title: Hybrid Modality Fusion of Planar Scintigrams and CT Topograms to Localize Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Breast Lymphoscintigraphy: Technical Description and Phantom Studies.
abstract: Lymphoscintigraphy is a nuclear medicine procedure that is used to detect sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). This project sought to investigate fusion of planar scintigrams with CT topograms as a means of improving the anatomic reference for the SLN localization. Heretofore, the most common lymphoscintigraphy localization method has been backlighting with a (57)Co sheet source. Currently, the most precise method of localization through hybrid SPECT/CT increases the patient absorbed dose by a factor of 34 to 585 (depending on the specific CT technique factors) over the conventional (57)Co backlighting. The new approach described herein also uses a SPECT/CT scanner, which provides mechanically aligned planar scintigram and CT topogram data sets, but only increases the dose by a factor of two over that from (57)Co backlighting. Planar nuclear medicine image fusion with CT topograms has been proven feasible and offers a clinically suitable compromise between improved anatomic details and minimally increased radiation dose.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Renée L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Luc M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bidaut
authors.forename: Martha V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Mar
authors.forename: Homer A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Macapinlac
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Wendt