Cerebral blood flow studies with sodium pertechnetate Tc 99m and the scintillation camera

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Abstract
The scintillation camera was used for cerebral blood flow studies with sodium pertechnetate TC 99m. The use of an electronically split crystal linked to a dual-pen rectilinear chart recorder permits constant visual monitoring of blood flow through major cerebral arteries concomitant with the inscription of independent right- and left-sided count-rate curves. Abnormalities of cerebral blood flow are readily demonstrable with this technique; the scintiphotographic sequence was of particular value in the visualization of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Cerebral mode transit time derived from the count-rate curves was characterized in 44 neurologically "normal" subjects. A gradual but consistent increase in cerebral mode transittimewithadvancingage was noted. There was significant overlap between mode transit time data in 15 patients (all over 50 yr. old) with recent cerebrovascular accidents and that obtained in a like number of age-matched normal subjects. The study of cerebral blood flow with the split-crystal scintillation camera and sodium pertechnetate Tc 99m represents an advance over previous methodology and merits continued investigation.