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Imaging Systems
Nuclear Medicine
Regulated development and commercialization journeys where clinical, quality, and market access align.
Siemens Healthineers
GE HealthCare
Philips
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Inside this journey
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Pre-Discovery
Align clinical, operational, and capital stakeholders before detailed discovery.
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Stakeholder Alignment
Confirm decision roles, timeline, capital constraints, and clinical priorities across nuclear medicine, cardiology, radiology, and hospital leadership.
Alignment Questions
Quick introductions — who’s in the room?
- Who will be our primary point of contact for this project, and what is their role?
- Which other stakeholders should we expect to be involved (name and role)?
- How do you prefer we communicate about decisions and updates (email, weekly call, shared workspace, in-person)?
- Who on your team typically speaks for clinical priorities versus capital/financial priorities?
- If there’s one immediate thing you want us to know about how decisions get made here, what is it?
Who really holds the keys?
- If you had to name the single individual or committee whose approval would make or break this purchase, who is it and why would they say no?
- Which groups need formal approval (select all that apply)?
- How aligned are those approval groups today on the need for new imaging equipment?
- Who tends to be the 'deal stopper' in previous equipment purchases — clinical leaders, finance, facilities, or others? Tell us a specific past example.
- What evidence or voices (e.g., referring physicians, department metrics, patient stories) carry the most weight in persuading that key approver?
What are we racing against?
- If this project stalls, what negative consequences do you expect to see in the next 6–18 months?
- How urgent is replacement or capacity expansion for you right now?
- Is there an external deadline driving the timeline (e.g., lease expiration, regulatory inspection, radiotracer demand spike, capital budget cycle)? Please specify.
- When did you first realize a need for new or upgraded nuclear imaging capability, and how has that feeling evolved?
- If you were forced to accelerate this timeline, what would be the single biggest blocker inside your organization?
Money talks — what’s the real budget story?
- What is the current funding path being considered for this acquisition (select all that apply)?
- Do you already have a budget range in mind? If yes, please provide the range or the approval threshold.
- What aspects of total cost of ownership matter most to your finance team (initial price, uptime/service, consumables/radiopharma compatibility, energy/room costs, trade-in/resale)?
- How flexible is the budget — are you able to shift funds to prioritize throughput or image quality if the business case is strong?
- Has your organization used external financing or vendor-managed models for imaging equipment before? Describe what worked and what didn't.
Clinical priorities — what keeps you up at night?
- If you imagine a year from now with ideal imaging operations, what one clinical problem has been solved that would make you proud?
- Which clinical priorities should guide system selection (select up to three)?
- Which tradeoffs are acceptable to you: faster scans with slightly lower resolution, or highest-resolution scans with longer protocols?
- How important is radiotracer flexibility (ability to run a wide radiotracer mix) versus optimizing for a narrow set of high-volume studies?
- Tell us about a recent clinical case or bottleneck where your existing equipment fell short and the patient or workflow impact that resulted.
Hidden constraints & the politics behind them
- What internal political dynamics or legacy commitments might unexpectedly derail a technically strong proposal?
- Do you have legacy contracts, service agreements, or preferred-vendor relationships that we should know about?
- How do facilities and radiation safety typically react to proposed room changes or shielding needs — collaborative, cautious, or obstructive?
- Are there union, credentialing, or staffing rules that will shape training timelines or who can operate new equipment?
- Has there been recent leadership turnover or budget reshuffling that might change priorities during this project?
Decision signals & acceptable risk — what will make you say yes?
- What are the top three measurable acceptance criteria that this purchase must meet (examples: throughput per day, PET sensitivity index, dose reduction %, uptime target)?
- Which proof points would most convince your finance or capital committee (select up to three)?
- How much clinical validation (phantom testing, pilot studies, clinical reads) do you require before sign-off?
- What level of uptime or service response time would you consider a deal-breaker if not guaranteed?
- What non-negotiable compliance, safety, or licensure conditions must be satisfied for you to proceed?
From conversation to commitment — what next?
- Given everything discussed, what would be a realistic next milestone you’d be comfortable committing to (site visit, budget submission, pilot demo, stakeholder sync)?
- Who needs to be present at the next meeting to move things forward, and what decision authority should they bring?
- What additional information or materials would make the biggest difference for you right now (detailed TCO, clinical studies, site planning checklist, lead-time estimates)?
- If we propose a timeline to meet your preferred go-live window, what internal approvals must happen and by when?
- On a scale from 1–10, how ready does your organization feel to make a final decision once all technical and financial questions are answered?
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Current State Imaging Assessment
Document existing systems, throughput, radiotracer mix, staffing status, PACS/RIS integrations, and radiation safety or site constraints.
Current State
Quick Snapshot: Your Imaging Landscape
- How many dedicated nuclear medicine / PET/CT / SPECT rooms do you operate today (count each room type separately if mixed)?
- Which scanner makes and models are in active clinical use right now? (List each system and approximate install year)
- Which of these study types represent your core case mix today?
