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Nuclear Medicine Imaging Artifacts

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Pitfalls in Musculoskeletal Radiology

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Abstract

Various radiopharmaceuticals and imaging techniques are commonly used in nuclear medicine imaging to diagnose benign and malignant bone lesions. With increasing availability and utility of conventional and advanced nuclear medicine procedures, it has become necessary to know about their limitations during interpretation. Advanced fusion imaging systems, such as SPECT/CT and PET/CT, increase the complexity of inherent artifacts of individual techniques. Comprehensive quality control program and standardized scan techniques are needed to reduce the incidence and intensity of artifacts. Broadly, these artifacts can occur due to radiopharmaceutical, instrumental, and patient-related factors, and proper knowledge about them helps us to avoid misinterpretation and improve the specificity. In this chapter, we elaborate on important artifacts, how they can alter scan findings, approaches to recognize them, and ways to avoid them.

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Abbreviations

BMD:

Bone mineral densitometry

CT:

Computed tomography

DXA:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

PET:

Positron-emission tomography

SPECT:

Single-photon emission computed tomography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, 90 Yishun Central, Singapore, 768828, Republic of Singapore

    Anbalagan Kannivelu MBBS, FRCR

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore, 169608, Republic of Singapore

    Kelvin S. H. Loke MBBS, MRCP, Sean X. X. Yan MD, ABNM & David C. E. Ng MBBS, FRCPE

  3. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore

    Hoi Yin Loi MMed, MRCP, FRCR

Authors
  1. Anbalagan Kannivelu MBBS, FRCR
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  2. Kelvin S. H. Loke MBBS, MRCP
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  3. Sean X. X. Yan MD, ABNM
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  4. Hoi Yin Loi MMed, MRCP, FRCR
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  5. David C. E. Ng MBBS, FRCPE
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anbalagan Kannivelu MBBS, FRCR .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Wilfred C. G. Peh

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Kannivelu, A., Loke, K.S.H., Yan, S.X.X., Loi, H.Y., Ng, D.C.E. (2017). Nuclear Medicine Imaging Artifacts. In: Peh, W. (eds) Pitfalls in Musculoskeletal Radiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53496-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53496-1_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53494-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53496-1

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