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Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

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Definition

Clinical single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is the use of gamma ray-emitting radiopharmaceuticals to produce functional imaging of an organ or tissue of the human body. In SPECT, the selected injectable radioisotope emits a single photon of gamma radiation as it decays. These emitted rays travel outside of the body and are received by the surrounding detectors which translate the signal into a 2D horizontal, cross-section image. Many of these images are compiled and reconstructed to make a functional 3D image. In SPECT imaging, disease or aberrant structures can be seen as abnormally bright or dark regions within an image (focal deficit of the radiotracer).

In contrast to conventional structural imaging like CT or MR scans, SPECT allows for functional imaging which reveals characteristics such as glucose metabolism, blood flow, and receptor concentrations at different points in the body. However, unlike structural imaging, SPECT alone does not provide...

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Further Reading

  • Novelline RA (2004) Fundamentals of radiology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Print

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  • Wernick M, Aarsvold J (2004) Emission tomography: the fundamentals of PET and SPECT. Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, Print

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, 6560 Fannin Street, Scurlock 450, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Sumayya J. Almarzouqi, Michael L. Morgan & Andrew G. Lee

  2. Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Temple, TX, USA

    David Harmon Jr

  5. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  6. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

Authors
  1. David Harmon Jr
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  2. Sumayya J. Almarzouqi
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  3. Michael L. Morgan
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  4. Andrew G. Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew G. Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (outside the USA)

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Harmon, D., Almarzouqi, S.J., Morgan, M.L., Lee, A.G. (2015). Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1282-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1282-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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