A new radioisotope device which can produce a clearer image in a shorter time than conventional scintillation scanners has been successfully used in clinical trials.
Called a spark imaging camera, it was designed and has been used for studying radioiodine distribution in the thyroid. With further refinement, however, the instrument may be diagnostically useful for other deeper organs, its developers told The Journal.
"Unlike standard scanners, the spark imaging camera or spinthericon has no moving parts and can be placed closer to the subject," Norman Horwitz, PhD, reported to the Radiological Society of North America. "This has resulted in a higher resolution. Also, artifacts due to motion, which are inherent with photoscanners, are eliminated with this technique."
Dr. Horwitz, Ann Forsaith, both radiological physicists, and James E. Lofstrom, MD, a radiologist, used the instrument in tests on more than 75 patients at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.
The spark