- Typical daily nuclear medicine / PET patient volume across the site (combined)?
- Tell us about your radiotracer supply and mix—what do you use regularly and what are occasional/seasonal? (Examples: onsite cyclotron, bulk FDG delivery, Rb generator, Tc‑99m kits)
Are You Settling for 'Good Enough'?
- If you step back, what’s the single thing about your current imaging operation that feels like it’s holding clinical care or growth back?
- How often do scan delays, workflow handoffs, or equipment downtime directly cause patient reschedules or cancellations?
- When those disruptions happen, what’s the typical downstream impact—on patient care, referring physicians, or revenue? Please give a recent example.
- Which of the following have you tolerated as 'just part of the job'—but would you prefer to eliminate?
Where Throughput Loses Ground
- What specific part of your patient throughput feels most inefficient right now—scheduling, prep, scan acquisition, reconstruction, reporting, or post‑processing?
- Walk me through a typical patient’s timeline from check‑in to check‑out for a standard cardiac SPECT OR PET oncology study—where are the longest waits?
- How many back‑to‑back scans can a single technologist reasonably perform in a day for your most common study type?
- What scheduling behaviors or dependencies (e.g., tracer delivery windows, prep times, cardiology stress lab availability) routinely force you to run below capacity?
Hidden Risks and Compliance Blindspots
- If an unexpected regulatory inspection focused on radiation safety arrived tomorrow, where would you be most exposed?
- When was the last time you performed a formal shielding or site safety re‑assessment for the rooms that host nuclear medicine studies?
- Describe any site constraints that have forced you to alter clinical protocols (e.g., reduced injected doses, patient selection changes, time‑of‑day scheduling).
- Have you had any reportable radiation safety incidents or near‑misses in the last 36 months? If yes, what changed afterward?
Integration: Are Your Systems Actually Talking?
- How would you characterize your current PACS/RIS integration with nuclear modalities—fully bi‑directional orders+results, image‑only transfers, manual imports, or fragmented?
- Which vendors/systems are central to your imaging IT stack (PACS, RIS, EHR, voice recognition)? Please list names and versions if known.
- Which integration pain points slow clinicians or technologists the most?
- Would you value vendor‑assisted validation that new systems will meet your PACS/RIS/HL7/DICOM workflows before purchase?
Staff Confidence and Training Gaps (Tell Us What Keeps Your Team Up at Night)
- How confident do your technologists and reading physicians feel using your current scanners and reconstruction tools for advanced protocols (motion correction, low‑dose recon)?
- What are the biggest recurring training needs—new protocols, QA/physics, software updates, or workflow change management?
- How do you currently cover staffing gaps—overtime, per‑diems, traveling techs, or reduced schedule—and what downside do you see in that approach?
- If a vendor offered on‑site competency training plus remote refresher modules, what would make that offer compelling to you?
Clinical Priorities and Outcome Tradeoffs (What Matters Most Clinically)
- If you had to prioritize three measurable clinical goals for the next 12 months, which would you choose?
- How willing would your clinical leadership be to trade a modest increase in scan time for substantially better image quality—or vice versa?
- Which clinical use cases are your highest priority for improvement (rank or describe): cardiac stress SPECT, oncologic PET sensitivity, neurological receptor imaging, quantitative dosimetry for therapies, or other?
- What metrics would define success for you (e.g., average throughput per room, percent of studies meeting diagnostic quality, dose reduction percentage, read TAT)? Please list specific targets if you have them.
Site Constraints That Often Break Plans (Physical and Utility Realities)
- What physical constraints exist at your preferred installation locations—room size, ceiling height, door/elevator access, weight limits, or patient flow bottlenecks?
- What is your current electrical and HVAC capacity at the site(s) under consideration for new systems?
- Do you have existing shielding calculations and drawings for the rooms, and are they up to current code for the planned modality?
- Are there access restrictions or contractor limitations (hours, credentialing, union rules) that typically slow installations at your facility?
Decision Timeline, Budget Flexibility, and Approval Dynamics
- What is the target decision timeline for replacing or adding imaging equipment (procurement kickoff → budget approval → order)?
- How is this investment generally funded at your institution—capital budget, operational lease, grant, philanthropic, or other?
- What is the realistic budget range you expect for this project (equipment only), or the approval threshold requiring escalation?
- Who are the decision influencers and approvers we should be aware of (roles, not necessarily names)—and what are their primary concerns?
What Would It Take to Move Forward (Clearing Obstacles and Next Steps)
- Imagine a solution that meets your top three goals—what would make you say 'let’s proceed' within your stated timeline?
- Which proof points would be most persuasive for your team—on‑site demo scans, peer site visit, quantified KPI projections, trial equipment, or formal risk‑sharing terms?
- How open are you to a staged approach (e.g., pilot small‑scale changes, then broader rollout) to de‑risk adoption?
- What immediate artifacts would help your internal approval—budget estimate, installation timeline, shielding plan, or a combined feasibility packet?
- Is there anything else about your current state—stories, constraints, or ambitions—that we haven’t asked but you think matters for designing the right solution?
