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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The foot and the ankle are small structures commonly affected by disorders, and their
complex anatomy represent significant diagnostic challenges. SPECT/CT Image
fusion can provide missing anatomical and bone structure information to functional
imaging, which is particularly useful to increase diagnosis certainty of bone pathology. However, due to SPECT acquisition duration, patient’s involuntary movements may
lead to misalignment between SPECT and CT images. Patient motion can be reduced using a dedicated patient support. We aimed at designing an ankle and foot immobilizing device and measuring its efficacy at improving image fusion. Methods: We enrolled 20 patients undergoing distal lower-limb SPECT/CT of the ankle and the foot with and without a foot holder. The misalignment between SPECT and CT images was computed by manually measuring 14 fiducial markers chosen among anatomical landmarks also visible on bone scintigraphy. Analysis of
variance was performed for statistical analysis. Results: The obtained absolute
average difference without and with support was 5.1±5.2 mm (mean±SD) and 3.1±2.7 mm, respectively, which is significant (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The introduction of the foot holder significantly decreases misalignment
between SPECT and CT images, which may have clinical influence in the precise localization of foot and ankle pathology.
Description
Keywords
Nuclear medicine SPECT/CT Misalignment Lower-limb Patient-motion
Citation
Machado JM, Monteiro MS, Vieira VF, Collinot JA, Prior JO, Vieira L, et al. Value of a lower limb immobilization device for SPECT/CT image fusion optimization. J Nucl Med Technol. 2015;43(2):98-102.
Publisher
Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging