The Current Status of SPECT or SPECT/CT in South Korea

Abstract

The first step to nuclear medicine in Korea started with introduction of the gamma camera in 1969. Although planar images with the gamma camera give important functional information, they have the limitations that result from 2-dimensional images. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) due to its 3-dimensional image acquisition is superior to earlier planar gamma imaging in image resolution and diagnostic accuracy. As demand for a hybrid functional and anatomical imaging device has increased, integrated SPECT/CT systems have been used. In Korea, SPECT/CT was for the first time installed in 2003. SPECT/CT can eliminate many possible pitfalls on SPECT-alone images, making better attenuation correction and thereby improving image quality. Therefore, SPECT/CT is clinically preferred in many hospitals in various aspects. More recently, additional SPECT/CT images taken from the region with equivocal uptake on planar images have been helpful in making precise interpretation as part of their clinical workup in postoperative thyroid cancer patients. SPECT and SPECT/CT have various advantages, but its clinical application has gradually decreased in recent few years. While some researchers investigated the myocardial blood flow with cardiac PET using F-18 FDG or N-13 ammonia, myocardial perfusion SPECT is, at present, the radionuclide imaging study of choice for the risk stratification and guiding therapy in the coronary artery disease patients in Korea. New diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals for AD have received increasing attention; nevertheless, brain SPECT will remain the most reliable modality evaluating cerebral perfusion.

Diagnostic Reference Levels for Adult Nuclear Medicine Imaging Established from the National Survey in Korea

“…DRLs should additionally be established for pediatric nuclear medicine imaging studies in the future. Lastly, DRLs for the CT component of hybrid imaging should be established as the proportion of PET/CT and SPECT/CT is high with trend of further increases [22,23]. In Korea, DRLs for regional diagnostic CT scans were previously suggested [24,25].…”

Keeping up with the prostate-specific membrane antigens (PSMAs): an introduction to a new class of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents

“…SPECT is a broadly available imaging technique. SPECT is widely used in myocardial perfusion and functional brain imaging ( 65 ). The modality uses a conventional gamma camera, which has a relatively lower unit price making SPECT more economical.…”

FPGA-Based Interface of Digital DAQ System for Double-Scattering Compton Camera

“…Tomographic imaging has an important role in oncology and neurology for helping doctors see inside a patient's body and monitor therapeutic effects noninvasively [1][2][3][4][5]. A Compton camera is a radiation tomographic imaging system that can generate a three-dimensional image from coincident measurements from multiple detectors.…”