Cerebral Blood Flow Studies With Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m and the Scintillation Camera

The use of radioisotopes in the measurement of cerebral blood flow has been extensively investigated.1Although recent studies2-4involving external monitoring of intravenously administered radionuclides have been of significant value in the assessment of cerebral circulation, anatomic or regional localization of vascular lesions has proven difficult. The clinical utility of the scintillation camera in the performance of dynamic clinical studies with radioisotopes5,6and the recent use of short-lived radionuclides such as sodium pertechnetate Tc 99m in studies of regional blood flow7suggested the feasibility of quantitating cerebral blood flow concomitant with constant visual monitoring of the passage of99mTc through the carotid and major cerebral arteries. Forty-four subjects without neurologic disease have been studied as controls; 15 patients with recent cerebrovascular accidents and 1 patient with an arteriovenous malformation have also been tested. Procedure We have recently modifiedthe scintillation camera employed,5by the use