Nuclear medicine functional imaging of the brain

摘要

If the 20th century was the century of the development of structural imaging of disease, the 21st has the potential to be that of functional imaging. Significant advances in technology now allow structural and functional data to be combined to define and subclassify clinical disease, and thus guide management.Structural imaging is widely used to assess both tumour development and brain atrophy. Abnormalities are often seen in the final stages of disease when the clinical importance of these changes in terms of influencing outcome maybe low. Functional changes occur much earlier in disease processes and, if detected, may have a greater impact on clinical care.