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How is brain SPECT scanning done?

An intravenous line is placed in an arm vein and the person is asked to rest quietly in a dimly lit room for 10 minutes. At that point the brain SPECT tracer substance is placed in the intravenous line so that the person is not distressed by a needle stick. Because the scan is about how the brain has blood flow and function, anything such as reaction to a needle stick could have an effect on the resulting scan. The person can then move around for about 45 minutes before the scan is done.

When returning for the scan, the person lies on the scan table with his or her head placed in a head-holding device. The scanning camera has two or three large imaging lenses that rotate completely around the person's head, resulting in a three-dimensional volume of data that includes all the blood flow and function information inside of the person's head. The person than leaves the scan area with no side effects. The computer brain-imaging data is computer processed in order to derive the brain scan pictures that the doctor reviews to make a diagnosis of any blood flow and/or functional abnormality. A key additional processing and analysis step used by our site (and not by all others) is an quantitative (mathematical) analysis of brain function. This data is compared with a normal pattern database so as to increase the spect scan test sensitivity to observe more diffuse and/or more subtle deviations from normal. Brain SPECT scanning of children, especially those with brain injury, requires additional preparation and handling. Most children under the age of ten cannot remain motionless for the 25-30 minute brain scanning procedure. Those children who cannot remain motionless require sedation.

Various types of sedation may be employed. We use the safest and most effective method—Anesthesiologist-monitored intravenous sedation. We request information from the child's pediatrician so that every bit of healthcare information is available for the child's well-being. The tracer materials have no allergic reaction associated with them, but as information on any known allergic reaction is always important in a medical environment.