Observations on the clinical value of emission tomography.

Data comparing emission computed tomography (ECT), transmission computed tomography (TCT), and radionuclide scintigraphy suggest that in many patients more accurate diagnostic information may be available from emission tomography. ECT was performed during a 4-mo period on 200 of 235 patients referred for brain scans. The data suggest that ECT has a 10% greater sensitivity than scintigraphy, and better specificity. The accuracy of ECT was comparable to that of TCT performed in this group of patients. Selected cases demonstrate areas in which ECT improved lesion detection.