From the Guidelines
The primary purpose of SPECT is to provide functional imaging of organs and tissues, particularly in the evaluation and management of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), as evidenced by recent advances in stress imaging protocols, camera technology, and processing software 1. The point of SPECT can be broken down into several key aspects:
- Diagnostic accuracy: SPECT enhances diagnostic accuracy in patients with CAD by incorporating recent advances in stress imaging protocols, camera technology, and processing software 1.
- Radiation exposure reduction: SPECT can reduce radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic accuracy, making it a safer option for patients 1.
- Functional imaging: SPECT provides detailed 3D information about blood flow and metabolic activity in organs and tissues, making it an invaluable tool in the evaluation and management of various medical conditions.
- Complementary imaging: SPECT is complementary to other imaging techniques like CT or MRI scans, which primarily show structural details, by focusing on physiological function rather than just anatomical structure. Key applications of SPECT include:
- Cardiac assessments: showing blood flow to the heart muscle
- Brain imaging: detecting conditions like dementia, stroke, or seizures
- Evaluating bone disorders
- Cancer detection
- Infection localization
- Lung perfusion studies Overall, the point of SPECT is to provide functional imaging that enhances diagnostic accuracy, reduces radiation exposure, and complements other imaging techniques, making it a valuable tool in the evaluation and management of various medical conditions, particularly in patients with known or suspected CAD 1.
From the FDA Drug Label
The FDA drug label does not answer the question.
From the Research
Purpose of SPECT
- The point of SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) imaging is to detect coronary artery disease and determine prognosis by noninvasive assessment of myocardial perfusion and myocardial viability 2.
- SPECT imaging is used to evaluate cardiac sympathetic function, assess myocardial metabolism in health and disease, and molecular imaging of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial stem cell therapy 2.
- The major clinical indications for stress SPECT or PET myocardial perfusion imaging are for detection of CAD as the cause of chest pain and risk stratification for prognostication 2.
Clinical Applications
- SPECT imaging is used in combination with CT (Computed Tomography) to provide fused functional and anatomic data in a single imaging session, allowing for anatomic localization of nuclear imaging findings and accurate attenuation correction of SPECT studies 3.
- Hybrid SPECT perfusion imaging and coronary CT angiography have long-term prognostic value for cardiovascular outcomes, with matched findings being an independent predictor for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) 4.
- SPECT imaging has been compared to other imaging modalities, such as PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and CT perfusion imaging, in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, with varying results 5, 6.
Diagnostic Accuracy
- The diagnostic accuracy of SPECT imaging has been evaluated in several studies, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 57% to 90% and 55% to 94%, respectively 2, 5, 6.
- SPECT imaging has been found to be noninferior to PET in terms of specificity, but not in terms of sensitivity, using a predefined absolute margin of 10% 6.
- The diagnostic accuracy of hybrid SPECT and CT imaging has been found to be higher than that of SPECT alone, but not significantly different from that of PET alone 6.