Limitations of Brain Imaging Techniques

Limitations of Brain Imaging Techniques

Although imaging techniques such as PET and SPECT have helped bring about tremendous advances in the study of brain diseases, they have some limitations:

·        The use of radioactive substances in PET and SPECT limits the number of times a person can undergo these tests. There is the risk that the client will have an aller-gic reaction to the substances. Some clients may find receiving intravenous doses of radioactive material frightening or unacceptable.

·        Imaging equipment is expensive to purchase and maintain, so availability can be limited. A PET camera costs about $2.5 million; a SPECT camera costs about $500,000.

·        Some persons cannot tolerate these procedures because of fear or claustrophobia.

·        Researchers are finding that many of the changes in dis-orders such as schizophrenia are at the molecular and chemical levels and cannot be detected with current imaging techniques (Fujita et al., 2005; Vythilingam et al., 2005).