[Three-dimensional projection display of striatum dopamine function measured by PET]

[(11)C]CFT and[(11)C]raclopride images obtained by positron emission tomography (PET) are used to evaluate pre-synaptic dopamine transporter availability and post-synaptic dopamine D(2) receptor binding, respectively. A combined study with these tracers is useful for the differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. We generated three-dimensional (3D) animations of striatum PET images for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Brain images of a normal subject and a typical Parkinson's disease patient with[(11)C]CFT and[(11)C]raclopride were obtained using a PET camera. Three-dimensional animations were generated from serial maximum intensity projection (MIP) images created by gradually changing the projection angle. Furthermore, the striatum images extracted from brain data were superimposed over a brain surface magnetic resonance (MR) image that was created by the volume-rendering method, and 3D animations were similarly generated. The present 3D animations were clinically useful for the differential diagnosis of brain diseases, because we were able to observe distributions of[(11)C]CFT and[(11)C]raclopride from any angle and to grasp at a glance the regional differences of distributions in reference to anatomical landmarks.