SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) is one of the most effective non-invasive imaging techniques for identifying the seizure onset zone in candidates for epilepsy surgery.
It is a painless nuclear medicine procedure that detects changes in cerebral blood flow, allowing clinicians to determine which areas of the brain are associated with the epileptogenic focus.
SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) imaging is performed during hospitalization on the video-EEG monitoring unit. The primary goal is to capture ictal SPECT—that is, a scan taken during an actual seizure, allowing for the most accurate localization of the seizure onset zone.
You will typically be admitted before the weekend, and your anti-seizure medication will be gradually reduced to increase the likelihood of a seizure during the monitoring period. The goal is to capture a seizure on Tuesday morning, when the radioactive tracer (radiopharmaceutical) is available and ready to be administered intravenously as soon as a seizure begins.
The sooner the tracer is injected after seizure onset, the more precise the SPECT scan will be in highlighting the area of the brain where the seizure originates.
If no seizure occurs by the scheduled time, the tracer will still be administered, and an interictal SPECT (a scan performed between seizures) will be conducted. Although less specific than an ictal scan, interictal SPECT still provides valuable diagnostic information.
After the tracer is administered, you will be transported to University Hospital Brno (FN Brno), where the scan will take place.
The SPECT scanner is a large, ring-shaped machine equipped with a gamma camera. You will lie on a motorized table, and the gamma camera will rotate around your head, capturing detailed images of brain structures. These images are then processed into high-resolution 3D visuals on a computer for evaluation.
After the scan, you will be returned to the epilepsy unit for continued care and medication adjustment.
The scan itself takes about 30 minutes, but the entire process, including hospitalization, seizure monitoring, tracer administration, and post-scan recovery, usually takes about one week.
This timeline is the same whether the scan is ictal or interictal, and efforts to capture an ictal SPECT scan are typically limited to three attempts.
A standalone interictal SPECT, performed on an outpatient basis, takes approximately 30 minutes.
For ictal SPECT imaging, you will be hospitalized at St. Anne’s University Hospital (FNUSA) in Building C1, 5th floor, where seizure monitoring takes place.
Once the radiopharmaceutical is administered during a seizure, you will be transported to the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at University Hospital Brno (FN Brno), located on the 1st floor of Pavilion N, for the actual imaging procedure.
In the case of a planned interictal SPECT (performed between seizures), your epileptologist will schedule the scan directly with the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, and you will attend the appointment as an outpatient at the FN Brno imaging facility.
For SPECT examination, your child will be hospitalized at the Children’s Hospital, in Pavilion G, 4th floor, at the Department of Pediatric Neurology.
The actual imaging procedure will take place at the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at University Hospital Brno (FN Brno), located on the 1st floor of Pavilion N.
