26 November 2016
The British Institute of Radiology launches education approval scheme with training course to help detect Alzheimer’s disease by PET scan
British Institute of Radiology endorses Piramal’s reader training course to help detect beta-amyloid plaques in patients with cognitive impairment.
The British Institute of Radiology (BIR) and Piramal Imaging today announced that Piramal’s Positron Emission Tomography (PET) reader training course to help detect beta-amyloid plaques in patients with cognitive impairment is the first educational training event to achieve BIR approved status.
The BIR scheme determines that an educational activity meets a strict set of standards established and approved by the BIR’s accreditation committee with criteria relating to content, learning outcomes, teaching methods, and experience and skills of the presenters to deliver the event. This ensures that processes are in place to seek feedback on quality and educational value.
Gaining BIR approval is a first and important milestone for Piramal’s reader training programme as it recognises the educational content of the course for those involved in beta-amyloid PET imaging. This offers greater clinical confidence and accuracy for radiologists and nuclear medicine clinicians reading brain scans for beta-amyloid plaques in living patients. Without this technology, visualisation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarkers could only be made post-mortem.
In line with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulations, brain images acquired through the use of beta-amyloid agents in PET scanning may only be interpreted by readers who have successfully completed formal training.
Welcoming the accreditation and Piramal’s commitment to clinician training, Dr. Vineet Prakash, Department of Nuclear Medicine, St Peter’s Hospital in Surrey, said: “It is essential that appropriate steps are taken to introduce biomarkers into traditional AD diagnosis and this training accreditation will help lay the foundations to better inform and assist clinicians in AD diagnosis for future disease modifying drugs, which will lead to improved treatments for patients. This is an important milestone for improving future diagnosis and treatment of AD patients.”
BIR Chief Executive Jacqueline Fowler stated:“We are delighted that Piramal has decided to seek BIR approval for its reader training course. Our accreditation committee has devised a rigorous and robust set of criteria and processes to guarantee that any educational activity submitted to our scheme reaches quality standards to ensure that patients are offered the highest standard treatment and diagnosis.”
Dr Andrew Stephens, Chief Medical Officer for Piramal said: “We are proud that the BIR has granted Piramal accreditation for our PET imaging reader training, a distinction that will benefit clinicians, patients and their care-givers, in the countries where this technology is being made available.
“Today’s announcement underscores Piramal Imaging’s long-standing commitment to training and supporting clinicians seeking to enhance their expertise in this important and highly skilled profession.”
ENDS
