Construcion of a functional image from spatially localized rate constants obtained from serial camera and rectilinear scanner data.

SCANNING IS widely accepted as a means of detecting abnormalities in the regional function of certain organs. For example, labeled particles such as macroaggregates of albumin can be used to portray the regional perfusion of the lung. In a related manner, the distribution of colloidal particles reveals the reticuloendo-thelial function within the body, and the thyroid scan indicates the distribution of the function of iodide uptake. In these cases, the amount of radioisotope accumulated by a given region is an index of that region's function. In a sense, the scanning image may be thought of as a map of regional function. If we express this relationship between function and the amount of radioactivity in mathematical terms, it may be written as : F= (q).......(1) where F is regional function and q is the amount of radioisotope accumulated in the region. At times, regional function can be better measured by the rate of change. For example, regional blood flow measured by 133Xe washout from a region may be e...