Cerebral blood-flow tomography: xenon-133 compared with isopropyl-amphetamine-iodine-123: concise communication.

Tomographic maps of local cerebral blood flow (CBF) were obtained with xenon-133 and with isopropyl-amphetamine-iodine-123 (IMP) in 11 subjects: one normal, two tumor cases, and eight cerebrovascular cases. A highly sensitive four-face, rapidly rotating, single-photon emission tomograph was used. The Xe-133 flow maps are essentially based on the average Xe-133 concentration over the initial 2 min during and after an inhalation of the inert gas lasting 1 min. These maps agreed very well with the early IMP maps obtained over the initial 10 min following an i.v. bolus injection. The subsequent IMP tomograms showed a slight decrease in contrast amounting to appr. five percentage points in the CBF ratio between diseased and contralateral areas. It is concluded that Xe-133 is more practical: low cost, available on a 7-day basis, easily repeatable, quantifiable without the need for arterial sampling, and with low radiation exposure to patient and personnel. On the other hand, IMP gives an image of slightly higher resolution. It also introduces a new class of iodinated brain-seeking compounds allowing, perhaps, imaging of other functions more important than mere blood flow.