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A Pictorial Review of I-123 MIBG Imaging of Neuroblastoma Utilizing a State-of-the-Art CZT SPECT/CT System

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Abstract

The field of nuclear medicine is entering a new era of gamma-camera technology. Solid-state SPECT/CT systems will gradually replace the thallium-activated sodium-iodide NaI(Tl) systems. This digital technology allows drastic improvements in image quality, radiotracer dose reduction, and procedure efficiency. This pictorial review presents our initial experience on an NM/CT 870 CZT system (GE Healthcare), equipped with dual-head cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors, for I-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging in pediatric neuroblastoma. On planar imaging, CZT shows greater image quality than at conventional gamma-camera using the Infinia Hawkeye (GE Healthcare). Physiologic structures such as salivary glands and myocardium show sharper borders with a more notable signal-to-noise ratio at CZT than conventional gamma camera. On SPECT imaging, the CZT scanner, combined with resolution recovery, demonstrates either comparable or greater image quality at 80% of the conventional gamma camera’s acquisition time. Due to the 2.46-mm detector pixel with fully registered collimator holes matching each pixel and direct conversion of photons into electrical signals, the CZT gamma camera system provides significant advantages in photon localization and energy resolution.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bella Yuzefovich and Shira Klang at GE Healthcare in Haifa, Israel, for their technical assistance and collaboration in developing acquisition and postprocessing parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Cassidy Sweet, Jennifer N. Shoaf & Marcy Stoecklein

  2. GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel

    Natalie Shmuel & Eli Stern

  3. Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh/UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Ashok Muthukrishnan

  4. Department of Radiology, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Nghi C. Nguyen

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  1. Cassidy Sweet
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Contributions

Conceptualization—NCN and AM; writing—original draft preparation, CS; resources—NS, JNS, MS, and ES; writing—review and editing—NCN, NS, ES, and AM; supervision—NCN. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nghi C. Nguyen.

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Conflict of Interest

Natalie Shmuel is a clinical applications engineer, and Eli Stern is a research manager, both at GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel. Cassidy Sweet, Jennifer N. Shoaf, Marcy Stoecklein, Ashok Muthukrishnan, and Nghi C. Nguyen declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Sweet, C., Shmuel, N., Shoaf, J.N. et al. A Pictorial Review of I-123 MIBG Imaging of Neuroblastoma Utilizing a State-of-the-Art CZT SPECT/CT System. Nucl Med Mol Imaging 58, 1–8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-023-00825-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-023-00825-2

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