[Comparison of the clinical value of an iterative reconstruction procedure with that of a filtered back projection in SPECT of the liver].

We have tested an iterative reconstruction procedure against the usual filtered back-projection in 14 patients with SPECT-examinations of various liver diseases. The aim of the examinations was to assess the presence of liver tumors in most cases. Further indications were Budd-Chiari syndromes and a liver malconfiguration in one case. Three of six haemangiomas and both liver metastases were better delineated with the iterative method, in one patient the haemangioma was visible only with this method. An irregular pattern after filtered back-projection led to misinterpretation as multiple metastases in another patient in whom there was no irregularity after iteration. Diagnostic improvement was not reached in the Budd-Chiari syndromes or in an atypical liver configuration, with a more homogeneous pattern after iteration however. The iterative reconstruction procedure was superior to the filtered back-projection method in the detection of small focal liver diseases.