SPECT Scanning in Neurology and Neuro-Ophthalmology

The technique of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was initially developed in the 1960s. Usingtechnetium-99mpertechnetate, breakdown in the blood brain barrier (888) could be detected in order to image intracranial lesions. However, the mitral promise of SPECT was side-tracked by the introduction of CAT scan and MRI which showed anatomic changes with much greater resolution. More recently nuclear medicine techniques have undergone a resurgence, not in the realm of demonstrating anatomy but of functional CNS imaging. The two techniques available, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and SPECT Scanning, are the subject of recent reviews.