Describe the SPECT and PET imaging techniques.

Astronomy
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Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
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Describe the SPECT and PET imaging techniques.

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Both PET and SPECT imaging use cameras that detect injected radiotracers. However, each type of imaging works differently:

 

SPECT

Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging provides metabolic and functional information about the heart. It is a non-invasive technique that involves injecting radioactive tracers into the bloodstream to get pictures which indicate whether or not a patient has cardiovascular disease.

 

The SPECT gamma camera picks up signals from the radioactive tracers as they move around the patient’s chest, then these signals are transformed into computer images. SPECT can be used to examine the heart while the patient is at rest, or during a nuclear stress test.Perfusion imaging is generally performed twice – once at rest, then again after cardiac stress. It measures the blood flow to the heart.The half-life of technetium-99m, the radiotracer used for SPECT is around six hours, which means technologists have plenty of time to perform the imaging that is required. This is how they are able to perform nuclear stress tests.if we look at the decay of the radiotracer, it is quite straightforward. Each decay provides one gamma ray which is detected by the camera. Combining thousands of these gamma ray detections assist in the image creation that the physician uses for diagnosis.

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