Do we need dedicated cardiac SPECT systems?

Excerpt

Dedicated cardiac SPECT scanners have significantly improved in recent years,1 reducing imaging time and radiation dose. In particular, cardiac scanners have entered clinical practice,2,3 which use solid-state Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CZT) crystal detectors and feature innovative gantry designs, focusing on the heart. These new systems allow improvement in photon sensitivity (5-8 times higher) 4,5 for cardiac imaging, as well as image resolution (up to 2 times higher).5 While solid-state CZT detectors are more expensive than traditional NaI(Tl) crystal detectors with photomultipliers, they do have important imaging advantages. The CZT detectors have improved energy response, which significantly reduces the scatter component of measured data. They also offer superior intrinsic spatial resolution compared to conventional Anger cameras. The use of less-bulky detectors (no need for photomultipliers) has resulted in more compact scanner size which has facilitated small-footprint dedicated cardiac camera designs with custom imaging geometries and high-sensitivity collimation. There is a growing evidence, including large multicenter studies, that these solid-state SPECT systems demonstrate excellent diagnostic and prognostic utility in cardiac imaging.6‐8 …