Form follows function: molecular and anatomical information in conventional nuclear medicine

The merger of anatomical information with functional results of nuclear medical studies represents an important step in evaluation and generating a report. The design of a gamma-camera system furnished with a tomographic X-ray unit allows for the almost simultaneous acquisition of tomographic data of the nuclear examination as well as the structure of surrounding tissue and attenuating material within one study without changing the patient's position. The results of this kind of fusion present considerable progress compared to side by side interpretation or software based fusion procedures of different methods like CT and MRI with nuclear studies. (orig.)