Sutter Roseville’s use of hybrid imaging and image fusion technology brings unparalleled capability to better define function and location of an area of concern. Hybrid imaging combines anatomic and metabolic imaging in one imaging session. At Sutter Roseville, the hybrid systems currently in use are the Infinia™ VC Hawkeye® SPECT/CT and Millennium VG Hawkeye™ SPECT/CT and the mobile positron emission tomography (PET)/CT camera.

The department is also at the nation’s forefront in nuclear medicine imaging with the ability to fuse images from multiple sources. Image fusing, or co-registration, uses highly sophisticated software tools to combine 3-D images captured during separate imaging sessions. Sutter doctors and their patients receive a unique advantage in being able to determine the location of abnormal metabolic function caused by various conditions. Anatomical images (“form”) from computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be fused with nuclear medicine images (“function”) from either single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. The “form” plus “function” capability available through image fusion and hybrid imaging is useful to discover the extent and location of disease. If anatomic images are acquired at a different time and/or location, the department requests the images on a CD in DICOM format. This format allows the information to be transferred into the image registration program where they can be co-registered or aligned.

The role of combined anatomic and metabolic images helps define care and can play a significant role in therapy choices. There is a growing use of hybrid imaging in radiation therapy planning for cancer treatment. By being able to view the location of abnormal function, doctors are better able to deliver the desired radiation dose, maximizing the effect on the tumor while minimizing unwanted side effects.

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