2026 ASNC Nuclear Cardiology Board Exam Prep Course

The 2026 ASNC Nuclear Cardiology Board Exam Prep Course is designed for cardiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and radiologists preparing for the 2026 CBNC exam or seeking board-focused updates in nuclear cardiology. The course combines comprehensive self-study materials with pre-recorded lectures and interactive practice exams based on the CBNC exam blueprint.

The self-study materials include 20 video lectures with audio and PDF slide-downloads, along with 4 interactive practice exams with >160 questions based on the CBNC exam blueprint. Learners can retake the practice exams and listen to the lectures as often as they’d like.

The course covers essential areas of nuclear cardiology, including cardiovascular imaging physics, SPECT and PET imaging, radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals, radiation safety, stress testing, myocardial perfusion imaging, myocardial viability, cardiac amyloidosis, ventricular function, multimodality cardiovascular imaging, and interpretation of nuclear cardiology studies.

Access to the course self-study materials including pre-recorded lectures and practice exams, begins August 13, 2026.

Target Audience

This course is designed for cardiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and radiologists preparing for the certification or recertification exam in nuclear cardiology.

Course Materials

• 20 video lectures
• Audio materials
• PDF slide-downloads
• 4 interactive practice exams with >160 questions
• Practice questions based on the CBNC exam blueprint
• Ability to retake the practice exams and listen to the lectures as often as you’d like

Faculty

• Talal S. Alnabelsi, MD, FASNC
• Benjamin Auer, PhD
• Jamieson Bourque, MD, MHS, FASNC
• James Case, PhD, MASNC
• Panithaya Chareonthaitawee, MD, MASNC
• Marianna Dakanali, PhD
• E. Gordon DePuey, MD, MASNC
• Sanjay Divakaran, MD, MPH, FASNC
• Sharmila Dorbala, MD, MPH, MASNC
• Rami Doukky, MD, MSc, MBA, FASNC
• W. Lane Duvall, MD, MASNC
• Andrew C. Homb, MD
• Mark Hyun, CNMT, NCT, RS, RT(N,R,CT), FASNC
• Krishna K. Patel, MD, MSc, FASNC
• Lawrene Phillips, MD, MASNC
• Ronald Schwartz, MD, MS, MASNC
• R. Glenn Wells, PhD
• David E. Winchester, MD, FASNC

Learner Objectives

The primary objectives of the course are to enable participants to achieve the following:

• Review concepts of nuclear physics as it applies to cardiovascular imaging physics instrumentation.
• Explain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) image acquisition, processing, and quality control considerations.
• Recognize and identify nuclear imaging associated artifacts and understand their appropriate management.
• Discuss the production and management of radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals.
• Integrate radiation safety standards into professional nuclear cardiology practice.
• Incorporate patient-centered imaging principles and appropriate use considerations in nuclear cardiology and stress procedure selection.
• Learn basic stress testing (exercise and pharmacologic) protocols along with their absolute and relative contraindications.
• Incorporate risk stratification into selection and application of nuclear cardiology studies.
• Apply nuclear imaging tools in assessment of myocardial viability, cardiac amyloidosis, and ventricular function.
• Understand the basics of PET imaging for myocardial perfusion, myocardial blood flow quantification, and metabolic viability and sarcoidosis assessment.
• Interpret SPECT and PET perfusion and metabolic images and ventricular function imaging.
• Utilize myocardial perfusion imaging in the assessment, diagnosis, and response to therapy in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease and special populations.
• Appropriately identify non-cardiac findings on SPECT and PET-CT cardiovascular imaging studies.
• Integrate nuclear cardiology into the multimodality imaging evaluation of cardiovascular disease.

Topics

• 01 Welcome and Introduction
• 02 Session I Physics for the Boards
• 03 Session I Production and Management of Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals
• 04 Session I The Basics of Radiation Safety
• 05 Session I Instrumentation (SPECT and PET)
• 06 Session II Technical Aspects of Acquisition and Processing
• 07 Session II Gated SPECT
• 08 Session II Artifact Recognition
• 09 Session II Instrumentation Quality Control
• 10 Session II Patient-Centered Imaging and Appropriate Use
• 11 Session III Stress Testing
• 12 Session III Nuclear Imaging Protocols and Interpretation
• 13 Session III Radionuclide Angiocardiography
• 14 Session III Focused Topic SPECT Viability Protocols and Case Review
• 15 Session III Risk Stratification SPECT
• 16 Session III Interpretation of Incidental Cardiac and Non-Cardiac Findings on SPECT and PET CT
• 17 Session IV Cardiac PET Basics of Perfusion, Viability, and Sarcoidosis
• 18 Session IV Focused Topic Nuclear Integration in Multimodality Imaging
• 19 Session IV Focused Topic Bone-avid Radiotracer Cardiac SPECT for Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis
• 20 Session IV Cases with the Expert, SPECT
• 21 Session IV Cases with the Expert, PET