{"entity":{"id":"spect","kind":"technology","name":"SPECT & bone scan","aka":[],"tldr":"SPECT and the bone scan are an older type of nuclear scan, still used for bone metastases and to check where a radioactive drug went after treatment.","summary":"SPECT uses gamma cameras to detect single photons from isotopes such as 99mTc, 111In and 177Lu, rotating around the patient to reconstruct a 3D distribution. The 99mTc-MDP bone scan is its most familiar oncology use, detecting skeletal metastases through increased bone turnover, although PSMA PET is displacing it in prostate cancer. Its growing role is in theranostics: SPECT/CT after 177Lu therapy shows where the radioligand went and enables post-treatment dosimetry, a key enabler of personalised radioligand dosing. It is cheap and widespread, but its resolution and sensitivity are lower than PET, and standardising dosimetry protocols across centres remains work in progress. SPECT is the older nuclear scan still used for bone metastases and for checking where a radioactive drug ended up.","status":"standard-of-care","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-photon_emission_computed_tomography","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-photon_emission_computed_tomography"}],"tags":[],"related":["radioligand-dosimetry","spect-ct"],"cancers":[],"sections":["imaging"],"technologies":["radioligand-therapy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["atomic-alchemy","ge-healthcare","siemens-healthineers","mediso"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":["nuclear-medicine-hardware","radionuclide-generators-kits"],"notes":[],"principle":"Gamma cameras detect single photons from 99mTc, 111In, 177Lu; rotating acquisition reconstructs 3D distribution.","strengths":["Cheap, widespread","Dosimetry for radioligand therapy"],"limitations":["Lower resolution and sensitivity than PET"]},"route":"/technologies/spect/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"medical-imaging-scanner-manufacturing","kind":"technology","name":"CT, MRI and PET scanner manufacturing","route":"/technologies/medical-imaging-scanner-manufacturing/"},{"id":"mibg-theranostics","kind":"technology","name":"MIBG imaging and 131I-MIBG therapy","route":"/technologies/mibg-theranostics/"},{"id":"nuclear-medicine-hardware","kind":"technology","name":"Nuclear medicine and total-body PET hardware","route":"/technologies/nuclear-medicine-hardware/"},{"id":"radioembolisation-tare","kind":"technology","name":"Radioembolisation (TARE / SIRT, yttrium-90)","route":"/technologies/radioembolisation-tare/"},{"id":"radioiodine-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Radioiodine therapy and whole-body iodine scanning","route":"/technologies/radioiodine-therapy/"},{"id":"radioligand-dosimetry","kind":"technology","name":"Radioligand dosimetry","route":"/technologies/radioligand-dosimetry/"},{"id":"radioligand-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Radioligand therapy (beta emitters)","route":"/technologies/radioligand-therapy/"},{"id":"radionuclide-generators-kits","kind":"technology","name":"Radionuclide generators and cold kits","route":"/technologies/radionuclide-generators-kits/"},{"id":"research-reactor-isotope-production","kind":"technology","name":"Research reactors for medical isotopes (Mo-99, Lu-177, I-131)","route":"/technologies/research-reactor-isotope-production/"},{"id":"spect-ct","kind":"technology","name":"SPECT/CT","route":"/technologies/spect-ct/"}],"section":[{"id":"imaging","kind":"section","name":"Imaging","route":"/fronts/imaging/"}],"company":[{"id":"atomic-alchemy","kind":"company","name":"Atomic Alchemy","route":"/companies/atomic-alchemy/"},{"id":"ge-healthcare","kind":"company","name":"GE HealthCare","route":"/companies/ge-healthcare/"},{"id":"mediso","kind":"company","name":"Mediso","route":"/companies/mediso/"},{"id":"mim-software","kind":"company","name":"MIM Software (GE HealthCare)","route":"/companies/mim-software/"},{"id":"siemens-healthineers","kind":"company","name":"Siemens Healthineers","route":"/companies/siemens-healthineers/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-net-dosimetry-prrt","kind":"idea","name":"Dosimetry-personalised PRRT instead of four fixed cycles","route":"/ideas/idea-net-dosimetry-prrt/"},{"id":"idea-total-body-pet-dosimetry","kind":"idea","name":"Total-body PET for personalised radioligand dosing","route":"/ideas/idea-total-body-pet-dosimetry/"}],"term":[{"id":"dosimetry","kind":"term","name":"Dosimetry","route":"/terms/dosimetry/"}],"drug":[{"id":"tilmanocept-tc99m","kind":"drug","name":"Technetium-99m tilmanocept","route":"/drugs/tilmanocept-tc99m/"}],"institution":[{"id":"erasmus-mc","kind":"institution","name":"Erasmus MC Cancer Institute","route":"/institutions/erasmus-mc/"},{"id":"snmmi","kind":"institution","name":"Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging","route":"/institutions/snmmi/"}]}}