A heightened resolution

At the UC Irvine Brain Imaging Center, treatments and diagnoses of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and other brain-related illnesses are being discovered through the center’s state-of-the-art imaging technology.

The center is a world-class imaging facility, and one of its most recent technological advances has pushed it to a new height. It now houses a High Resolution Research Tomograph, a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner with 10 times the resolution of the center’s previous scanner.

“It can identify objects 10 times smaller, and the higher resolution allows you to separate different functions of the brain that are small and hard to distinguish,” said Steven Potkin, director of the Brain Imaging Center. “There are only 12 in the world, and this is the only one west of the Mississippi.”

The device helps identify Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by determining whether the brain being examined is consistent with other affected brains through pictures of its metabolic activity. Radiation fuels the process.

“Radiation is injected and we use a camera to look at the brains uptake and how it uses and receives it,” Potkin said.

The capabilities of the technique have already proven to be impressive.

“There are definite advantages for patients, especially those who are elderly with mental problems,” said Joseph Wu, clinical director of the center. “It helps them understand if the memory problems they are experiencing are normal with aging or if they are worse.”

The imaging can help patients diagnosed with a mental disorder determine their next step, be it surgery or medication.

“Medications can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s, and some can even halt or arrest it,” Wu said. “In terms of Parkinson’s disease, additional clinical imaging helps make the operation seem worth the risk, as other diseases that mimic Parkinson’s would not respond to the same treatments.”

He added that scanning is becoming even more valuable over time as medications and treatments improve.

Patients who catch their disease early enough should experience beneficial results.

“There are definite advantages to helping senior citizens get cutting-edge state-of-the-art prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” Wu said. “People can live longer, happier lives.”

If you believe you may be suffering from a mental disorder of any kind, doctors recommend you do not ignore the signs. Any one 18 years or older and in relatively good health can go through a scanning at the UCI Brain Imaging Center.

Wu said that Medicare does cover certain scans.

Those concerned with becoming claustrophobic can rest a little easier as only your head will be covered in the scanning, unlike full-body CT and MRI scans.

“This can make a definite difference for many,” Wu said. “People should ask their doctors.”