Multi-society training statement defines future of advanced CV imaging

ARLINGTON, VA (Dec. 5, 2025) — A new multi-society Advanced Training Statement on Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging — co-published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (JCCT) and JACC — outlines core competencies and training requirements for cardiologists pursuing advanced skills across the four imaging modalities: cardiovascular CT (CCT), cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), echocardiography and nuclear cardiology.

Developed by the American College of Cardiologists (ACC) in partnership with the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT), American Heart Association (AHA), American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), along with 25 total collaborating societies, the statement provides a comprehensive framework to guide training programs and prepare the “imager of the future.”

According to João Cavalcante, MD, FACC, FASE, FSCMR, FSCCT, the new training statement creates a clear multimodality competency framework focused on advanced practice – not just Levels I/II – linking the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency domains to specific imaging tasks.

“This is the first multi-society, competency-based advanced training statement that explicitly lays out what an advanced cardiovascular imager should know and be able to do across all four modalities, while also giving modality-specific skillsets and minimum procedural exposure,” said Dr. Cavalcante. “It moves beyond COCATS Level I/II checklists to define advanced practice milestones, lab requirements, integration expectations and measurable minimum case volumes — in other words, it tells training programs and trainees exactly what ‘advanced’ should look like.”

Dr. Cavalcante — who represented SCCT and cardiovascular CT guidance within the ACC Competency Management Committee, alongside Koen Nieman, MD, PhD, MSCCT; Anna Reid, MBChB, PhD, FSCCT and numerous other SCCT members — explained that the statement emphasizes access to contemporary CT hardware and advanced post-processing (FFR-CT, quantitative plaque, photon-counting where possible, and pre/post structural heart disease case interpretation for example) and on participation in CT protocol/quality committees.

He said the statement also offers stronger guidance on direct hands-on involvement of the imager, not just reading archived studies.

“Imaging interpretation needs to be understood and put into the clinical context (for example, chart review) to direct patient care. It highlights the critical importance for cross-modality integration and for quality assurance of quantitative techniques,” he said.

The statement also presents concrete procedural minimums for advanced training with modality-specific numbers so programs and fellows have actionable targets, he explained.

Along with the multimodality collaboration, the statement stresses a collaboration of specialists across various fields – including cardiology, radiology, surgery and critical care – for imaging interpretation and integration.

The document details standards for faculty, facilities and multidisciplinary collaboration; requirements for didactics and hands-on imaging experience; and expectations for image acquisition, interpretation, safety and quality. It also outlines competency-based evaluation, cross-modality integration, and the leadership and administrative skills needed for modern imaging practice.

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About the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography

Founded in 2005, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) is the international professional society devoted to improving health outcomes through effective use of cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT). SCCT is a community of physicians, scientists and technologists from over 100 countries advocating for access, research, education and clinical excellence in the use of CCT. For more information, please visit https://scct.org/.

About the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography 

The Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (JCCT) is a peer-review journal of the SCCT that integrates the international cardiovascular CT community and addresses a broad range of topics affecting cardiovascular CT imaging. The journal’s major focus is on original research and on the clinical and technical aspects of cardiovascular CT. For more information, please visit www.journalofcardiovascularct.com .