HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) CME Activity Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lin, G. S. Articles by Ryals, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lin, G. S. Articles by Ryals, C.

Automated Quantification of Myocardial Ischemia and Wall Motion Defects by Use of Cardiac SPECT Polar Mapping and 4-Dimensional Surface Rendering^*

¹ Advanced Imaging Associates, Fremont, California; and ² Philips Nuclear Medicine, Milpitas, California

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: G. Sharat Lin, PhD, Advanced Imaging Associates, 33808 Cassio Cir., Fremont, CA 94555-2016. E-mail: sharatlin{at}hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

SPECT of cardiac perfusion and blood pools provides ungated 3-dimensional and gated 4-dimensional (4D) datasets of the ventricular myocardium. Modern reconstruction and review software is used to reorient the transverse thoracic slices into cardiac short-axis slices. Several validated algorithms are used to analyze these data. These programs segment out the left ventricle, determine the apical and basal limits, and then contour the endo- and epicardial surfaces. From these, 4D images of cardiac function that enable a dynamic review of wall motion are obtained. Global function in gated studies can be quantified by automatic computation of stroke volume and ejection fraction. Remapping of myocardial perfusion and wall motion into polar maps enables standardized quantification of the extent and severity of heart disease after comparison with databases of healthy hearts (normal databases). Several validated software packages make processing of these SPECT datasets comparatively easy and operator independent. The objectives of this review article are to describe the steps in the processing of a cardiac SPECT dataset for viewing and quantification, to explain the underlying algorithms used for automated processing, to compare the features of various software packages, to demonstrate how to read polar maps, and to identify and correct artifacts resulting from errors in automated processing.

Key Words: cardiology; ischemia; myocardial perfusion; SPECT; polar map; wall motion defects

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Massaro, S. Cittadin, F. Rossi, L. Rampin, E. Banti, O. Nibale, and D. Rubello Reconstruction Parameters for 111In-Pentetreotide SPECT: Variability with Respect to Body Weight and Body Region J. Nucl. Med. Technol., December 1, 2007; 35(4): 237 - 241. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]