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Outcome Discovery
Define target clinical outcomes, throughput goals, dose reduction or image quality tradeoffs, and measurable success signals.
Discovery Questions
Start with the Single Most Important Thing
- If you could pick one clinical or operational outcome that would change everything for your department this year, what would it be?
- How urgent is that outcome on a 1–5 scale for your service line (1 = curiosity, 5 = must-solve now)?
- Which patient populations or studies would this outcome impact most?
- Tell us briefly about a recent case or day that made you realize this outcome matters—what happened and how did it feel for clinicians or patients?
- Who inside your organization will celebrate this outcome if achieved, and who might be skeptical?
Are You Quietly Accepting Compromises?
- When you look at your current imaging performance, what have you learned to live with that you'd secretly rather fix?
- How much of your current imaging practice is limited by the scanner vs. staff vs. workflow vs. tracer availability?
- In the last 6 months, which of these problems occurred most often: long waitlists, repeat scans for quality, missed appointments due to time, or billing/authorization delays?
- If nothing changed for another year, what harm—clinical, financial, or reputational—do you expect to see?
- Which previous attempts to improve imaging outcomes failed or stalled, and what do you think was the real reason?
Where Outcomes Break Down — The Hard Truths
- What single failure mode do you notice most often that prevents patients from getting definitive results (e.g., non-diagnostic studies, long cycle times, missed lesions)?
- How frequently do you track the following failures: repeat scans, retakes for motion, patient no-shows, and delayed reports?
- Which modality or configuration causes you the biggest day-to-day friction (legacy SPECT, SPECT/CT, last-gen PET/CT, reconstruction delays)?
- Describe a recent patient or clinician complaint about imaging quality, throughput, or dose concerns—what exactly was the issue?
- How do these breakdowns make your staff feel—stressed, resigned, proud despite issues, or motivated to change?
What Would a Perfect Clinical Day Actually Look Like?
- Imagine a day where every scan you need is delivered with the ideal mix of image quality, speed, and dose—what three outcomes define that day?
- Compared to today, what percentage improvement in throughput, lesion detectability, or dose reduction would make you consider the project a success?
- Which matters more for your program right now: fastest possible throughput, highest diagnostic sensitivity, or lowest feasible radiation dose?
- Who are the clinicians or referring services who would notice this perfect day first, and what would they say?
- If you had one ‘quick win’ that would make clinicians stop complaining immediately, what would it be?
The Stakeholder Scorecard — Who Wins and Who Pushes Back?
- Which stakeholders will need to approve a purchase or workflow change, and what is each group's top criterion (clinical, financial, capacity, safety)?
- Who inside your institution could block progress if their concern isn't addressed, and why might they resist?
- How aligned are the decision makers on timeline and budget today?
- What political or departmental dynamics have affected past capital decisions (competing projects, leadership turnover, donor restrictions)?
- What evidence or demonstration would persuade hesitant stakeholders—live demos, peer visits, trial data, or a pilot study?
Sensible Trade-offs — What Are You Willing to Compromise On?
- If improving throughput required a modest tradeoff in lowest-dose imaging, would you consider that acceptable?
- Rank the following in order of importance for your purchase decision: sensitivity/resolution, scan time, dose, ease of integration, total cost of ownership.
- Would you accept a phased approach (e.g., software/reconstruction upgrade now, hardware later) to reduce upfront capital spend?
- Are there clinical areas where you’d accept lower spatial resolution in exchange for faster scanning (e.g., routine cardiac vs. oncologic staging)?
- Which contractual or service terms are absolute deal-breakers for you (warranty length, uptime SLA, spare parts availability, training scope)?
How Will We Know It’s Working? — Concrete Success Signals
- What three measurable KPIs would you use to sign off that the solution delivered the promised outcomes?
- What are your current baseline numbers for the KPIs you selected (provide values or rough ranges)?
- Over what timeframe would you expect to see meaningful improvement after installation (weeks, months, a year)?
- Who will own monitoring these KPIs internally, and how often do you want joint reviews with our team?
- What quantitative thresholds would constitute 'success' versus 'needs remediation' for each KPI (e.g., 20% throughput increase, repeat scan <2%)?
Hidden Constraints — What Could Derail an Otherwise Good Plan?
- What single piece of infrastructure or regulation would stop a project cold if it’s not solved (shielding, radioactive materials license, CT utilities, PACS integration)?
- How confident are you that your site can meet the physical and regulatory requirements for the proposed systems within your desired timeline?
- Have you previously underestimated any of these readiness items (shielding lead times, radionuclide supply chains, IT approvals)? Tell us what surprised you.
- Which external partners or vendors must be coordinated (construction, radiopharmacy, IT, service provider), and do we have direct contacts for them?
- What contingency plans do you have if staffing or tracer supply becomes constrained during rollout?
Readiness & Next Steps — From Insight to Action
- If we removed one major barrier today (budget, shielding, or staffing), how soon could you commit to a pilot or purchase decision?
