Augmented planar bone scintigraphy obtained from a whole-body SPECT recording of less than 20 min with a high-sensitivity 360° CZT camera

Excerpt

Consecutive whole-body recordings of 18 min each were obtained in conventional planar mode (a, Symbia, Siemens Healthineers) and in 3D mode using the Veriton™ hybrid SPECT/CT system (b and c, Spectrum Dynamics Medical) in an 87-year-old woman with history of breast cancer [1]. The Veriton™ utilizes 12 swiveling high-resolution CZT detectors situated around a full 360° and able to be positioned in close proximity to the patient’s body, providing a two- to threefold higher tomographic count sensitivity than conventional Anger SPECT cameras [2‐5]. This camera enables a 3D whole-body SPECT to be recorded, together with a low-dose CT (≤ 2 mSv), in approximately 20 min (6 to 7 bed positions of 3 min each). Further CT-based corrections of attenuation and partial volume effect are used to give a final extraction of augmented planar projections; although, note, activity from the bladder was additionally excluded but without further soft tissue suppression, prior to this final extraction (b, arrowhead). Multiple foci were documented on, and correlated between, the whole-body images from both cameras (a, b); although, the augmented planar images from the 360° CZT camera (b) demonstrated higher image contrast. The augmented planar images enable analysis from any angle around the body (see rotating cine-mode in a supplemental file), with native SPECT and CT slices also available for further analyses of lesions (c, blue and red arrows). The 360° CZT whole-body SPECT/CT protocol with 3D and augmented planar images from the same recording could constitute an advantageous alternative to current bone protocols comprising both whole-body planar and SPECT recordings [6].

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