Level 1 Accreditation

Eligibility

Applicants for Level 1 accreditation must be one of the following:

  • Consultants or Specialty Trainees (or Specialty Doctors at an equivalent level) in Radiology, Cardiology or allied specialities such as Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Applicants must either have had training at a hospital that provides exposure to the required number of cases or attended a dedicated Level 1 course delivered by trainers accredited to at least BSCI/SCCT Level 2 standard. In both circumstances, applicants must demonstrate 8 hours of CPD in cardiac CT.

The BSCI/BSCCT encourages applications through two principal routes:

Route 1 – Hospital-based 

  1. The applicant, during normal clinical practice, has performed 50 cardiac CT studies. No more than 5 of these may be solely non-contrast studies. The applicant should have been involved in choice of scan protocol, patient preparation, study acquisition, analysis and report production. At least 25 of these cases must be recorded in detail in a logbook that is submitted with this application. The minimum information required in the log is scan indication, method of acquisition, findings and total dose-length product. Evidence of supervised hands-on training must be submitted in the form of a signed 'Verification of Hands on Practice' form.

  2. The applicant must have accumulated the equivalent to 8 hours of cardiovascular CT related CPD to include, but not be limited to:
    1. Technical principles of cardiac CT and its application to imaging the heart
    2. Different gating techniques, their advantages and limitations
    3. Radiation dose inherent in cardiac CT as well as dose reduction strategies.
    4. Contrast kinetics, administration, contraindications and complications
    5. Cardiac anatomy and physiology as applicable to CT
    6. Techniques of image reconstruction and post-processing
    7. Techniques to minimize and reduce image artefacts
    8. Cardiovascular risk assessment
    9. Current indications and applications of cardiac CT
    10. Basics of cardiac CT interpretation
    11. Normal anatomy of the heart & thorax

    If this CPD activity is accumulated from meetings attended, in-house training or online training, it must be supported by CPD certificates.

    Please note: If the submitted CPD certificates relate to general or multi-stream meetings, the certificates must detail the lectures and modules attended relevant to this application. When the certificate does not provide this detail, the applicant must provide the details of the relevant meeting content (e.g. conference programme) and the applicant will be credited an appropriate proportion of the CPD value of the meeting certificate. 

  3. An application fee must be paid before the application will be considered. A link to pay by credit card will appear once your application has been submitted. Fees are as follows:

Level 1

BSCI member £100
Non member £175
Applications will be processed within 8 weeks

Level 1 Fast Track

BSCI member £200
Non member £275
Applications will be processed within 2 weeks

Route 2 – Course-based 

  1. The applicant has attended a classroom-based Level 1 course (supervised by trainers accredited to at least BSCI/SCCT Level 2 standard), during which they will have examined 50 cardiac CT studies. No more than 5 of these may be solely non-contrast studies. Evidence of the course should be submitted in the form of a detailed course certificate/letter signed by the course director. At least 25 of these cases must be recorded in detail in a logbook that is submitted with this application. The logbook should include detailed indications and findings of the cases provided, ideally along with method of acquisition and total dose length product. Although course providers should provide this logbook, submission of these details for the purposes of Level 1 Accreditation remains the responsibility of the applicant.  

  2. The applicant must have accumulated the equivalent to 8 hours of cardiovascular CT related CPD to include, but not be limited to:
    1. Technical principles of cardiac CT and its application to imaging the heart
    2. Different gating techniques, their advantages and limitations
    3. Radiation dose inherent in cardiac CT as well as dose reduction strategies.
    4. Contrast kinetics, administration, contraindications and complications
    5. Cardiac anatomy and physiology as applicable to CT
    6. Techniques of image reconstruction and post-processing
    7. Techniques to minimize and reduce image artefacts
    8. Cardiovascular risk assessment
    9. Current indications and applications of cardiac CT
    10. Basics of cardiac CT interpretation
    11. Normal anatomy of the heart & thorax 

    If a Level 1 course certificate is submitted as evidence of relevant cardiovascular CPD, the certificate should confirm the details above.

    If this CPD activity is accumulated from meetings attended, in-house training or online training, it must be supported by CPD certificates.

    Please note: If the submitted CPD certificates relate to general or multi-stream meetings, the onus is on the applicant to detail the lectures and modules attended relevant to this application. The applicant will then be credited an appropriate proportion of the CPD value of the meeting certificate.

  3. A letter verifying your status as a Consultant or Specialist Registrar from your Head of Department, Human Resources, Medical Director, etc. must be provided with the application.

  4. An application fee must be paid before the application will be considered. A link to pay by credit card will appear once your application has been submitted. Fees are as follows:

    Level 1

    BSCI member £100
    Non member £175
    Applications will be processed within 8 weeks

    Level 1 Fast Track

    BSCI member £200
    Non member £275
    Applications will be processed within 2 weeks