Functional imaging using scintigraphy plays a major role in the diagnosis and monitoring of many diseases, particularly thanks to its ability to perform whole-body examinations with high contrast. The indications and use of scintigraphy have increased in recent years, particularly in connection with the development of internal vectorized radiotherapy. This therapeutic approach is based on the administration of radiotracers that enable targeted irradiation of tumor cells, whose biodistribution throughout the body can be analyzed and quantified using scintigraphy, particularly with iodine-131 and lutetium-177.
The recent boom in scintigraphy is also linked to the development of new 360° geometry CZT-SPECT cameras, which enable rapid tomographic acquisitions of the entire body with significantly improved image quality compared to conventional cameras. These systems use mobile CZT semiconductor detectors that dynamically scan the anatomical regions of interest.
CZT detectors are combined with a collimation system consisting of tungsten septa, which are essential for the directional filtering of gamma photons. Unlike conventional scintigraphic cameras, where collimators can be changed or adjusted according to the energy of the detected photons, CZT-SPECT 360° cameras generally rely on fixed collimation, which cannot be changed.