Bilateral coronary artery to pulmonary trunk fistulae detected by coronary angiography and evaluated by ECG-gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: report of two cases

Coronary artery fistulae (CAF) are anomalies related to coronary artery abnormal termination. This is a very rare congenital malformation accounting for about 0.2–0.4% of congenital cardiac anomalies, but in some patients it can be haemodynamically important. Single-photon emission computed tomography or positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using radioactive agents is widely used in clinical practice for cardiac ischaemia detection as a very sensitive and non-invasive tool. We are going to present 2 patients with bilateral CAFs to the pulmonary trunk without signs of the rest or stress ischaemia in MPI.

Accessory spleen mimicking pancreatic tumour: evaluation by 99mTc-labelled colloid SPECT/CT study. Report of two cases and a review of nuclear medicine methods utility

The accessory spleen is a common congenital anomaly, typically asymptomatic and harmless to the patient. However, in some clinical cases, this anomaly beco­mes significant as it can be mistaken for a tumour or lymph node and be missed during a therapeutic splenectomy. There are nuclear medicine modalities which can be applied in the identification and localisation of an accessory spleen. They include scintigraphy with radiolabelled colloids or heat damaged red blood cells, which are trapped in the splenic tissue. Modern techniques, including hybrid imaging, enable simultaneous structure and tracer distribution evaluations. Additionally, radiation-guided surgery can be used in cases where the accessory spleen, which is usually small (not exceeding 1 cm) and difficult to find among other tissues, has to be removed. In the study, we would like to present 2 cases of patients in which the malignancy had to be excluded for the reason that the multiple accessory spleens were very closely related to the pancreas. There was a lack of certainty in the multi-phase computed tomography (CT) evaluation; however, this situation was clearly resolved by using the 99mTc-stannous colloid single photon emission computed tomography/ CT study. We would also like to briefly analyse the clinical applications of nuclear medicine in case of an accessory spleen

PET/CT imaging in the diagnosis of brain tumors

Wczesna diagnostyka zmian guzów zlokalizowanych w ośrodkowym układzie nerwowym jest bardzo istotna. Podstawowymi badaniami obrazowymi w diagnostyce guzów mózgu są tomografia komputerowa (TK) oraz rezonans magnetyczny (MR). Pomimo wykorzystania tych metod wykrywanie wznowy miejscowej oraz odróżnienie jej od zmian wywołanych zastosowanym leczeniem jest bardzo trudne. Obrazowanie z wykorzystaniem technik medycyny nuklearnej stanowi uzupełnienie do podstawowych metod obrazowania guzów ośrodkowego układu nerwowego (OUN). Po wprowadzeniu 18F-fluorodeoxyglukozy (18F-FDG) do diagnostyki i wykazaniu wartości diagnostycznej z użyciem tego znacznika, obrazowanie w neurologii stało się jednym z ważniejszych obszarów jego wykorzystania. Ze względu na wysoki fizjologiczny metabolizm glukozy w tkance mózgowej i związany z tym wysoki wychwyt FDG w obrębie mózgowia, wykrycie i zróżnicowanie zmian nowotworowych w ośrodkowym układzie nerwowym jest utrudnione. Wykorzystanie innych radiofarmaceutyków i obrazowania techniką pozytonowej tomografii emisyjnej PET (Positron Emission Tomography) pozwala na wykrycie hipoksji, dostarcza informacji na temat przemian biochemicznych aminokwasów lub proliferacji komórkowej. Dzięki temu zwiększa się czułość w diagnostyce guzów mózgu oraz poprawia ocena odpowiedzi na leczenie czy wczesnym wykrywaniu wznowy. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono metody obrazowania guzów ośrodkowego układu nerwowego z użyciem techniki PET/CT.Early diagnostic is critical in central nervous system tumors. Primary imaging modalities in brain tumors are computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR). Despite use of these methods recurrence detection and differentiation between tumor and post-therapeutic changes is still challenging. Nuclear medicine modalities provide additional information unavailable in CT or MRI imaging. After FDG introduction the diagnostic value of this radiotracer was quickly proven and ever since positron emission tomography (PET) has become one of most important tools in brain tumor management. Due to the high physiologic activity of 18F-FDG in healthy brain tissue, it is difficult to differentiate the lesions within the brain. Positron emission tomography using other markers visualizing hypoxia, aminoacids metabolism or proliferation increases the sensitivity of brain tumor diagnostics and follow-up of the treated area to detect early recurrence. The paper presents methods for imaging central nervous system tumors using the PET/CT

Tango based control system at SOLARIS Synchrotron

A National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS has been recently built in Krakow, Poland. The accelera tor is in commissioning phase. The control system is in operation and provides all functionalities required for the commissioning process. The system is based on Tango Controls and has been developed with strong collabora tion with MAX-IV, Lund Sweden and the Tango Commu nity. Protections systems uses Rockwell and Siemens PLC hardware. Synchronization system is based on the MRF hardware. Status, technologies and performance experience will be presented