What are SPECT scan investigations?
A SPECT scan is used to look at the flow of blood in the brain. When your child has a seizure, the flow of blood to the area responsible increases. In between seizures, there is a reduced flow of blood in this area. This means that these scans can give the doctors information about the location of seizures and whether they are confined to certain areas of the brain. The doctors will use a special type of dye so that they can see the flow of blood on the scan. There are two types of SPECT scan, an Ictal SPECT scan and an Inter-Ictal SPECT scan. The word ‘ictus’ means attack or seizure so an ‘Ictal SPECT scan’ is used during an epileptic seizure and an ‘Inter-Ictal SPECT scan’ is used between seizures.
