11 May 21. ACTATS one year on

It has been a year since the Edinburgh Imaging Academy launched the Acute CTA for Thrombectomy in Stroke (ACTATS) training tool.

ACTATS launched on 07 May 2020 in anticipation of Scotland’s nation-wide thrombectomy service starting up.

To date:

• 1561 users have registered
• 115 have completed all training components
• Those who have completed can claim 7 CPD credits, in accordance with the CPD Scheme of the Royal College of Radiologists.

Some of our user feedback includes:

• Over 85% feel more confident assessing CTA scans for intracranial thrombosis
• Over 90% agreed that learning objectives delivery was good or very good
• Over 95% found the multiple choice questions (MCQs) associated with the lectures were very useful or somewhat useful

Background

Thrombectomy for acute stroke treatment is a service which is being rolled out worldwide, following the findings of several clinical trials. Radiology department proficiency at CT Angiography (CTA) will underpin the thrombectomy diagnostic & triage pathways.

To help meet radiology department proficiency goals, Medtronic & NHS National Services Scotland supported creation of a CTA training tool: the Acute CTA for Thrombectomy in Stroke (ACTATS) training tool.

Educational development grants, awarded to the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Imaging Academy (EIA), enabled creation of ACTATS, designed for radiologists & stroke physicians to improve their CTA evaluation & interpretation skills.

Registration is free thanks to the support of Medtronic & NHS National Services Scotland. The training tool consists of three didactic lectures, with MCQs to test learning from the didactic lectures; a series of 30 validated, plain CT & CTA stroke cases for practice; a five question feedback survey to help us improve the training tool; & a certificate of completion.

ACTATS is suitable for any radiologists or stroke physicians worldwide, who have an interest in improving their CTA evaluation & interpretation skills. We encourage anyone involved with thrombectomy & imaging to enroll & to complete the training.