- What type of proof would you need from us next: a site-specific feasibility plan, a pilot installation, a peer-site visit, or a clinical outcome model?
- Who should be included in the next joint meeting to move this forward (roles and names if possible)?
- What are the top three risks you want us to address in a proposal so it becomes a 'no-surprises' package for your decision makers?
- Finally, what would make you feel confident that partnering with us is the right choice—examples: clinical evidence, local references, predictable TCO, or hands-on training?
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Solution Experience
Map how SPECT/PET/CT configurations and workflows will deliver the customer’s outcomes using real-case scenarios and acceptance criteria.
Experience Meetings
- Solution Experience — Preconditions Alignment
- Clinical Case Walkthrough — Cardiac, Oncology, Neurology
- Throughput & Operational Simulation Workshop
- Acceptance Criteria & Validation Plan — Final Alignment
- Both teams to identify one or two pilot days and a metric set to validate modeled throughput in a live environment if pilot is agreed.
- Seller to produce side-by-side reconstructions or simulated outputs using customer DICOMs and the proposed reconstruction settings for each case.
- Customer to confirm clinical acceptance thresholds (e.g., minimum lesion contrast-to-noise, EF tolerance, maximum exam time) in writing within 3 business days.
- Technical teams to verify availability of required DICOM tags and coordinate any RIS mapping prior to validation testing.
- Schedule a follow-up to review any requested adjustments to acquisition or reconstruction parameters and re-run small dataset if needed.
- Overview of Modeling Inputs
- Produce a quantitative throughput and capacity model that shows the expected operational improvement versus baseline.
- Agree the dose/image-quality tradeoffs that will be used in acceptance testing and clinical practice.
- Identify necessary RIS/PACS/operations tasks to achieve modeled throughput and assign owners.
- Decide whether a small pilot or direct deployment is the right next step based on modeled outcomes.
- Seller to deliver a 1-page simulation report with assumptions, sensitivity analysis, and projected KPI improvements.
- Customer operations lead to produce an updated daily schedule and confirm top 5 operational constraints to be addressed during deployment.
- Introductions & Objectives
- IT/PACS lead to confirm schedule and API/DICOM capabilities needed for queue automation; provide contact and access windows.
- Review of Agreed Future-State & Proof Elements
- Finalize and document measurable acceptance criteria and the exact method to measure each metric.
- Assign test owners, date windows, and sign-off authorities so acceptance work can proceed without ambiguity.
- Agree remediation and escalation paths so failed tests have a clear path to resolution and re-test.
- Seller to deliver the formal Validation Plan document with test scripts, pass/fail thresholds, and required phantom/data checklist.
- Customer to confirm sign-off authorities and provide access windows for physicist acceptance testing and technologist participation.
- Both parties to schedule the initial validation window and resources required (phantom, technologist, physicist, PACS access).
- If any criterion is not achievable as written, owner to propose an alternate acceptance metric and remediation plan within 5 business days.
- Agree and document a single-sentence current-state summary that all stakeholders validate.
- Quantify the consequences of the current state in measurable terms (e.g., lost studies/week, revenue or delay hours, regulatory risk).
- Define a one-sentence future-state outcome the Solution Experience must prove.
- Select 2–3 real-case scenarios and commit owners to provide datasets and operational metrics as pre-work.
- Customer to provide anonymized DICOMs, throughput logs, radiotracer mix, and staffing rosters for selected scenarios.
- Seller to prepare a one-page framing doc that restates the agreed current state, consequence quantification, and future-state sentence.
- Schedule the Clinical Case Walkthrough with stakeholder attendance and agree time allocation per case.
- Identify technical contacts for PACS/RIS and physics to make integration and test data available.
- Re-state Preconditions & Success Signals
- Demonstrate, with customer data, that the proposed configurations achieve the agreed future-state outcomes for each real-case scenario.
- Agree explicit, measurable acceptance criteria per case (image quality metrics, throughput numbers, dose limits) and how each will be measured.
- Confirm PACS/RIS and reporting requirements to capture acceptance-data automatically where possible.
- Obtain customer validation checkpoints after each case to ensure alignment and surface any remaining constraints.
- Bottleneck Identification & Constraint Mapping
- Case 1 — Cardiac SPECT (rest/stress)
- Crystal-Clear Current State (one sentence)
- Acceptance Criteria by Domain
- Case 2 — Oncology PET/CT (FDG / new tracer)
- Test Scripts & Data Requirements
- Simulation — Config A vs Config B
- Explicit Consequence Statement
- Roles, Timeline & Sign-off Flow
- Dose vs Image Quality Tradeoff Modeling
- Case 3 — Neurology or Theranostics Workflow
- Define Future State (one sentence)
- Staffing & Scheduling Impact
- Select Real-Case Scenarios & Data
- Risk & Contingency Planning
- Integration & Data Flow Check
- Pre-work & Data Deliverables
- Validation Checkpoints
- Integration & Queue Management
- Final Agreement & Next Steps
- Validation Readout
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Solution Scope
Specify system models, detector/reconstruction options, site work, training, physicist testing, integrations, and measurable deliverables.
