The DaTSCAN has been used clinically throughout Europe since 2000, initially for patients with suspected Parkinson's disease (PD) and latterly for suspected Lewy body dementia (DLB).  Clinical trials have shown that the investigation is extremely useful and, to this end, NICE recommended this investigation in patients with suspected PD and suspected DLB in 2006.  In the same year, the findings from the DaTSCAN were incorporated into clinical diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of DLB; in itself a reflection of the considerable esteem in which the findings from this study are held by the referring clinicians.
 
The British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) has been in discussion with the UK neurology fraternity and British Movement Disorder Group following concerns about the lack of quality assurance for both the acquisition and reporting of these investigations.  
 

UK nuclear medicine departments have been asked to complete the BNMS SeHCAT survey.

If your department has not responded, it would be greatly appreciated if you could take a few minutes to complete this survey about SeHCAT testing, conducted on behalf of the BNMS.  If there is a more appropriate person within your department who would be willing to do so, please could you forward this link to them.

It is hoped that the information provided will be useful for other practitioners using the technique. This is of considerable interest at the moment as NICE are conducting a “Diagnostics Assessment” exercise on the technology.
 
Please respond even if you don't use SeHCAT currently: this will involve only answering two questions apart from your own details.

To take the survey, please click on this link:

            BNMS SeHCAT survey

The deadline for survey returns is 29th February 2012.

If you have any questions, please contact me, details below.

Regards

Mike

Dr. Mike Smith,
Consultant Physicist,
Medical Physics Department,
Rotherham General Hospital,
Moorgate Road,
Rotherham ,
S60 2UD
Tel: 01709 304264
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) is the only independent forum devoted to all aspects of Nuclear Medicine.
Established in 1966 as the Nuclear Medicine Society, its membership includes the clinicians dealing with the medical speciality, clinical scientists, radiopharmacists, other scientists, nuclear medicine technologists and nurses.

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