Advances in Cardiac Processing Software

New software methods that incorporate iterative reconstruction, resolution recovery, and noise compensation now provide the ability to maintain or improve myocardial perfusion SPECT image quality with conventional sodium iodide cameras. Despite lower image counting statistics associated with significantly decreased injected radiopharmaceutical doses or shortened acquisition times or both, image quality is preserved or even improved compared with conventional processing methods. The ability to prescribe a desired myocardial count density by preselecting a SPECT acquisition time now avoids additional patient radiation exposure associated with “weight-based” dosing. More recent advancements, including temporal correlation among the gated perfusion frames and higher resolution SPECT acquisitions, hold promise to further improve image quality and diagnostic accuracy. Phase analysis of gated perfusion SPECT provides the ability to assess cardiac dyssynchrony and to select those patients who will most benefit from resynchronization therapy. In combination with the higher counting statistics afforded by the new solid-state dedicated cardiac cameras, these software advancements allow for even further decreased patient radiation doses or acquisition times or both. List-mode software allows for refinement of myocardial perfusion SPECT by interrogating particular data from selected cardiac cycles. Rejection of frames degraded by arrhythmic cardiac cycles or excessive extracardiac upt...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - Category: Radiology Authors: Source Type: research