complicated process. As such, it needs to contain sufficient detail to portray the complexity of the procedure while simultaneously being succinct and providing a basic "bottom line" result to the referring physician. These guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) address the required/recommended elements that should be contained in a report.
In an era of rapid evolving technology, the following imaging guideline from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) is intended to provide an appropriate means of assessing the clinical performance of new equipment and instruments associated with nuclear cardiology imaging.
Under the auspices of the ACCF and the ASNC, an appropriateness review was conducted for radionuclide cardiovascular imaging, specifically gated SPECT MPI. The review assessed the risks and benefits of the imaging test for several indications or clinical scenarios and scored them based on a scale of 1 to 9, where the upper range (7 to 9) implies that the test is generally acceptable and is a reasonable approach, and the lower range (1 to 3) implies that the test is generally not acceptable and is not a reasonable approach. The mid range (4 to 6) implies that the test may be generally acceptable and may be a reasonable approach for the indication.