Brain imaging for psychiatry - ready for prime time?

[Typo_Knig]

I saw an ad today for a clinic that uses SPECT brain imaging to determine the best psycho-theraputic approach. Is this a real thing? Is this at all ready for consumers? Just wondering.

[engineer_comp_geek]

No, not ready for prime time yet.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (MIMH):

Although brain scans as part of a clinical psychiatric workup might be playing in prime time on some TV infomercials, brain imaging experts say we’re not quite there yet.

…

The procedure in question is SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography). At issue: the use of SPECT scans as part of a psychiatric diagnostic workup by some clinics. They cast themselves as “early adopters"1 in the vanguard of developing clinical applications for an emerging technology. Their critics say it’s premature, pointing out the risks of exposing patients, particularly children, to radiation, and to treatments based on shaky interpretations of scans – possibly in lieu of clinically sound treatments.2 Moreover, more powerful, less invasive technologies have often been supplanting SPECT in psychiatric research over the past decade.

Much more info in the full article here:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2010/brain-scans-not-quite-ready-for-prime-time.shtml

[Andy_L]

@Typo_Knig

I saw an ad today for a clinic that uses SPECT brain imaging to determine the best psycho-theraputic approach. Is this a real thing? Is this at all ready for consumers? Just wondering.

Here’s a link to an article on the subject from a recent issue of the Washington Post magazine http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/daniel-amen-is-the-most-popular-psychiatrist-in-america-to-most-researchers-and-scientists-thats-a-very-bad-thing/2012/08/07/467ed52c-c540-11e1-8c16-5080b717c13e_story.html

[Typo_Knig]

@Andy_L

Here’s a link to an article on the subject from a recent issue of the Washington Post magazine http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/daniel-amen-is-the-most-popular-psychiatrist-in-america-to-most-researchers-and-scientists-thats-a-very-bad-thing/2012/08/07/467ed52c-c540-11e1-8c16-5080b717c13e_story.html

That’s the guy! I now remember seeing the article in the WaPo magazine, but I didn’t read it, and I forgot. I figured it’s too darn early for clinical use.

[njtt]

Yes, I read the WaPo article a while back and thought this had all the signs of quackery. In any case, SPECT is pretty much an obsolete brain imaging technology, having been replaced by MRI, which is much superior for most purposes. (Not that MRI is without its problems. It is certainly not ready for routine psychiatric use either.)