Scope Configuration
- Deliver and install PET/CT scanner
- Deliver and install SPECT/CT system
- Install and calibrate detector modules
- Configure DICOM/HL7 integration with PACS/RIS
- Deploy iterative reconstruction and motion‑correction software
- Install low‑dose CT and attenuation correction workflows
- Install dose calibrators and automated radiopharmaceutical dispensers
- Install radiation shielding and secure hot‑lab storage
- Technologist hands‑on training for PET/SPECT acquisition & QC
- Physician training on interpretation and quantitative analysis
- Enable remote service monitoring and 24/7 diagnostic connectivity
- Preventive maintenance and parts replacement service
- Detector electronics and crystal upgrade service
Scope Questions
Deliver and install PET/CT scanner
- Do you require delivery and full installation of a PET/CT scanner at this site?
- Which scanner class do you prefer or require?
- What is the expected installation room footprint (clear internal dimensions in meters) and ceiling height?
- What site access constraints apply for delivery (freight elevator, stair access, corridor width, crane availability)?
- What electrical service is available for the scanner room?
- What installation timeline or go-live window do you target (preferred and latest acceptable)?
- What measurable acceptance criteria will be required for the PET/CT delivery (select all that apply)?
Deliver and install SPECT/CT system
- Do you require delivery and installation of a SPECT/CT camera?
- Which SPECT detector / configuration is desired?
- Which collimators and clinical protocols must be supported (cardiac, bone, thyroid, sentinel node, others)?
- Is this an equipment replacement (remove existing camera) or new installation?
- What room constraints or physical requirements exist (room size, floor loading, ceiling height)?
- What downtime window is acceptable for removal/installation?
- What acceptance tests are required for SPECT/CT commissioning?
Install and calibrate detector modules
- Are detector module installations or replacements required for your system?
- How many detector modules/crystals/electronics assemblies are to be installed or serviced?
- Are there environmental constraints relevant to detector calibration (clean room, temperature control, vibration control)?
- What maximum permitted downtime can you accommodate for detector swap and calibration?
- Do you require factory physicist onsite for calibration and acceptance testing?
- What calibration/QA phantoms or verification measurements are required for sign-off?
- Do you want ongoing calibration/verification included in a service contract?
Configure DICOM/HL7 integration with PACS/RIS
- Which PACS vendor(s) and RIS vendor are in use at your site?
- What DICOM AE Title(s), IP address(es), and ports will we use for integration (provide details or indicate if unknown)?
- Which HL7 interfaces are required (ADT, ORM, ORU, order entry, scheduling)?
- Are there network/security constraints (TLS encryption, VPN, firewall rules, limited ports) we should plan for?
- Do you require test data transfer validation (DICOM images + structured reports) and a formal connectivity sign-off?
- Do you have an integration/test window or preferred downtime for configuration and validation?
Deploy iterative reconstruction and motion‑correction software
- Do you plan to deploy our iterative reconstruction and motion‑correction software on this system?
- Which clinical applications need motion correction (cardiac, respiratory, neurological PET, paediatric) and which reconstruction features are required?
- What workstation/server GPU or compute environment is available (on-prem server specs)?
- Do you prefer on-premise software, cloud-enabled processing, or hybrid?
- Are licenses, user counts, or concurrent session limits required to be specified?
- What performance acceptance criteria must the software meet (reconstruction time per study, reduction in motion artifacts %, quantitative accuracy)?
- Do you require integration of reconstruction outputs into existing reading workflows (PACS hangings, quantitative exports)?
Install low‑dose CT and attenuation correction workflows
- Is low-dose CT for attenuation correction required for the system being deployed?
- What CT hardware specification is needed (slice count: 2/16/64/other)?
- Do you need dose-optimized CT protocols and automated dose reporting (DICOM SR / RDSR)?
- Will CT QA/phantom testing and acceptance be performed by our physicist or your in-house physicist?
- Do you have constraints on CT table weight limit or room shielding for CT scatter and leakage?
- What measurable outcomes define success for CT/attenuation correction (HU accuracy tolerance, co-registration error mm, CTDIvol target)?
Install dose calibrators and automated radiopharmaceutical dispensers
- Do you need installation of dose calibrators and/or automated dispensers?
- Which isotopes will you routinely handle (select all that apply)?
- What is your typical daily throughput for doses (number of patient doses per day)?
- Where will the dispenser be located (hot lab, radiopharmacy, imaging suite)?
- Do you require integration of dispenser/dose calibrator logs with dose-management software or EMR?
- Are there local regulatory or licensing considerations for installation (radiation safety approvals, third-party calibration)?
Install radiation shielding and secure hot‑lab storage
- Is new shielding design and installation required for the scanner or hot-lab?
- What type of hot‑lab storage do you require (lead-lined cabinets, refrigerated storage, secure inventory)?
- Do you have existing shielding drawings and as‑built room plans available for review?
