Reducing imaging time for nuclear medicine bone scans
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical evaluation of whole-body SPECT bone scans using general-purpose collimators with reduced acquisition time.
IRAS ID
344397
Contact name
Jonathan Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Patients in Sheffield whose cancer is suspected to have spread to their bones are referred to the nuclear medicine department to have a nuclear medicine bone scan. Most nuclear medicine scans involve injecting a patient with a chemical that has been made radioactive. This means it gives off a signal that can be detected. Because certain tissues such as tumours absorb particular chemicals, we can locate the position of them inside the body by measuring the signals given off by the chemical using a scanner. This is known as a nuclear medicine scan, which produces an image of where the chemical is in the body.
There are different types of nuclear medicine scans for different parts of the body. Recent research has shown that nuclear medicine heart scans could be performed more quickly by changing a setting on the scanner, which results in images that are similar or even better. This project aims to see if this can be done for nuclear medicine bone scans in Sheffield. This is because around 20% of all nuclear medicine scans in Sheffield are bone scans, with 80% of those bone scan referrals for suspected spread of cancer. If these scans can be completed more quickly, it means patients will spend less time in the hospital and could mean the nuclear medicine department can see more patients a year.
This project will compare the images made using the normal settings versus the changed settings for nuclear medicine bone scans. If the images produced with the changed setting lead to the same clinical decision about diagnosis and treatment, and are of similar or better quality, then there is a strong argument for changing the settings on the scanner for future nuclear medicine bone scans.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
24/WA/0304
Date of REC Opinion
30 Sep 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion