Brain fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose imaging with dual-head coincidence gamma camera: Comparison with dedicated ring-detector positron emission tomography

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dual-head coincidence gamma camera (DHC) imaging ha s been proposed as an alternative to dedicated ring-detector positron emiss ion tomography (dr-PET) for clinical fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) studies. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the quality of DHC images in FD G studies of the human brain. METHODS: Seven healthy volunteers and 12 patients with various cerebral dis orders underwent consecutive brain dr-PET and DHC with FDG, All sets of ima ges were compared semiquantitatively using regions of interest, RESULTS: Cortical count ratios to the cerebellum on DHC and dr-PET images d id not differ significantly among the volunteers, except in the superior fr ontal cortex and thalamus, In all studies including those of cerebral disor ders, the mean cortical-to-cerebellar ratios of DHC and dr-PET images corre lated closely, CONCLUSION: FDG imaging with DHC delineated the metabolic distribution of g lucose in the brain as well as dr-PET did, except in the superior frontal c ortex and thalamus, Therefore, DHC may be a dedicated cost-effective means of detecting metabolic abnormalities in the brain.