With the rapid expansion of clinical PET-CT in the UK there is an urgent need for guidance on the (state-registered) clinical scientist (CS) support required to deliver the service safely, effectively, in compliance with all relevant regulations, and to the necessary standards set by professional bodies, including ‘Standards for delivering a PET service in the UK’ (Report of the Intercollegiate Standing Committee on Nuclear Medicine, in ‘PET-CT in the UK’, RCR 2005).

These guidelines define the recommended minimum level of clinical scientist support required specifically for PET-CT based on a fixed site and performing FDG oncology studies only. A ‘fixed site’ is a unit where the scanner is permanently installed in a building, and does not include permanently sited mobile units. Additional and specialist scientific and engineering support will be needed where units are operating their own cyclotrons and/or undertaking research. This may be provided in partnership with manufacturers and academic units.

This document has been prepared by a group of clinical scientists from across the UK with extensive experience in PET-CT.

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