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The origins of SPECT and SPECT/CT

European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging volume 41, pages 3–16 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has a long history of development since its initial demonstration by Kuhl and Edwards in 1963. Although clinical utility has been dominated by the rotating gamma camera, there have been many technological innovations with the recent popularity of organ-specific dedicated SPECT systems. The combination of SPECT and CT evolved from early transmission techniques used for attenuation correction with the initial commercial systems predating the release of PET/CT. The development and acceptance of SPECT/CT has been relatively slow with continuing debate as to what cost/performance ratio is justified. Increasingly, fully diagnostic CT is combined with SPECT so as to facilitate optimal clinical utility.

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Acknowledgments and omissions

In an overview of this type it is difficult to ensure that facts are correct and that the many people who contributed to the development are appropriately recognized. I therefore offer apologies for any omissions or errors in this article. Thanks to Angela da Silva for details on the Philips Brightview system. Thanks also to Carlo Fiorini and Paulo Busca at POLIMI, Milan, for discussion and diagrams on solid-state readout systems. UCL and UCLH are supported by the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre.

Conflicts of interest

The author has no conflicts of interest. The Institute of Nuclear Medicine at UCL receives research support from GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare and Spectrum Dynamics.

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  1. Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London, level 5, University College Hospital, 235 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BU, UK

    Brian F. Hutton

  2. Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Brian F. Hutton

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  1. Brian F. Hutton
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Correspondence to Brian F. Hutton.

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Hutton, B.F. The origins of SPECT and SPECT/CT. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 41, 3–16 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-013-2606-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-013-2606-5

Keywords

  • Single photon emission tomography
  • SPECT
  • SPECT/CT