A novel algorithm developed using machine learning and a J-ACCESS database can estimate defect scores from myocardial perfusion single-photon emission tomography images.

Background: Stress myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging (MPI) has been used to diagnose and predict the prognoses of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). An ongoing multicenter collaboration established a Japanese database (J-ACCESS) in 2001 that includes a risk model and expert interpretations. The present study aimed to develop a novel algorithm using machine learning (ML) and resources from the J-ACCESS database to aid SPECT image interpretation.

The Report of ASNC-JSNC Joint Symposium in JSNC 33 Annual Scientific Meeting.

The JSNC-ASNC joint symposium in the 33 JSNC annual meeting was held on Jun. 24, and we invited Prof. Mouaz H.

Clinical Validation of Japanese Normal Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Databases Using Semi-conductor Gamma Camera (D-SPECT): Japanese Society of Nuclear Cardiology Working Group Reports.

: A working group (WG) of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Cardiology (JSNC) determined Japanese normal databases of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) on semi-conductor gamma camera (D-SPECT), and the aim of this study was to validate its clinical utility. : The normal myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) databases of Japanese patients in the Tl stress/redistribution protocol (Tl protocol), Tc stress/rest or rest/stress protocol (Tc protocol), and rest Tc/stress Tl simultaneous acquisition dual-isotope protocol (SDI protocol) were created by JSNC WG. The WG collected clinical cases for the Tl protocol (male/female [m/f], 8/8), Tc protocol (m/f, 9/7), and SDI protocol (m/f, 10/10) from WG participating hospitals.

Rapid response to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in a psychiatry hospital-Kanazawa City, Japan, March to April 2020.

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in a psychiatry hospital revealed specific challenges in its response such as difficulty in isolation, transfer, and identification of close contacts, suboptimal infection control practices, and shortage of personal protective equipment, which were overcome by support from the public health center and a neighboring university hospital.

Clinical Outcomes of Radiologic Relapse in Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis Under Immunosuppressive Therapies.

Although nuclear imaging can detect cardiac involvement of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), including subclinical states, little is known about the prevalence and outcomes of radiologic relapse under prednisolone (PSL) therapy. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with radiologic relapse. A total of 80 consecutive patients with CS whose disease activity on nuclear imaging decreased at least once after initiation of immunosuppressive therapy were identified through a retrospective chart review.

Patient positioning during pediatric cardiothoracic computed tomography using a high-resilience pad system and pre-scan measurement of chest thickness.

Patient positioning at the isocenter of the CT gantry is important for optimizing image quality and radiation dose, but accurate positioning is challenging in pediatric patients. We evaluated whether the high-resilience pad and pre-scan measurement of chest thickness allow accurate positioning in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. Sixty-seven patients aged 7 years or younger who underwent cardiothoracic CT were enrolled.

Retrograde penetration pacing into the conduction system as an alternative approach of his-bundle pacing: Retrograde penetration pacing into the conduction system.

Background: The optimal right ventricular (RV) pacing site during pacemaker implantation is still unclear due to left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony by traditional RV pacing. His-bundle (HIS) pacing has achieved narrow QRS and maintained LV synchrony but high failure rate. RV septal pacing occasionally has QRS waveform with wide and narrow component in the early and late phase, respectively, and maintains LV synchrony, reflecting the normal conduction system.

Unusual Overlapping Cardiac Sarcoidosis and Long-QT Type 3 Induced Ventricular Fibrillation.

A 54-year-old woman had been resuscitated after ventricular fibrillation and her electrocardiogram showed a QT prolongation (QTc=510 ms), and genetic screening revealed a missense variant, R1644C, in the SCN5A gene. She was therefore diagnosed with congenital long-QT syndrome (LQTS) type 3. However, the patient had left ventricular dysfunction, and based on the findings of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and pathological examinations, she was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Clinical impact of left ventricular paced conduction disturbance in cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Background: Myocardial scarring is associated with nonresponse to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and conduction delay. Little is known about the significance and cause of left ventricular (LV) paced conduction disturbance (LPCD).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical impact of paced interlead electrical delay and the difference in each conduction time from LV pace to right ventricular (RV) sense (LVp-RVs) and from RV pace to LV sense (RVp-LVs) [(LVp-RVs) - (RVp-LVs)], in CRT.

Assessing the Clinical Value of Myocardial Perfusion SPECT in Cardiac Sarcoidosis with Diffuse Myocardial F-FDG Uptake.

: Myocardial F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) uptake is a sign of active inflammation in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) under the correct circumstance. However, even under the proper preparation, diffuse myocardial F-FDG uptake is frequently observed in the failing heart and misleads the CS disease activity. The aim of this study was to establish the diagnostic value of resting myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for assessing CS disease activity in patients with diffuse myocardial F-FDG uptake.

