"The purpose of imaging is to localise the abnormal parathyroid gland(s) in surgical candidates. Some studies have shown equivalent or superior performance of 4D CT compared to ultrasound or sestamibi SPECT, but preferences for one modality or a combination vary by institution depending on expertise and experience 4,5. For the purpose behind the different phases of the scan see the Approach section below."
Expected headings
"Indications"
"Purpose"
"Technique"
"Parathyroid four-dimensional (4D) CT refers to multiphase computed tomography of the neck used to localise abnormal parathyroid glands (i.e. involved with adenoma, multiglandular parathyroid disease or, rarely, carcinoma). The "4D" indicates that imaging is performed in multiple phases of contrast, with time being the fourth dimension in addition to the multiplanar format of CT; the number of phases is not necessarily four."
"parathyroid lesions are usually oval or round, smooth or slightly lobulated"