Tc-99m HMPAO Cerebral Scintigraphy A Reliable, Noninvaslve Method for Determination of Brain Death

To determine the usefulness of cerebral blood flow imaging for the diagnosis of brain death, 4 female and 12 male patients, aged 19 to 69 years and suffering from various intracranial lesions, were studied. In addition to neurologic examination, electroencephalographic recording, and cerebral angiography, tomographic brain scintigraphy was performed using a SPECT system with a LEAP collimator after the intravenous administration of 555 MBq Tc-99m HMPAO. The radioisotopic scanning procedure revealed no intracranial perfusion in 14 of the 16 patients. Only minimal cerebellar blood flow was seen in one patient. In another, residual right-sided supratentorial flow was initially present but abse…