UNLABELLED Intra- or intersubject registration of anatomically poorly defined SPECT data, such as in neuroreceptor imaging, is important for longitudinal or group analysis. However, accurate registration is difficult with only emission CT (ECT) data. We investigated fully automated registration using transmission CT (TCT) data as an intermediary image set. METHODS The accuracy of TCT registra...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We sought to study the prognostic value of early 99mtechnetium-ethyl-cysteinate-dimer single-photon emission CT (99mTc-ECD SPECT) for fatal ischemic brain edema in patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke compared with the prognostic value of CT and of clinical findings. METHODS We prospectively studied 108 patients clinically, with 99mTc-ECD SPECT, and with CT...

Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD) is a rare form of non Langerhans' cell histiocytosis. Individuals affected by this disease are typically adults between their 5th and 7th decades of life. Males and females are almost equally affected. The multi systemic form of ECD is associated with significant morbidity, which may arise due to histiocytic infiltration of critical organ systems. Among the more co...

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical usefulness of scatter correction with an artificial neural network (ANN) in 99mTc and 123I dual-isotope SPECT. METHODS Two algorithms for ANN scatter correction were tested: ANN-10 and ANN-3 employing 10 and 3 energy windows for data acquisition, respectively. Three patients underwent myocardial or brain SPECT with one of the foll...

BACKGROUND Despite its high prevalence, relatively little is known about the pathophysiology of somnambulism. Increasing evidence indicates that somnambulism is associated with functional abnormalities during wakefulness and that sleep deprivation constitutes an important drive that facilitates sleepwalking in predisposed patients. Here, we studied the neural mechanisms associated with somnambu...

BACKGROUND Recent neuroimaging studies suggested that chronic neuropathic pain may be largely sustained by a complex neuronal network involving the thalamus. Although recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of a variety of types of chronic neuropathic pain, the effects of ECT on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) have not been studied. ...

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to assess the normal perfusion pattern of the pediatric brain with 99mTc-ethylcysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD). METHODS Tomographic imaging was performed with a dedicated system with high sensitivity and resolution. Sixteen children, referred for brain imaging in the workup of seizure disorder, were included since they turned out negative after a 1-yr foll...