Role of Gallium-SPECT-CT in the Management of Patients With Ventricular Assist Device-Specific Percutaneous Driveline Infection.

Background: Percutaneous driveline infection is a major complication of left ventricular assist device (LVAD). This study evaluated the role of gallium-67 single-photon emission computed tomography (Ga-SPECT)-CT in LVAD-specific percutaneous driveline infection.

Methods: Thirty-six patients with implantable continuous-flow LVAD, who underwent Ga-SPECT-CT to evaluate percutaneous driveline infections, were enrolled and divided into uptake and no-uptake groups based on tracer concentration uptake on Ga-SPECT-CT.

Risk factors of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia by technetium-perfusion imaging in patients with coronary artery lesions caused by Kawasaki disease.

Background: Sudden death can occur in some patients with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) after myocardial infarction (MI) in those with coronary artery lesions (CAL) caused by Kawasaki disease (KD). The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for NSVT in the late period after KD by technetium-99m-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the relation between the appearance of NSVT and the findings in MPI single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 75 patients (55 males and 20 females) who had had CAL caused by KD.

Prognostic impact of reducing myocardial ischemia identified using ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT in Japanese patients with coronary artery disease: J-ACCESS 4 study.

Aim: Whether myocardial ischemia identified using myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) can be an alternative target of coronary revascularization to reduce the incidence of cardiac events remains unclear.

Methods And Results: This multicenter, prospective cohort study aimed to clarify the prognostic impact of reducing myocardial ischemia. Among 494 registered patients with possible or definite coronary artery disease (CAD), 298 underwent initial pharmacological stress Tc-tetrofosmin MPI before, and eight months after revascularization or medical therapy, and were followed up for at least one year.

Comparison Between Prone and Upright Imaging of the Inferior Wall Using TlCl Myocardial Perfusion SPECT.

Because it suppresses attenuation artifacts from the diaphragm, prone SPECT is suitable for evaluating the cardiac inferior wall. A solid-state dedicated cardiac camera allows upright imaging, which can also be used to avoid attenuation artifacts from the diaphragm. We compared prone and upright imaging for inferior wall evaluation using TlCl myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS).

Diagnostic accuracy of an artificial neural network compared with statistical quantitation of myocardial perfusion images: a Japanese multicenter study.

Purpose: Artificial neural networks (ANN) might help to diagnose coronary artery disease. This study aimed to determine whether the diagnostic accuracy of an ANN-based diagnostic system and conventional quantitation are comparable.

Methods: The ANN was trained to classify potentially abnormal areas as true or false based on the nuclear cardiology expert interpretation of 1001 gated stress/rest Tc-MIBI images at 12 hospitals.

Criteria for the addition of prone imaging to myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography for inferior wall.

Objective: Myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is occasionally suspected to generate images that represent either ischemia or infarction for the inferior wall [right coronary artery (RCA) disease] or attenuation artifacts because of the diaphragm. We often encounter this. The application of prone imaging is advantageous in the differentiation of RCA disease because of attenuation artifacts.

Optimal injected dose ratio of a very rapid 1-day protocol of myocardial perfusion imaging with cadmium-zinc-telluride single-photon emission tomography: simulation and phantom study.

Objective: Cadmium-zinc-telluride detectors enable shorter acquisition durations in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), but the time interval of sequential scanning is still unchanged in clinical practice. We designed a very rapid 1-day protocol of MPI using cadmium-zinc-telluride single-photon emission tomography and evaluated the optimal dose ratio between two scanning acquisitions by means of simulations and phantom experiments.

Methods: We intended to perform a 1-day MPI within 140 min and simulate radioactivities in the second scan under various injected dose ratios.

Prognostic impact of chronic total coronary occlusion on long-term outcomes in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator recipients with ischaemic heart disease.

Aims: The prognostic impact of chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO) on implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) recipients remains unclear.

Methods And Results: Eighty-four consecutive patients with ischaemic heart disease who received ICD therapy for primary or secondary prevention were analysed. We investigated all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) including cardiac death, appropriate device therapy, hospitalization for heart failure, and ventricular assist device implantation.

Normal values and standardization of parameters in nuclear cardiology: Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group database.

As a 2-year project of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group activity, normal myocardial imaging databases were accumulated and summarized. Stress-rest with gated and non-gated image sets were accumulated for myocardial perfusion imaging and could be used for perfusion defect scoring and normal left ventricular (LV) function analysis. For single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with multi-focal collimator design, databases of supine and prone positions and computed tomography (CT)-based attenuation correction were created.

Comparison of phase dyssynchrony analysis using gated myocardial perfusion imaging with four software programs: Based on the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group normal database.

Purpose: Left ventricular (LV) phase dyssynchrony parameters based on gated myocardial perfusion imaging varied among software programs. The aim of this study was to determine normal ranges and factors affecting phase parameters.

Methods: Normal databases were derived from the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group (n = 69).