Crucible V6/N1.indd
Contents
1. NUCLEAR MEDICINE cyclopet NUCLEAR MEDICINE2. achievable specific activity concentra tion allowing a full dose to be inhaled in a single breath It has already been clinically proven in assisting with the diagnosis of fibrosing alveolitis The half time clearance T1 2 in those patients drops to around 3 5min from the normal value of 5 7min It was also shown to be an early indicator of the onset of radiation pneumonitis generating a whole lung increased permeability following localised radiotherapy to a small portion of the lung Itis known in smokers that the T1 2 drops to 2 5min It would be an important social finding to see how quickly the T1 2 drops in the mice ex posed to cigarette smoke and when or if it recovers on normal air breath ing It might be considered too much to ask non smoking volunteers to attempt this manoeuvre but the re sults could be yet another tool for the anti smoking cause apart from any clinical worth More details on Pertechnegas can be found on the Technegas Academic website http jcsmr anu edu au re search research facilities technegas Bill Burch Bill Burch who discovered what he named Technegas in 1984 and devel oped it through the John Curtin School of Medical Research JCSMR of the Australian National University ANU where he was a Visiting Fellow from 1976 2008 COMMENT A common theme in the past few newsletters has been the discussion on the use of Technegas in C O P D While the interest in Austr
3. spectlung com And keep the site bookmarked to see regular updates BACK ISSUES Like to catch up We have a limited supply of back issues of The Crucible in our warehouse They cover a wide range of topics and information pertaining to Spect Imaging Tech negas and Technegas Generators maintenance and correct proce dures and similar topics As well you ll find past literature reviews and a good selection of Case Studies that can add to your depth of knowledge Drop an email to cbuttigieg cyclomedica com au and I ll arrange a selection to be forwarded to you Medical Information and Adverse Reaction Reporting Cyclomedica provide distributor and customer support with medical information queries on the products Customers are advised to initially contact their local distributor or they may contact Cyclomedica Austra lia direct using the contact details below If you wish to report an adverse reaction to the product this can be done using the same contacts details Telephone 61 0 2 9541 0411 Facsimile 61 0 2 9543 0960 or Email enquiries cyclomedica com au TECH TIPS Keeping your TechnegasPlus Generator running smoothly 1 House keeping First thing in the morning prior to preparing the generator for a new day empty the ash tray of broken crucibles This keeps the generator drawer cleaner and reduces the possibility of crucible fragments shorting out the pedestals thereby reducing the Technegas yie
4. CRUCIBLE CYCLOMEDICA NUCLEAR MEDICINE Lung Disease VOL 6 NO 1 FEBRUARY 2013 COPD amp Smoking amp Technegas from Man to Mouse There is increasing interest in how V Q SPECT CT might be able to categorise levels of pul monary dysfunction much more sensitively than conventional spirom etry testing The point is the presump tion that the pathology of early stages of COPD is reversible In our newslet ter of May last year the work of Profes sor Bajc s group was reported where they recommended V Q SPECT can also be used to categorize the severity of functional changes in COPD as mild moderate or severe Then in our De cember issue a critique of a paper us ing respiratory gated CT images in an attempt to quantify levels of COPD via a parametic response map prompted me to suggest that respiratory gated Technegas images might become a more sensitive index yet spirometry insensitive to early disease Now an important report of some fundamental experimental work has just appeared seeking to measure lung dysfunction in mice exposed to cigarette smoke The authors state in the introductory remarks spirometry cannot detect the impact of small air IN THIS ISSUE COPD amp Smoking amp Technegas 1 Comment Spectlung Back Issues Japanese Opportunity Tech Tips gt WN N N Technegas Generator FDG Posijet way obstruction until it has developed considerably m
5. aking spirometry insensitive to early disease Further spirometry does not differentiate the varying pathologies such as small air way obstruction and emphysema as sociated with COPD This was part of their rationale for exploring the value of V QSPECT for this purpose Detec tion of Lung Dysfunction Using Venti lation and Perfusion SPECT in a Mouse Model of Chronic Cigarette Smoke Exposure Jobse BN Rhem RG Wang IQ et al J Nucl Med 2013 54 1 8 Clinically useful data Again Technegas was the ventilation agent used by this group from McMas ter University in Canada They exam ined the effects on the V Q images of mice exposed to cigarette smoke over either 8 or 24 weeks and these Studies included respiratory gated CT to enable accurate voxel localisation Their data clearly showed a response to cigarette smoke even in the 8 week exposure group Once again in mov ing up from mouse to man it would seem that respiratory gated ventila tion imaging alone should create a dis tribution of voxels leading to clinically useful data reflecting the functional State of the person s lungs At this point it might be useful to rein troduce Pertechnegas as a potentially valuable tool measuring alveolar cap illary membrane permeability directly It effectively mimics inhaled Pertech netate aerosol but with the added sig nificant bonus of an initial particle size orders of magnitude smaller and an
6. alia has been lukewarm in many countries where the incidence of C O P D is very high there is mounting support for studies which explore this potential use of Technegas In collaboration with our colleagues overseas Cyclomedica is currently developing protocols which it is hoped will shed more light on this indication I would also exhort you to send in those interesting cases you may have come across while scanning for P E diagnosis in your patients particularly those negative on CT but shown to be positive with Technegas We are interested in expanding out teaching case files so that physicians around the world can benefit from your experience The best will be published in the Crucible and 150 00 paid to your nomi nated recipient Ultimately the cases will be able to be viewed on our web site www spectlung com and hopefully provide a useful tool for physicians and technologists alike For those of you with ancient Technegas generators how about consider ing an upgrade to the Technegas Plus generator We can offer you a gener ous trade in deal to make the decision more affordable Please be aware that a price rise will occur on April 1st 2013 as outlined in a letter sent to you recently This is the first increase in 3 years and it is anticipated barring some extreme unforseen circumstance that prices will be held firm for the next 3 years Enjoy the read Charles Charles Buttigieg Asia Pacific Marketing amp Sa