- Are ventilation / exhaust and hot-lab negative pressure required or already in place?
- What regulatory approvals or radiation safety sign-offs are needed from your institution or authority prior to installation?
- What measurable deliverables do you require for shielding/hot-lab sign-off (radiation survey results, dose rate limits, storage capacity MBq/GBq)?
Technologist hands‑on training for PET/SPECT acquisition & QC
- How many technologists need hands-on training?
- Which training modality do you prefer?
- Which competencies should be included (acquisition protocols, QC daily/weekly, dose handling, emergency procedures)?
- How long should the initial training for a technologist be (per person)?
- Do you require formal competency sign-off and training certificates?
- Will training need to be repeated for rotating staff or locum technologists on a regular schedule?
Physician training on interpretation and quantitative analysis
- How many physicians require training on the new system?
- Which clinical reads should the training emphasize (cardiology perfusion quantification, oncologic SUV quantification, neurology binding studies)?
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Mutual Commit
Agree commercial terms, lead times, installation windows, service levels, responsibilities, and acceptance criteria.
Agreement Modules
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- Commercial Proposal & Purchase Order
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- Pricing & Payment Schedule
- Lead Time & Delivery Schedule
- Installation & Site Readiness Acceptance
- Installation & Commissioning Plan
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) & Maintenance
- Warranty & Spare Parts Agreement
- Training & Competency Delivery
- Acceptance Criteria & Final Acceptance Certificate
- PACS/RIS Integration & Data Handover
- Regulatory & Radioactive Materials Responsibility
- Change Order Agreement
- Project Governance & Roles (RACI)
- Financing / Lease Agreement (if applicable)
- Final Commercial Acceptance & Escrow/Performance Assurance
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Deployment
Operationalize rollout with readiness checks, enablement, and outcome validation.
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Pre-Deployment Readiness
Verify shielding, room modifications, utilities, radioactive materials licensing, vendors onsite access, and staffing availability.
Readiness Questions
Quick Introductions — Who's in the Room?
- What's your role and primary responsibility in the nuclear medicine or imaging service line?
- Tell us briefly about your facility type and scale (one sentence):
- What best describes your current imaging mix and typical monthly volumes?
- Who is typically involved in capital decisions for imaging equipment at your organization?
- What is your target decision timeline for equipment changes or upgrades?
Are You Settling for Average Imaging Outcomes?
- When you look at your current imaging results, where do you feel they fall short of what patients and clinicians deserve?
- Which of the following outcome gaps cause you the most concern right now?
- How often do those gaps meaningfully change clinical decisions or require repeat exams?
- Can you share a recent case or example where image quality or throughput directly affected patient care or scheduling? (Describe what happened and the impact.)
- How does it feel—personally and professionally—when an imaging study falls short of expectations?
What Keeps Operations Up at Night?
- How much of your operational stress comes from predictable issues versus unpredictable breakdowns?
- Which operational constraints restrict your ability to meet demand today?
- How much revenue or capacity do you estimate is lost when a scanner is down for a day or when you must reschedule PET studies?
- What workarounds have you adopted to keep clinics running when the system or staff are stretched, and how sustainable do those feel?
- If you could remove one ongoing operational friction in the next 90 days, what would it be and why?
Where Is Clinical Confidence Losing Ground?
- How willing are your referring clinicians to act on studies from your current systems vs. seeking external imaging?
- In the past 12 months, have you had peer review or morbidity cases where imaging sensitivity or artifact was a central issue?
- What measurable image-quality targets would restore or raise clinical confidence (e.g., lesion detectability thresholds, contrast-to-noise ratios, dose limits)?
- Who on your clinical team raises concerns about imaging quality most often, and what do they ask for?
- How would improved diagnostic confidence change care pathways or referral patterns at your institution?
If You Could Reimagine the Exam Experience
- Imagine every patient leaves with a diagnostic study clinicians trust—what three outcomes would that unlock for your service line?
- What are realistic throughput goals you’d like to achieve (studies/day or minutes per scan) without sacrificing image quality?
- How important is lowering radiation dose as a tradeoff against image quality in your decision-making?
- Describe the ideal patient and staff experience during an exam—from scheduling to report delivery.
- Which features or capabilities would make your team genuinely excited to adopt a new system?
What Would Budget and Capital Commit to?
- If cost were not the only barrier, what hidden or ongoing expenses worry you most about changing systems?
- What total cost of ownership time horizon does your organization use for imaging capital decisions?
- Who needs to see ROI or utilization projections for approval, and which metric convinces them most (e.g., net revenue, patient throughput, avoided send-outs)?
- What funding constraints or seasonal budgeting windows should we know about to align proposals with your process?
- How would a predictable service agreement or guaranteed uptime influence your willingness to invest?
Who Needs to Say Yes — and What's Their Priority?
- Which stakeholders typically block or accelerate purchases in your organization—and what does each care about most?
- How aligned are those stakeholders today on the primary objective of a replacement or upgrade (e.g., throughput vs. image quality vs. cost)?
