Attenuation correction effects on SPECT/CT procedures: phantoms studies.

Attenuation correction is widely used in SPECT/CT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) procedures, especially for imaging of the thorax region. Different compensation methods have been developed and introduced into clinical practice. Most of them use attenuation maps obtained using transmission scanning systems. However, this gives extra dose of radiation to the patient. The purpose of this study was to identify when attenuation correction is really important during SPECT/CT procedures.For this purpose, we used Jaszczak phantom and phantom with three line sources, filled with technetium ((99m)-Tc), with scattering materials, like air, water and acrylic, in different detectors configurations. In all images acquired were applied analytic and iterative reconstruction algorithms; the last one with or without attenuation correction. We analyzed parameters such as eccentricity, contrast and spatial resolution in the images.The best reconstruction algorithm on average was iterative, for images with 128 × 128 and 64 × 64 matrixes. The analytical algorithm was effective only to improve eccentricity in 64 × 64 matrix and matrix in contrast 128 × 128 with low statistics. Turning to the clinical routine examinations, on average, for 128 × 128 matrix and low statistics counting, the best algorithm was the iterative, without attenuation correction,improving in 150% the three parameters analyzed and, for the same matrix size, but with high statistical counting, iterative algorithm with attenuation correction was 25% better than that without correction. We can conclude that using the iterative algorithm with attenuation correction in the water, and its extra dose given, is not justified for the procedures of low statistic counting, being relevant only if the intention is to prioritize contrast in acquisitions with high statistic counting.

[Scintigraphic study of gastric emptying and intragastric distribution of a solid meal: gender differences]. / Estudo do esvaziamento gástrico e da distribuição intragástrica de uma dieta sólida através da cintilografia: diferenças entre os sexos.

Gender-related differences in gastric emptying are still controversial. The aims of this study were: to confirm the sex-related difference in gastric emptying of a solid meal and to investigate its association with different patterns of meal distribution between the proximal and distal gastric compartments. Eighteen healthy volunteers (nine males, mean age 35 +/- 9 years; nine females, mean age: 41 +/- 11 years) were studied in the morning, after ingestion of the solid test-meal (an omelette labeled with 185MBq of 99mTc-sulfur colloid). Simultaneous anterior and posterior images of the stomach were acquired immediately after ingestion of the meal and every 10 minutes for 120 minutes. Time versus activity curves were obtained for the whole, proximal and distal stomach. Gastric T1/2 was longer in women (96.1 +/- 17.2 min) than in men (79.9 +/- 17.8 min; P = 0.02). The analysis of the meal distribution inside the stomach showed no differences between males and females in proximal gastric emptying, but the meal retention in the distal compartment was significantly increased among women (P = 0.04). In conclusion, gastric emptying of a solid meal is slower in pre-menopausal women than in age-matched men, probably due to an increased retention of the meal in the distal compartment. This should be taken into consideration to avoid misleading diagnosis of gastroparesis for female patients.