BIG AL Posted March 17, 2007 Posted March 17, 2007 HI ALL, About 6 months after having my 2nd clipping op i was asked to go for a SPECT SCAN at royal hallamshire hospital in sheffield-this technique involved being told to take all my clothes off and putting on a blindfold and being strapped to a chair and sitting in a dark room!(couldnt believe jeremy beadle didnt pop out!)and having an injection of some sort of radioactive liquid and then being taken from the dark room and placed under a machine which revolved round my head for about an hour?. Just wondered if anybody else has had to have this treatment and why?? regards-BIG AL Quote
Karen Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Sorry Al, I've never heard of a Spect Scan.....sounds very strange... Quote
Skippy Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Nope, me neither mate - Are you sure Jeremy Beadle wasn't hiding anywhere? Sounds very very very strange. Sami xx Quote
Skippy Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Hey Have just searched on the net for SPECT Scan and found this: Brain SPECT imaging is a nuclear medicine study that allows us to visualize brain blood flow and metabolism. In this study, a radioactive isotope is attached to a substance that is easily taken up by cells in the brain. A small amount of this compound is injected into a vein, travels through the bloodstream, and locks into brain cells. As the isotope breaks down it releases energy in the form of gamma rays. The gamma rays are like beacons of light that signal where the compound is in the brain. People do not have allergic reactions to SPECT studies. Special crystals in the SPECT gamma camera detect these beacons of light as the camera rotates around the patient’s head for about fifteen minutes. About 10 million gamma rays strike the crystals during a typical scan, and a supercomputer then translates this information into sophisticated blood flow/metabolism maps and three-dimensional images of the brain. Physicians and researchers use these maps to identify patterns of brain activity that correlate to healthy brain function and those that are associated with psychiatric and neurological illnesses. Each study requires that a small IV line is inserted into the patient’s arm. For the concentration study, patients take a 15-minute test of attention and focus. Three or so minutes into performing the task, the imaging solution will be injected and then the task is completed. For the baseline study, patients are asked to sit quietly, several minutes later the imaging solution will be injected through the IV. After another short period of time, we have the patient lie on the imaging table and the SPECT camera rotates around the patient’s head. The SPECT camera is not the same as a CT scanner or an MRI machine. Patients don’t slide into a tube or have to worry about prolonged procedures and radiation from the machine. A SPECT camera is quiet, fast and does not emit radiation. The procedure is an “open†one meaning that the camera heads rotate around the patient rather than the patient being inside a machine This is the website address: http://www.brainwavesnic.com/InfoSPECT.html Hope it helps Sami xxx Quote
Skippy Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 This is the Wikepedia address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_pho ... tomography Very interesting. Sami xxx Quote
BIG AL Posted March 19, 2007 Author Posted March 19, 2007 hi all, Just got in from work and read what i posted about the spect scan (ha ha ha) I must have frightened the life out of you all? When i said take all my clothes off that was so i could put a gown on? and when i said strapped to a chair they were just little wrist straps not the kind you see on electric chairs!! I was in a room with myself and another man and a middle aged lady?(im assuming we had all had SAH?). I think i recall the nurse saying the blindfold was something to do with the radioactive substance?? dont remember having an iv drip but must have done sami if you say thats the procedure(its over 10 yrs ago now). when i said the machine revolved around my head for about an hour i remember now that it couldnt get a clear image on the first 2 occasions so had to have a 3rd go-that would coincide with what sami said about it taking 15 mins?? think it was because i fell asleep on the first 2 attempts and at one point woke up and sat bolt upright and head-butted the machine!(not reccomended)anyway as per-usual i was sent away non the wiser as to why i had gone for the scan? The link is very interesting sami and thanks for taking the time to search for it. regards-BIG AL Quote
Skippy Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Hey there Big Al It's no problem. I was intrigued as much as anything so thought I'd Google it anyway. Glad I had a straight forward MRI though!!! I've learnt something new today - so thanks for the rather scary description of what you went through!! TTFN Sami xxx Quote
Karen Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Hi Al, It sounded more like a torture chamber! It was very interesting to read the info that Sami pulled up. It seems to be a common theme that nobody takes the time out to explain to you why you're having certain procedures done. Must admit, that I've never heard of this procedure before... Hope that you've had a good day.. Quote
BIG AL Posted March 19, 2007 Author Posted March 19, 2007 hi all, Found an interesting website called mayfieldclinic.com regards-BIG AL Quote
BIG AL Posted March 19, 2007 Author Posted March 19, 2007 Very good sarah-i like that one he he BIG AL Quote
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