Advances In Cerebral Spect Imaging

In the developed world, images of brain structure are available as an everyday diagnostic aid, and the characteristic appearances of most pathological conditions can be looked up in a textbook. Functional brain imaging is to this day less widely used, partly because most pressing diagnostic questions can be answered by refer ence to the patient's cerebral anatomy, partly for reasons of technical limitations of functional techniques. PET as a technique is sufficiently resource-demanding and complex to inhibit its use as an everyday diagnostic technique. SPECT lacked suitable tracers for many years, and early systems had poor spatial resolution. However, rotating gamma camera technology has advanced to the point where images of the brain of reasonable quality can be obtained at most large hospitals, and practical tracers, particularly of regional cerebral blood flow, are easily avail able. As research advances, clinical applications are emerging. A recent report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology! details a number of currently recognised clinical appli cations, some of which are dealt with in this book. Given this recognition, it is increasingly important that clinicians (particularly neuroclinicians, psychiatrists and specialists in cerebrovascular disease), nuclear medicine specialists and physicists acquire an idea of the major applications of the technique, and the research background on which these applications are based.

This Fourth Edition reflects the significant recent progress that has occurred in functional brain imaging, particularly the increased use of PET/SPECT, the use of SPECT and PET in movement disorders and dementia, and advances in radiopharmaceutical development and instrumentation. Chapter topics include PET physics and instrumentation, PET radiopharmaceuticals, SPECT radiopharmaceuticals, and technical factors. The entire book has been thoroughly revised to reflect an appropriate balance between SPECT and PET applications. Highlights of this edition include a new chapter on neuroreceptor imaging and kinetic modeling, a new chapter on brain imaging in movement disorders, and significant updates on SPECT radiopharmaceuticals.

Remarkable advances in medical diagnostic imaging have been made during the past few decades. The development of new imaging techniques and continuous improvements in the display of digital images have opened new horizons in the study of brain anatomy and pathology. The field of brain imaging has now become a fast-moving, demanding and exciting multidisciplinary activity. I hope that this textbook will be useful to students and clinicians in the field of neuroscience, in understanding the fundamentals of advances in brain imaging.

Diagnostic neuroradiology is undergoing such rapid change that standard texts are quickly becoming outdated in important respects. Recent Advances in Diagnostic Neuroradiology is designed to complement the general textbooks of neuroradiology by documenting and discussing the progress that has been achieved. Following six introductory chapters, 26 important topics in brain and spinal imaging are discussed in detail, with appropriate illustrations and a review of the most recent literature. Each of these topics has specifically been chosen in order to summarize recent developments and to document the state of the art in the field. This book, written by acknowledged experts in the field, will be of relevance and importance to all with an interest in neuroradiology.

PET and SPECT imaging has improved to such a level that they are opening up exciting new horizons in medical diagnosis and treatment. This book provides a complete introduction to fundamentals and the latest progress in the field, including an overview of new scintillator materials and innovations in photodetector development, as well as the latest system designs and image reconstruction algorithms. It begins with basics of PET and SPECT physics, followed by technology advances and computing methods, quantitative techniques, multimodality imaging, instrumentation, pre-clinical and clinical imaging applications.

Hardbound. Recent advances in medical imaging including magnetic resonance imaging, position emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography realized functional imaging of human body both in the normal subjects and in the patients with various diseases. On the other hand, molecular biology started to clarify the fundamental architecture of the human body. The scope of this book is to integrate these two fields as Biomedical Imaging.This volume addresses various approaches of medical imaging for visualizing the complicated physiological and biochemical processes of the human body. The topics include the cardiovascular-pulmonary system, brain function and tumor imaging as well as new approaches to realize the imaging of the molecular mechanisms of aging diseases.