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Gamma Cameras

Gamma cameras are an essential component of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems and can also be used to perform positron emission tomography (PET) exams.

Thu Sep 01 2011By Lanier Norville

In nuclear imaging, a radionuclide is administered to the patient and detected by a gamma camera. According to a Kalorama Information report, “gamma cameras consist of a gamma ray detector, such as a single large thallium-doped sodium iodide NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal, coupled with an imaging sub-system consisting of an array of photo multiplier tubes and associated electronics.” Gamma cameras usually have a resolution of 4 mm to 6 mm and can capture several hundred thousand gamma ray events each second.

Gamma cameras are an essential component of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems and can also be used to perform positron emission tomography (PET) exams. SPECT is a 3D tomographic technique that uses gamma camera data from many angles. Multi-headed gamma cameras can be used to perform PET exams, though purpose-designed PET scanners are generally preferred. According to Kalorama Information’s 2010 Molecular Imaging Markets report, “gamma camera PET is markedly inferior to PET imaging with a PET scanner, because the scintillator crystal has poor sensitivity for the high-energy annihilation photons, and the detector area is significantly smaller.”

Still, PET is an increasingly popular modality because of its ability to provide metabolic data about disease status, and given the low cost of a gamma camera and its additional flexibility when compared to a dedicated PET scanner, the gamma camera technique is useful when the expense of a dedicated PET scanner is too great.

SPECT and PET are commonly used for heart, brain, kidney/renal and musculoskeletal imaging.

According to Kalorama, the market for molecular imaging systems is expected to continue to grow in the next few years because of the modality’s ability to provide physiological information, an ability that is revolutionizing the way disease is diagnosed and treated, though growth in other imaging modalities, such as CT, PET/CT and MRI, is expected to be stronger. The market for all molecular imaging systems was $5,108 million in 2009. Kalorama predicts it to reach $6,606 million in 2014.

Market drivers include an aging population and behavioral and lifestyle trends such as obesity, which often linked to increased risk for disease.

 

Read More in September's issue of Medical Dealer Magazine.

View the Nuclear Medicine, Gamma Camera Category.

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