SPECT Scan Technology
REVOLUTIONIZING ADDICTION TREATMENT
Click here to download the press release in PDF form
While advances in science have shown that addiction is indeed a disease, medical technology commonly used to diagnose other illness has not yet been integrated into standard addiction treatment programs, until now.
Hanley Center is pioneering the next frontier of addiction medicine by becoming the first treatment center on the East Coast to use SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans as part of its standard treatment regimen.
By capturing precise blood-flow information and using its baseline knowledge of a healthy brain structure, Hanley’s medical team will now be able to recommend more effective treatments, identify other brain-based disorders that affect addiction and can scientifically document and demonstrate what works and what doesn’t in addiction treatment.
SPECT Scan and Addiction:
- SPECT scans provide physicians with images that help them to analyze the function of internal organs, such as the brain. It uses an injected substance called a tracer and a special camera to create three-dimensional images.
- A SPECT scan provides evidence of medical conditions that frequently contribute to chemical addictions, such as brain injuries or depression.
- Doctors can use SPECT scans to make sure they don’t prescribe treatments that could hurt a patient, such as stimulants for an overactive part of the brain, or conversely prescribing a depressant that works on an underactive part of the brain.
- A SPECT scan can demonstrate brain malfunctions that contribute to relapse behavior patterns for those in recovery. For example, damage to certain parts of the brain, such as prefrontal cortex or temporal lobes, can contribute to these behaviors.
- For patients in recovery, a SPECT scan allows them to have a physical representation of their disease. That can lessen the shame, guilt, stigma and self loathing that often accompany the disease and foster self-forgiveness, an important step for recovery.
- Viewing a SPECT scan image can help patients increase compliance by showing patients and their families that addiction is not a character problem, but rather a brain illness. Pictures are powerful and can lead more willingness and ability to adhere to a treatment program.
- A SPECT scan can physically show how treatments have impacted (improved or worsened) brain functions.
SPECT Scan and Hanley Center Research:
- Hanley is in the third-year of a collaborative research project with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Scripps Florida to identify the best protocol and treatments for addiction medicine. As part of that process, SPECT scans can be used to establish pre- and post-treatment benchmarks.
- Hanley Center is working with Dr. Daniel Amen, a pioneer in brain imaging, and Dr. Paul Kenny of Scripps Florida to establish “biomarkers” that may be able to predict patients who will relapse.
- SPECT studies can validate the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral therapies.
- Brain imaging, along with identifying the genes associated with addiction, are the next major advancement in the addiction treatment and research.
