Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Handbook 7610 (252)
Washington, DC 20420
June , 2006
of measure for space planning. One individual patient can have multiple procedure /
suite stops in a single visit or in one day.
N. Program for Design (PFD): A space program based on criteria set forth in this
document and specific information about Concept of Operations, Workload
projections and Staffing levels authorized.
O. Radiobioassay: Utilizes specimens such as blood, urine, feces, spinal fluid etc,
including biopsies that are received and/or collected from patients, evaluated and
measured. Radioactive materials are incorporated in vivo or in vitro and
determinations of body functions made. Specimen receiving, holding, preparation,
examination, interpretation, consultation, record distribution, storage and retrieval
occur in areas separate from the clinical imaging function.
P.
Radionuclide / Radiopharmaceutical / Radioisotope: Terms, often but incorrectly
used interchangeably, to describe the type of radioactivity administered to a patient ,
either diagnostic procedures or therapy. Different radioactive materials have an
affinity for the varying physiologic processes (chemical or physical) of the body.
Those radioactive substances employed for diagnostic testing/imaging have very low
doses of radioactivity (gamma), enabling patients to be treated as outpatients and
not require them to alter their normal activities. Therapeutic uses of radioactivity
employ more highly radioactive materials (alpha and beta) and may, on a case-to-
case basis, require inpatient stays and/or modification of normal activities.
Q. Room Efficiency Factor: A factor that provides flexibility in the utilization of a room to
account for patient delays, scheduling conflicts, and equipment maintenance.
Common factors are in the 80 to 85% range. A room with 80% room efficiency
provides a buffer to assume that this room would be available 20% of the time
beyond the planned operational practices of the room. This factor may be adjusted
based on the actual and/or anticipated operations and processes of the room /
department.
R. Scintillation or Gamma Camera: Nuclear imaging camera consisting of a collection
crystal (head) and magnifiers that create images of a target organ / physiologic
process from the gamma radiation being emitted from a patient following the
administration of a radioactive material.
S.
SEPS (VA-SEPS): Acronym for Space and Equipment Planning System, a digital
tool developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs to generate a Program for Design (PFD) and an Equipment List for a VA
healthcare project based on specific information entered in response to Input Data
Statements. VA-SEPS incorporates the propositions set forth in this chapter as well
as all chapters in VA's Handbook 7610. VA-SEPS has been designed to aid
healthcare planners in creating a space plan based on a standardized set of criteria
parameters.
T.
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT): Standard diagnostic
imaging modality that usually employs a rotating collection crystal (head) and
magnifiers to create three dimensional images from transaxial, coronal, sagittal
Nuclear Medicine Service (Chapter 252): Page 4 of 18
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