Technical Pitfalls and Limitations of SPECT/CT

Semin Nucl Med. 2015 Nov;45(6):530-40. doi: 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2015.06.002.

Abstract

The synergy of functional and anatomic information in hybrid systems has undoubtedly enhanced the diagnostic potential of radionuclide imaging in recent years, contributing to the advancement of SPECT/CT in clinical practice. Since the introduction of commercial SPECT/CT in the late 1990 s, the field has seen rapid expansion and development toward multidetector CT subsystems, establishing the role of SPECT/CT as a routine imaging tool. It is, however, important to discuss possible challenges and technical limitations of such systems and how these influence imaging outcomes. In particular, the issues of patient motion and spatial misalignment of the SPECT and CT modalities, data corrections such as those for photon attenuation, and the choice of CT acquisition protocols in relation to radiation exposure are discussed in the article.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Movement
  • Multimodal Imaging / methods*
  • Multimodal Imaging / standards
  • Multimodal Imaging / statistics & numerical data
  • Patient Positioning
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Quality Control
  • Radiation Exposure
  • Radiation Protection
  • Scattering, Radiation
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / methods*
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / standards
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / statistics & numerical data
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / standards
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / statistics & numerical data