The usefulness of CBF brain SPECT in forensic medicine: the civil law code cases. A description of four cases.

BACKGROUND The aim of this report was to assess the usefulness of cerebral blood flow (CBF) scanning utilising the SPECT technique in forensic medicine cases in the area of civil law cases. MATERIAL AND METHODS CBF SPECT scanning was performed in four patients utilising (99m)Tc-ECD and a triple-head gammacamera. In the analysis both the asymmetry index and cerebellar normalisation were applied. Reference values were obtained by studying 30 healthy volunteers. RESULTS In those cases CBF SPECT scanning played an important role in forensic argument. It influenced the sentence and the amount of financial compensation. CONCLUSIONS CBF SPECT scanning may provide valuable information in forensic medicine argument in civil law cases, but only when taken together with psychometric tests and other neuroimaging methods (CT, MRI). The value of CBF SPECT scanning alone may be limited in judicial proceedings.