SPECT Information

Brainwaves is now working with River Oaks Imaging to provide PET scanning for our neuroimaging patients. PET imaging is a nuclear medicine study that allows us to visualize brain blood flow and metabolism. In this study, a radioactive isotope is attached to a substance that is easily taken up by cells in the brain. A small amount of this compound is injected into a vein, travels through the bloodstream, and locks into brain cells. As the isotope breaks down it releases energy in the form of gamma rays. The gamma rays are like beacons of light that signal where the compound is in the brain. People do not have allergic reactions to PET studies. Special crystals in the PET camera detect these beacons of light as the camera rotates around the patient’s head for about fifteen minutes. About 10 million gamma rays strike the crystals during a typical scan, and a supercomputer then translates this information into sophisticated blood flow/metabolism maps and three-dimensional images of the brain.

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Physicians and researchers use these maps to identify patterns of brain activity that correlate to healthy brain function and those that are associated with psychiatric and neurological illnesses.

Each study requires that a small IV line is inserted into the patient’s arm.

For the concentration study, patients take a 15-minute test of attention and focus. Three or so minutes into performing the task, the imaging solution will be injected and then the task is completed. For the baseline study, patients are asked to sit quietly, several minutes later the imaging solution will be injected through the IV. After another short period of time, we have the patient lie on the imaging table and the PET camera rotates around the patient’s head.

The PET camera is not the same as a CT scanner or an MRI machine. Patients don’t slide into a tube or have to worry about prolonged procedures and radiation from the machine. A PET camera is quiet, fast and does not emit radiation. The procedure is an “open” one meaning that the camera heads rotate around the patient rather than the patient being inside a machine.