Cerebral perfusion imaging with albumin microspheres tagged with Tc-99m and In-111 in cases with internal carotid occlusion.

Cerebral perfusion imaging with dual-tracer (Tc-99m and In-111) human albumin microspheres (HAM scintigraphy) was performed in 15 cases with unilateral occlusion of the internal carotid artery, for the diagnosis and evaluation of collateral circulation patterns. After injection of Tc-99m microspheres into one common carotid artery and In-111 HAMs into the other, two perfusion images, one for each carotid artery, were clearly differentiated by appropriate pulse-height discrimination. With this method, diagnosis of internal carotid artery occlusion was definitely made in eight patients, suspected in six, and missed in one. The collateral perfusion areas from the contralateral ICA and ipsilateral external carotid artery were well demonstrated by this method, and the scintigraphic results agreed well with the angiographic findings in all cases. Dual-tracer HAM scintigraphy is capable of adding information about collaterals at the capillary level to the anatomic information obtained by angiography.