- What would sway a holdout stakeholder toward approval—real-world data, peer references, trial installs, financial models, or something else?
- Who will own the post-install operational success (e.g., technologist lead, department manager, vendor), and how will success be measured?
- If we could deliver a single commitment that would clear the path to approval, what would that commitment need to be?
What Would Make You Confident to Move Forward?
- What non-negotiable acceptance criteria must be met during installation and validation for you to sign final acceptance?
- How do you prefer training and enablement to be delivered for staff to feel competent at go‑live?
- What site-readiness items are biggest blockers today (shielding, utilities, radioactive materials license, vendor access), and who is responsible for each?
- Would a short pilot or accept-on-performance clause ease your risk concerns, and if so, what duration or metrics would feel fair?
- What would success look like at 30, 90, and 365 days after install—concrete metrics we should commit to?
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Deployment Enablement
Coordinate installation, physicist acceptance testing, technologist and physician training, and go-live sequencing with ownership.
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Validation Checklist
Execute image quality, sensitivity, throughput, dose, and PACS/RIS integration tests and obtain formal sign-offs against acceptance criteria.
Validation Questions
Who's on the Journey With Us?
- Which option best describes your facility?
- Which people or roles will be actively involved in evaluating and approving a new nuclear medicine system? (Select all that apply)
- Who needs to sign final acceptance and what level of authority do they hold? Please name roles/titles and decision thresholds.
- What is your current capital timeline for this purchase?
- How confident do you feel today that your team can accurately define technical requirements for a replacement or new PET/SPECT system?
- Tell us one recent decision about imaging equipment where you felt the process went well—or poorly. What made it that way?
If We Keep Doing What We're Doing, What Breaks First?
- What single failure do you worry about most if no changes are made—patient delays, regulatory noncompliance, lost referrals, or something else?
- How often does the issue you just named occur today?
- Describe a recent incident where equipment limitations directly affected patient care, scheduling, or revenue. What happened and what was the immediate impact?
- Which technical constraints bother you most right now?
- How do these constraints make your team feel—frustrated, cautious, overworked, or resigned? Give a short example.
- If these problems continue for 12 months, what is the most likely downstream consequence for your service line?
What Are You Losing When Images Can't Deliver?
- How often do images that you consider 'suboptimal' lead to repeat scans or additional imaging workups?
- When image quality is inadequate, what are the typical downstream costs you incur (time, patient callbacks, lost revenue, safety events)? Provide specific examples or estimates if available.
- Have you tracked clinical or operational KPIs that degrade with poor imaging (e.g., time-to-diagnosis, no-show rate, referral loss)? Which ones and what are current baselines?
- How often do technologist staffing gaps or skill variability contribute to image quality issues?
- Who hears directly from patients or referring physicians when images underperform, and what is the tone of that feedback?
- If better imaging reduced repeat scans by 30%, what would that change mean for your department operationally or financially?
Which Assumptions Are Quietly Steering Your Choices?
- What belief about imaging systems do you catch your team leaning on that might be wrong—faster scans always mean lower quality, newer detectors always require more QA, or something else?
- How long have you held that assumption and what proof (or disproof) have you seen?
- Which commonly accepted trade-offs do you tolerate today (dose vs quality, speed vs sensitivity, cost vs uptime)? Rank the top two.
- Which of those trade-offs feels most negotiable to you if a solution could demonstrate measurable outcomes?
- Tell us about a time you changed a long-held assumption and it improved clinical or operational results. What triggered the change?
- If we challenged one assumption here together, which would you want to test first and why?
Imagine the Day Everything Works
- Describe, in a single sentence, what a successful imaging service looks like to you 12 months after installation.
- What are three measurable outcomes that would convince you the new system succeeded (e.g., average scan time, daily throughput, recon time, dose reduction)? List values if you have targets.
- Which of these performance targets would be most valuable to hit first?
- What patient experience improvements would you expect (wait times, comfort, scheduling flexibility)? Please be specific.
- If you could set a headline metric for clinical leadership and another for finance to celebrate, what would those two metrics be?
- How quickly would you expect to see clinically meaningful results after go‑live?
How Will You Know We've Succeeded?
- What formal acceptance tests or sign-offs are non-negotiable for your team (image quality phantom tests, sensitivity benchmarks, throughput runs, PACS/RIS I/O, dose reports)?
- For each acceptance criterion you named, what threshold would you consider a pass? (Attach numbers or a short description.)
- Who will own running those tests and providing sign-off?
- If a test fails, what remediation path is acceptable—rework by vendor, partial acceptance with remediation plan, financial concession, or other?
- How will you measure clinical impact post-acceptance (which dashboards, who reviews, cadence)?
- Is there a required regulatory or licensing step that must be completed before clinical use? If yes, which and what's the timeline?
What's Actually Stopping This From Moving Forward?
- If you had to name the single biggest barrier to signing and deploying a new system in the next 12 months, what would it be?
- How much of the barrier is within your team's control versus external (e.g., system vendors, health system finance)? Please explain.