7. e operations Load one bulk FDG dose Minimal exposure to patient or operator Completely manoeuvrable move to the patient Internal power no need for power points Draws up patient dose for injection exact dosage Connects to patient records Completely current files Patient dosage printout Stays with patient for confirmation Step by step touch screen Added safety in operation Manual injection Added asssurance of cannula placement If you have a PET facility or contemplating one call to discuss your FDG supply and mobile injector options CURRENTLY AUSTRALIA ONLY Contact your nearest office ASIA PACIFIC STH AFRICA Cyclomedica Australia sales cyclomedica com au Ph 61 29541 0411 Fx 61 2 9543 0960 Contact Charles Buttigieg Ph 61 2 95410411 M 61 0 418 285 048 E cbuttigieg cyclomedica com au EUROPE MIDDLE EAST NTH AFRICA Contact Mr Bjorn Altmann info technegas de Ph 49 0 5341 550802 Fx 49 0 5341 55803 CANADA Cyclomedica Canada lynn mclauchlin cyclomedica ca Ph 1 905 3199610 Fx 1 905 319 0497 Contact Lynn McLauchlin Ph 1905 690 0345 Fx 1905 690 0553 LATIN AMERICA Cyclomedica Latin America mlema cyclomedica com ar Ph 54 11 4585 9172 Fx 54 11 4586 0251 Contact Martin Lema Ph 54 911 5174 1639 GERMANY Cyclomedica Germany info technegas de Ph 49 0 5341 550802 Fx 49 0 5341 55803 Contact Bjorn Altmann cyclomedica
8. ibles prior to generating Technegas The carbon crucible should be inserted as demon strated in the user manual AND Technegas generation DVD both available on request Use of the forceps provided to install the crucible assures that the appropriate electrical contact for the generation of Technegas is made The forceps should be used to rock the crucible backward and forward thereby seating it into position between the contacts A squeaking sound will be evident which indicates successful positioning of the crucible If installed by hand there is little or no feed back Experience from the field has demonstrated that this is a very important element in the production of Technegas To reiterate Proper seating of the crucible between the contacts as demonstrated by a squeaking sound upon rocking the crucible back and forth USING the forceps will lead to successful generation of Technegas Richard F Gotch Global Service Manager Cyclomedica Australia P L Mobile 61 0 418 203 629 TechnegasPLUS Best agent for V Q SPECT e Proven diagnostic accuracy especially in presence of COPD e No adverse events reported in gt 21 2 million studies 53 countries e No exclusion criteria neonates to frail aged e 1 3 breaths for full dose e Non invasive e Low radiation burden compared with CTPA iy A gt y About 1 7th of breast tissue exposure FDG Posijet Total control the power convenience and precision of bulk dos
9. ld A dirty drawer can also lead to fragments of crucible getting caught in the generator door track and preventing complete closure of the drawer Error messages such as gas leak may occur and the Technegas generator will not work Daily preventive cleaning which takes only a few minutes will lead to fewer problems in the long run 2 Replacing Contacts Contacts MUST be replaced every 50 burns as prompted by the Technegas generator There is a good reason for this which relates to the Technegas generator operating at optimal efficiency resulting in the production of good Technegas yield When the Contacts are replaced they must be tightened to secure them in place so they cannot be removed by hand If this does not happen error messages will occur and the generator may not operate optimally as the appropriate electrical contact to generate the Technegas may not occur 3 Daily Technegas Operation The Technegas generator should be plugged in first thing in the morning and turned on during the working day This is sufficient to charge the main battery It should be turned off at the end of the day and NOT left on overnight Nor should it be left on over the week end If the Technegas generator is left continually on there is a possibility that spikes in the power grid may affect the Technegas generator resulting in it failing to operate correctly 4 Replacing Crucibles A set of forceps is provided to assist in inserting carbon cruc
10. les Mgr Cyclomedica JAPANESE LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITY Anyone out there in nuclear medicine land who speaks Japanese fluently We are looking for someone who is technically conversant with the Technegas Generator to assist on an intermittent basis with our resurrection of Technegas in Japan At last count Cyclomedica had over 100 Technegas Generators in hospital departments in Japan Only about 5 of these departments curremtly use the technology on a regular basis Cyclomedica Service Manager Richard Gotch and myself intend to relaunch Technegas in Japan but we need a competent Japanese translator to effectively relate our message to the Japanese medical personnel In addition to training on the operation of the Technegas generator there will be the need to translate brochures and promotional material as well as to be conversant with use of Technegas in the diagnosis of respiratory diseases such as Pulmonary Embolism C O P D etc If you think you can help and wish to discuss further please call Charles Buttigieg on 61 0 418 285 048 SPECTLUNG SITE Cyclomedica sponsor a website devoted the Spect Imaging The site provides a balanced and factual information source for all aspects of lung imaging including many Case Study examples of PE detection Literature Imaging Is sues Diagnostic Options GP Info and Links to other sites The Spectlung site is becoming the goto site for lung imaging Visit www
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