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What improvement does SPECT imaging offer over a single, stationary gamma camera?
AIt eliminates the need for any radioactive tracer
BIt produces images using only visible light
CIt requires no computer processing at all
DA rotating array builds a 3D, higher-contrast image
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. A rotating array builds a 3D, higher-contrast image
1. SPECT uses a circular array of detectors that may rotate around the patient.
2. A computer combines the detector output into a three-dimensional image, producing a marked improvement in contrast over a flat, single-camera image.
3. SPECT still relies on a radiopharmaceutical tracer, so it does not eliminate the tracer.
4. It detects gamma rays, not visible light, and it depends heavily on computer image reconstruction.
5. So a rotating array building a three-dimensional, higher-contrast image is correct.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 22 "The Atom", section 22.5 Medical Applications of Radioactivity: Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation_
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