Cardiac CTA Maintenance

Earn CME and Complete Your Level II & Level III Case Review Requirements

Our Cardiac CTA Maintenance / Mentored Case Review Program helps you fulfill your Level II & Level III maintenance requirements easily and inexpensively through our extensive case library. Our Unlimited Access Policy allows you to train at home or at the office, on your own time and at your own pace. While some participants have completed the course in a weekend, others choose to take advantage of unlimited access and spread their training out over several months.

Whether you choose 25 cases (10 CME) or 50 cases (20 CME), we offer you two methods to complete your interpretations:

1. Review our mentored case library on your Mac or Windows computer's browser via a fully functional cloud based 3D workstation.

2. Or... if you prefer to review the cases on your own 3D visualization workstation, we can provide you with an external hard drive containing the DICOM data of your selected cases.

Regardless of which option you choose, you can customize your case load by choosing from our entire bank of case.

Once review of the selected cases is complete you will enter your interpretations into our online reporting tool. A faculty member will then review your findings and provide feedback with advice on how to improve your interpretations, if needed. Upon course completion, we will present you with official documentation of your maintenance experience which meets the SCCT and CBCCT criteria for documentation of continued experience in Cardiac CTA.

Disclosures: All Faculty, CME Planning Committee Members, and the CME Office Reviewers have disclosed that they do not have any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests that would constitute a conflict of interest concerning this CME activity.

Additional Course Information

Learning Objectives

1) Utilize Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT) to assess native coronary arteries atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic pathology.
2) Utilize MSCT to assess coronary bypass graft pathology.
3) Utilize MSCT to assess coronary and bypass graft stents.
4) Utilize MSCT to assess the venous and arterial great vessels.
5) Evaluate left and right ventricular size and function, heart valves and perfusion using MSCT.
6) Identify artifacts of scan acquisition or image reconstruction.
7) Discuss what can be done to optimally report MSCT information.
8) Name the considerations for selecting patients for out-patient MSCT.
9) Find non-atherosclerotic cardiac pathology.
10) Find important noncardiac ancillary findings and learn how to report them.
11) Report cardiovascular and noncardiovascular MSCT findings using proper methodology.

Practice Gap

Radiologists or Cardiologists who have been certified to read Cardiac CT angiography have the need of ongoing training and exposure to cardiovascular pathology revealed by this scanning technique. Multislice CT angiography is becoming commonplace as a diagnostic tool in an expanding suite of clinical indications. Yet many reader physicians are not seeing sufficient volume of these studies to improve their performance and maintain their skills. Furthermore they often do not have expert mentoring in challenging cases or in new clinical situations. This tutorial will enable changes in Practice Competence and Patient Outcomes.

Needs Assessment Summary

MDT's Cardiac CTA Faculty believe that in this ever changing and hectic medical environment where physicians are very busy and need to minimize time away from practice and home, access to CME courses in a convenient and online format is essential to retaining a physician’s credentials. This course in particular provides the opportunity for physicians to acquire the mandatory case volumes necessary for credential retention.

Prospective imaging is now routine for radiation reduction. Lower Kv may be used when possible for radiation reduction and utilizing iterative reconstruction for radiation reduction. ECG dose modulation is always in effect. This courses content covers these techniques and protocols and outlines their applications to the participant. This course also provides its participants the opportunity and mechanisms to see the pertinent aspects first hand in a clinical case review setting.

About the Authors

Richard L. Hallett M.D.
Northwest Radiology Network, PC
Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University Medical Center:
Department of Radiology
Cadiovascular Imaging Section

Steven Mottl, D.O.
Director of Clinical Education
MD Training @home, LLC
Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology
Subspecialty board certification: Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology, Vascular Imaging

Accreditation Statement

TBD

Method of Participation

The course consists of three online components: Case Review, Mentoring and Quizzing. The case review portion of the course will be provided utilizing a cloud based 3D workstation solution deployed through the participants standard web browser (Mac or Windows) where the student will manipulate and evaluate images and animations relevant to the study of Cardiac CTA. Mentoring will also be presented in an on-line format but participants will interact with the materials within MD Training @home's web based eLearning environment. The program requires no specialized connection or software and supports all major browsers on PC and Mac platforms.