Operating a Value-driven Medical Physics Consulting Practice in Canada: Perspectives and Experiences
Jeff Frimeth, JF Medical Physics Inc.

JF Medical Physics Inc. has been providing consultant-based medical physics services since 2017 and is operated by President & Chief Medical Physicist Jeff Frimeth. The company has grown both in personnel, clientele, and scope of practice over the years. Many reasons have attributed to this growth, with the primary reason being our ability to continue to provide (more) value-driven services. It has been our experience that focussing our efforts on providing value (i.e. a Medical Physics 3.0 type approach), while ensuring we cover all grounds in terms of regulatory and/or accreditation requirements not only "checks the box", but also allows us to further engage facilities in advancing their quality control and/or radiation safety programs. Through experience, we have adapted our approach to not just "do the job" but to also educate and teach our clients on aspects related to best practices which can lead to improvements in overall workflow, decease costs, and improve efficiencies. Our clients generally do not have any degrees in medical physics and sometimes do not have any technical background in radiation safety/quality control at all. While, consulting has been a very worthwhile endeavour, it is not without its challenges. Not only is there a technical aspect to our consulting services, there are also numerous business aspects, and psychological aspects. Anecdotal experience and observations in the years of consulting services provided will be shared and discussed.

Image quality and quantification study of I-123 MIBG imaging using CZT SPECT/CT system
Xinchi Hou, University of British Columbia

The SPECT/CT camera equipped with a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector is gradually replacing traditional NaI(Tl) systems due to its potential to deliver enhanced image contrast, resolution, and sensitivity while enabling faster scans or lower-dose procedures. This advancement is well established for Tc-99m scans; however, there is limited information on I-123 imaging, which is the primary method for neuroblastoma diagnosis, particularly in pediatric cases where lower doses are used compared to adults. Recently, a dedicated CZT camera was suspected to have image artifacts related to cold (no activity uptake) and hot (unexpected activity uptake) areas within the I-123 image volume, as reported by our Nuclear Medicine (NM) Physician, highlighting the need for camera performance evaluation for I-123 scans. Beyond image quality, the quantification of lesion uptake may enhance therapy monitoring for neuroblastoma. In this presentation, we will share our experience on camera performance evaluation, investigation of image quality and quantification of I-123 imaging, delivered from both phantom and patient studies.

The GE NM/CT 670 CZT camera, equipped with a wide energy high resolution (WEHR45) collimator, was utilized in these studies. For phantom studies, the standard Jaszczak phantom, with/without cold spheres and rods, was used to assess image quality, while the NEMA IEC phantom with radioactive spheres was employed for further evaluation of both image quality and quantification by evaluating background variability, contrast-to-noise ratio, and contrast recovery coefficients across different signal-to-background ratios. The impact of scatter correction via the triple-energy-window method was also examined. These results were then compared to the images obtained from NaI detector of the same SPECT/CT model. The feasibility of using the CZT camera for I-123 scans will be discussed based on both phantom studies and clinical pediatric scans, along with recommendations for annual quality control and clinical scanning protocols.

Advancing Gynecological Imaging: The Role of Hybrid AI in Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis
Heather Whitney, University of Chicago