Can upright myocardial perfusion imaging be used alone with a solid-state dedicated cardiac camera?

Aim: The novel solid state dedicated cardiac cameras provide fast high resolution cardiac imaging. The D-SPECT camera enables semi-reclining (upright) positioning, increasing comfort and potentially reducing movement during myocardial perfusion imaging. Physicians are generally familiar with supine imaging and the different positioning in upright imaging could potentially cause diagnostic challenges.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI improves accuracy for detecting focal splenic involvement in children and adolescents with Hodgkin disease.

Background: Accurate assessment of splenic disease is important for staging Hodgkin lymphoma.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess T2-weighted imaging with and without dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI for evaluation of splenic Hodgkin disease.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one children with Hodgkin lymphoma underwent whole-body T2-weighted MRI with supplementary DCE splenic imaging, and whole-body PET-CT before and following chemotherapy.

Pediatric and adolescent lymphoma: comparison of whole-body STIR half-Fourier RARE MR imaging with an enhanced PET/CT reference for initial staging.

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic performance of rapid whole-body anatomic magnetic resonance (MR) staging of pediatric and adolescent lymphoma to an enhanced positron emission tomographic (PET)/computed tomographic (CT) reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Ethical permission was given by the University College London Hospital ethics committee, and informed written consent was obtained from all participants and/or parents or guardians. Thirty-one subjects (age range, 7.

Quantitative diffusion weighted MRI: a functional biomarker of nodal disease in Hodgkin lymphoma?

Purpose: This study explores the relationship between MRI Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and PET Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) measurements in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma.

Methods: Sixteen patients (mean age 15.4 yrs, 8 male) with proven Hodgkin lymphoma were recruited and staged using PET-CT, anatomical MRI and additional 1.

18fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the prediction of relapse in patients with high-risk, clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors: preliminary report of MRC Trial TE22--the NCRI Testis Tumour Clinical Study Group.

Purpose: There are several management options for patients with clinical stage I (CS1) nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT); this study examined whether an 18fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) scan could identify patients without occult metastatic disease for whom surveillance is an attractive option.

Methods: High-risk (lymphovascular invasion positive) patients with CS1 NSGCT underwent 18FDG PET scanning within 8 weeks of orchidectomy or marker normalization. PET-positive patients went off study; PET-negative patients were observed on a surveillance program.

Positron emission tomography in uro-oncology.

Positron emission tomography (PET) in uro-oncology has been one of the slowest areas to develop. There are problems because of the excretion of tracer through the renal tract. Its use in prostate cancer has generally being disappointing, with PET being unable to differentiate malignancy from benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Oral contrast medium in PET/CT: should you or shouldn't you?

Purpose: It has been suggested that the use of computed tomography (CT) positive contrast agents has led to attenuation-induced artefacts on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) systems. Consequently, centres may withhold the use of such agents. Whilst there is theoretical evidence to support the aforementioned claim, the clinical relevance of the induced artefacts has not been widely established.

Positron emission tomography (PET) in the management of oro-pharyngeal cancer.

Aims: To investigate the specific role of FDG-PET in the management of head and neck cancer patients.

Methods: In a retrospective study, 112 patients with head and neck cancer treated over a 5-year period had FDG-PET scans. The image of the tumour (local, regional and distant) was compared to, clinical, CT/MRI examination, pathological findings and the clinical course of the disease.

Localization of parathyroid adenomas using 11C-methionine positron emission tomography.

Background And Aim: In symptomatic hyperparathyroidism, pre-surgical localization of the suspected site of adenoma is desirable. All widely available techniques may have difficulty in localizing the site. The aim of this study was to determine whether 11C-methionine positron emission tomography (PET) could accurately localize parathyroid adenomas in patients in whom conventional imaging had failed.

Positron emission tomography in cancer of the head and neck.

The use of positron emission tomography (PET) has increased in oncology and in the assessment of head and neck tumours, where it is most useful for recurrent disease. It has good sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis and staging but is generally not necessary except in difficult cases. Quantitative measures of uptake on PET at diagnosis and after treatment do seem to have prognostic value independent of other information about the tumour and so PET may influence management.

Recent advances in imaging hepatocellular carcinoma: diagnosis, staging and response assessment: functional imaging.

Historically, nuclear medicine has had an important role in the differential diagnosis of liver tumors but has been largely superseded by other forms of conventional imaging, in particular computed tomographic portography. It remains helpful in difficult cases because it has characteristic features in both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and benign conditions. 131I is an important therapeutic tool.

Can FDG PET be used to successfully direct preoperative biopsy of soft tissue tumours?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the most useful tool in the anatomical definition of soft tissue sarcoma, although there remains the problem of defining the lesions as benign or malignant. The management of such lesions requires biopsy prior to surgical resection. If the most malignant area could be defined more accurately, then this area could be targeted for biopsy.

Positron emission tomography for urological tumours.

For urological tumours, positron emission tomography (PET) is currently most useful in testicular cancer. In patients with residual masses or raised marker levels after treatment, PET is both sensitive and specific for detecting recurrent disease, at suspected and unsuspected sites. Although fewer studies are available it also appears to be useful for staging at diagnosis, although this requires further investigation.

Validation of ultrafiltration as a method of measuring free 99mTc-MDP.

Unlabelled: Quantitative studies of the kinetics of (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate ((99m)Tc-MDP) in metastatic and metabolic bone disease require the measurement of free tracer in plasma to derive the input function. Several methods of measuring free (99m)Tc-MDP have been described including ultrafiltration, precipitation using trichloroacetic acid, and a direct in vivo measurement based on the assumption that free MDP is cleared through the kidneys by glomerular filtration. The aim of this study was to validate ultrafiltration as a convenient and accurate method of measuring the free fraction of (99m)Tc-MDP by comparing it with the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) method.

Nuclear medicine studies in metabolic bone disease.

The principal application of nuclear medicine in metabolic bone disease is the isotope bone scan. Often, it is not a diagnostic tool but can be useful in clarifying the nature of a clinical problem. The best-established role for the bone scan in metabolic bone disease is in Paget's disease, in which it is diagnostic, provides definition of the extent of disease, and probably reflects disease activity.

F-18 FDG-positron emission tomographic scanning and Wegener's granulomatosis.

Wegener's granulomatosis is a necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis that mainly affects the upper airways, lungs, and kidneys. Autoimmune mechanisms are hypothesized to play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomographic scanning is normally used to differentiate benign from malignant disease as a result of differences in glucose metabolism.