Dual-head pinhole bone scintigraphy

This article describes dual-head pinhole bone scintigraphy (DHPBS), which makes use of two opposing pinhole-collimated detectors to obtain one pair of magnified images of bone and joint at one time. The aims are to reduce scan time and solve the problem of the blind zone that is created in the background in single-head pinhole bone scintigraphy.

DHPBS was used for normal hip and knee joints and one case each of lumbar spondylosis, vertebral compression fracture and pyoankle. The gamma camera used was a digital dual-head SPECT camera (Sopha Camera DST; Sopha Medical Vision International, Buc Cedex, France) connected to an XT data processor and a printer. Each of two opposing detectors was collimated with either a 3- or 5-mm pinhole collimator. The scan was performed 2-3 hr postinjection of 12-25 mCi 99mTc-oxidronate. Some 1500-2000 Kilocounts were accumulated at 15-40 min per pair. Anterior and posterior views were taken for the spine and hip and medial and lateral views for the knee and ankle. DHPBS images were correlated to radiographs.

DHPBS produced a pair of high-resolution bone and joint images at one time, reducing scan time by nearly half for each image. The paired DHPBS images clearly visualized both foreground and background objects, which effectively eliminated the blind zone.

DHPBS can significantly improve efficiency and diagnostic acumen.