- Have you attempted to address this barrier before? If yes, what worked or failed and why?
- What would need to change in the next 30–90 days to materially de-risk the project?
- Rate the impact of each potential blocker on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (critical): budget, site modifications, staffing, regulatory, vendor lead times, integration complexity.
- Are there internal champions or executive sponsors who can help clear these blockers? Who are they and how engaged are they?
If We Partnered, What's the Smallest Win That Proves It's Working?
- What would a minimal successful pilot look like (number of patients, study types, acceptance criteria) that would convince leadership to proceed?
- Which scan type should we prioritize for a pilot to show clear value? (Pick one or two.)
- What resources would you commit to a pilot—physicist time, technologist time, clinical reading time, or something else?
- How will you want vendor involvement during a pilot—onsite engineers, shared protocols, live training, or hands-off?
- After a successful pilot, what is the fastest acceptable timeline to scale across other sites or volumes?
- What communication cadence and format do you prefer during a pilot and initial deployment (weekly calls, dashboards, in-person reviews)?
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Success
Review outcomes versus success signals, complete operational handover, and maintain a shared channel for issues and enhancements.
Success Reviews
- Outcomes Review & Formal Acceptance
- Operational Handover & Runbook Transfer
- Training Recap, Competency Verification & Certification
- Support, SLAs & Escalation Channel Setup
- Continuous Improvement & Enhancement Roadmap
Issues & Enhancements
- Create and provision the CustomerNode shared channel with roles, access, and templates for incidents and enhancement requests.
- Ensure training records and certifications are stored and accessible in the shared channel.
- Issue competency certificates and upload training records to the shared workspace.
- Schedule remediation/refresher sessions for staff with documented gaps.
- Provision LMS accounts and share training resource links and quick-reference job aids.
- Assign a customer training owner responsible for ongoing staff onboarding and recertification tracking.
- Support Model Overview
- Provision a working shared channel and ticket workflow for incidents and enhancements.
- Ensure remote support connectivity and security are validated and documented.
- Agree an escalation matrix and confirm on-call contacts and response expectations.
- Document parts ordering and emergency spares procedures with lead times.
- Introductions & Objectives
- Configure ticket SLA timers in the shared workspace and publish response/resolution expectations.
- Run and document remote access/security test; remediate any connectivity gaps.
- Publish escalation contact sheet and on-call roster to the shared channel.
- Performance Monitoring Plan
- Put in place a measurable performance monitoring plan with clear owners.
- Capture and prioritize a roadmap of enhancements and protocol improvements tied to clinical and operational impact.
- Establish recurring review cadence and reporting templates to track ROI and success signals over time.
- Assign delivery owners and timelines for the first set of high-priority enhancements.
- Create the enhancement backlog in the shared channel with initial prioritization and owners.
- Schedule recurring performance review meetings and populate calendar invites for stakeholders.
- Deliver an initial KPI dashboard template populated with baseline post-deployment metrics.
- Prepare proposals and cost estimates for top-priority enhancements requiring commercial approval.
- Validate measured outcomes against each agreed success signal and document evidence.
- Obtain customer decision: Final Acceptance, Conditional Acceptance with remediation plan, or Rejection with remediation plan.
- Establish owners, deadlines, and verification method for any corrective actions.
- Ensure formal sign-off artifacts and next-test dates are scheduled.
- Deliver a complete acceptance report with raw data, comparisons to success signals, and recommended corrective actions (if any).
- Customer to sign acceptance form or conditional acceptance and return by the agreed date.
- Assign engineering/clinical owners for each corrective action and publish timelines in the shared channel.
- Schedule verification tests and follow-up acceptance meeting if remediation is required.
- Handover Overview
- Ensure the customer has a complete, site-specific operational runbook and SOPs.
- Confirm scheduled QA/maintenance responsibilities and who owns each task.
- Validate spare parts, consumables plan, and radiopharmacy supply chain readiness.
- Document official transfer of operational ownership and warranty/service commencement.
- Deliver the final runbook, SOP documents, QA templates, and test logs to the shared channel.
- Customer to confirm internal owner(s) for daily ops, QA, and physicist sign-off responsibilities.
- Provide initial spare-parts kit and consumables list with reorder contacts and lead times.
- Publish maintenance calendar and first-year preventive maintenance visits into shared calendar.
- Training Summary
- Confirm all critical staff meet competency requirements for safe and effective operation.
- Identify residual training gaps and agree remediation steps and timelines.
- Establish a cadence and owner for ongoing training and recertification.
- Competency Validation Results
- Enhancement Backlog Capture
- Shared Channel & Ticket Workflow
- Runbook & SOP Walkthrough
- Readback of Agreed Success Signals
- Knowledge Gap Remediation Plan
- Measured Performance Review
- Prioritization & Roadmap
- Maintenance, QA & Physicist Duties
- Escalation Matrix & Contacts
- Review Cadence & Owners
- Ongoing Training & LMS Access
- Remote Access & Security Test
- Integration Operations (PACS/RIS)
- Gap Analysis & Consequences