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Update on appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET imaging: dementia experts, mild cognitive impairment, and education. Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer’s Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Johnson KA, Minoshima S, Bohnen NI, Donohoe KJ, Foster NL, Herscovitch P, Karlawish JH, Rowe CC et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2013-07-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Amyloid PET imaging is a novel diagnostic test that can detect in living humans one of the two defining pathologic lesions of Alzheimer disease, amyloid-β deposition in the brain. The Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer's Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging previously published appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET as an important tool for increasing the certainty of a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in specific patient populations. Here, the task force further clarifies and expands 3 topics discussed in the original paper: first, defining dementia experts and their use of proper documentation to demonstrate the medical necessity of an amyloid PET scan; second, identifying a specific subset of individuals with mild cognitive impairment for whom an amyloid PET scan is appropriate; and finally, developing educational programs to increase awareness of the amyloid PET appropriate use criteria and providing instructions on how this test should be used in the clinical decision-making process.
Key findings
- Amyloid PET imaging is a novel diagnostic test that can detect in living humans one of the two defining pathologic lesions of Alzheimer disease, amyloid-β deposition in the brain.
- The Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer's Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging previously published appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET as an important tool for increasing the certainty of a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in specific patient populations.
- Here, the task force further clarifies and expands 3 topics discussed in the original paper: first, defining dementia experts and their use of proper documentation to demonstrate the medical necessity of an amyloid PET scan; second, identifying a specific subset of individuals with mild cognitive impairment for whom an amyloid PET scan is appropriate; and finally, developing educational programs to increase awareness of the amyloid PET appropriate use criteria and providing instructions on how this test should be used in the clinical decision-making process.
Why it matters
This task force update clarifies appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET imaging, including which patients with mild cognitive impairment may be suitable and how to educate clinicians. It concerns diagnosis and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 108 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.2 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Dean M. Hartley: h-index 44 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 16 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23809369) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2013.06.001
- PubMed: 23809369
- Original source →
- Free full text: onlinelibrary.wiley.com →
Full text: free to read — Unpaywall lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Johnson, K. A., Minoshima, S., Bohnen, N. I., Donohoe, K. J., Foster, N. L., Herscovitch, P., et al. (2013). Update on appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET imaging: dementia experts, mild cognitive impairment, and education. Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer’s Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2013.06.001
Vancouver
Johnson KA, Minoshima S, Bohnen NI, Donohoe KJ, Foster NL, Herscovitch P, et al. Update on appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET imaging: dementia experts, mild cognitive impairment, and education. Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer’s Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2013.06.001. PMID: 23809369.
BibTeX
@article{johnson2013-23809369,
author = {Johnson, K. A. and Minoshima, S. and Bohnen, N. I. and Donohoe, K. J. and Foster, N. L. and Herscovitch, P. and Karlawish, J. H. and Rowe, C. C. and others},
title = {{Update on appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET imaging: dementia experts, mild cognitive impairment, and education. Amyloid Imaging Task Force of the Alzheimer’s Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2013.06.001},
pmid = {23809369},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2013.06.001}
}
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