Northcoast Nuclear Medicine's GE Infinia™ Hawkeye® 4 was the first Hybid SPECT/CT camera in Queensland when it was installed into our Buderim rooms in September 2006. This state-of-the-art technology has added a valuable dimension to imaging by combining the functional information from nuclear medicine with the structural information from CT. It allows accurate identification and localisation of diseases such as bony metastatic disease, spinal and pelvic pathology and stress fractures. In our experience, SPECT/low dose CT technology has revolutionised gallium staging of lymphoma and adds vital anatomical localisation of neuroendocrine tumours. Our experience in attenuation correction of cardiac perfusion scans is very encouraging. Following on this success we installed our second SPECT/CT system into our Caloundra rooms in October 2007 and a third system into the Nambour General Hospital in January 2008.


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Infinia™ Hawkeye® 4 is the latest in SPECT/CT technology, free from any of the limits of combining SPECT and CT seen in other cameras. It provides us with high-resolution scans for the most accurate diagnoses possible with a lower patient dose, because at NCNM we understand that patient care cannot be compromised.

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The top row of images shows the low-dose CT scans in the coronal, sagittal and transverse planes.
The middle row shows the corresponding nuclear SPECT images.
The bottom row now shows the fused SPECT/CT display.
The image series clearly demonstrates that the patient's back pain is due to active facet joint arthritis, which the Hawkeye® 4 has accurately localised in the right side of the fifth lumbar vertebra. This enabled specific treatment to be targeted to this exact site.