High-quality brain perfusion SPECT images may be achieved with a high-speed recording using 360° CZT camera

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to compare brain perfusion SPECT obtained from a 360° CZT and a conventional Anger camera. Methods The 360° CZT camera utilizing a brain configuration, with 12 detectors surrounding the head, was compared to a 2-head Anger camera for count sensitivity and image quality on 30-min SPECT recordings from a brain phantom and from 99mTc-HMPAO brain perfusion in 2 groups of 21 patients investigated with the CZT and Anger cameras, respectively. Image reconstruction was adjusted according to image contrast for each camera. Results The CZT camera provided more than 2-fold increase in count sensitivity, as compared with the Anger camera, as well as (1) lower sharpness indexes, giving evidence of higher spatial resolution, for both peripheral/central brain structures, with respective median values of 5.2%/3.7% versus 2.4%/1.9% for CZT and Anger camera respectively in patients (p < 0.01), and 8.0%/6.9% versus 6.2%/3.7% on phantom; and (2) higher gray/white matter contrast on peripheral/central structures, with respective ratio median values of 1.56/1.35 versus 1.11/1.20 for CZT and Anger camera respectively in patients (p < 0.05), and 2.57/2.17 versus 1.40/1.12 on phantom; and (3) no change in noise level. Image quality, scored visually by experienced physicians, was also significantly higher on CZT than on the Anger camera (+ 80%, p < 0.01), and all these results were unchanged on the CZT images obtained with only a 15 min recording time. Conclusion The 360° CZT camera provides brain perfusion images of much higher quality than a conventional Anger camera, even with high-speed recordings, thus demonstrating the potential for repositioning brain perfusion SPECT to the forefront of brain imaging.

Satisfied quantitative value can be acquired by short-time bone SPECT/CT using a whole-body cadmium–zinc–telluride gamma camera

“…Clinical applications of CZT-based SPECT initially began with dedicated cardiac SPECT systems, which were reported to acquire images in a shorter time than conventional systems 3 , 4 . Subsequently, companies began marketing whole-body SPECT/CT using CZT detectors, and the possibility of a short-time scan (STS) has been reported in cardiac 5 , brain 6 , 7 , and whole-body bone scan 8 . However, it is as yet unknown whether or not short-time acquisition is acceptable for clinical applications related to SPECT/CT bone imaging using CZT detectors.…”

Utility of SPECT Functional Neuroimaging of Pain

“…Compared to PET, SPECT images suffer from limited spatial resolution. This is partially inherent in the physics of the technique, however there have been significant improvements in SPECT spatial resolution with the introduction of high sensitivity solid state detectors such as Cadmium zinc telluride (CTZ) and Cesium Iodide (CsI) as compared to a conventional Anger camera ( 8 ).…”

Absolute Quantification of Bone Scintigraphy for the Longitudinal Monitoring of Vertebral Fractures With a High-speed Whole-body CZT-SPECT/CT System

“…A 5 cm translation of the VOI was subsequently applied to measure mean background activity ("Mean BKG" in counts per second) and corresponding standard deviation ("SD BKG"). Contrast-to-noise ratio was nally computed with the following equation [19]:…”

“…The whole-body Veriton® camera (Spectrum Dynamics Medical, Caesarea, Israel) combines CZT detectors with an original 360° ring-con guration geometry that allows the detectors to be positioned very close to the patient, a con guration that is likely to maximize both count sensitivity and image quality [17][18][19]. With this camera, it has already been demonstrated that a whole-body 3-dimensional SPECT recording may be obtained in no more than 20 minutes for bone 99m Tc-scintigraphy [17], as well as for lutetium-177 therapeutic imaging [18].…”