Role of CT attenuation correction gated SPECT MPI in prediction of pulmonary hypertension.

Objective: To elucidate the value of gated SPECT-MPI using CT attenuation correction (AC) for prediction of pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in coronary patients by estimation of reliability of non-contrast CT in measurement of main pulmonary artery diameter (MPAd) as well as by assessment of potential predictive role of gated parameters as beneficial accessory findings.

Background: Contrast-enhanced CT is known as an accurate tool for assessment of MPAd to predict PHT. [1] The low-dose non-contrast CT which is used for AC in MPI study, however, has an unclear value in precise vascular diameter measurement; it is also uncertain whether gated parameters could help to predict PHT.

Diagnosis of Fungal Infection () After Heart Transplantation in a Pediatric Case with Fever of Unknown Origin: Role of Tc-UBI SPECT/CT and F-FDG PET/CT.

The diagnosis of patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO) in pediatric heart transplantation is a challenging medical problem. The physician should differentiate between rejections, infections, malignancy, adrenal insufficiency, and drug fever. Immunosuppressive therapy in these patients exposes them to a high risk of developing a post-transplantation fungal infection.

Extensive Venous Tumor Thrombi in a Case of Malignant Melanoma: Role of 18F FDG PET/CT.

The 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging is a non-invasive modality for diagnosis and staging of metastatic melanoma. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of cancers, which needs anticoagulant therapy. Tumor thrombosis (TT), on the other hand, is an infrequent complication of solid malignancies that may need aggressive management.

Role of Technetium-99m-Ethylenedicysteine in the Calculation of Differential Renal Function: A Comparison Study with Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Renal Scintigraphy.

Purpose Of The Study: The aim of our study was to compare the technetium-99m (Tc-99m)-ethylenedicysteine (EC) renography calculation of differential renal function (DRF) with this measurement using Tc-99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy.

Materials And Methods: Patients referred to our department were included in our study, and both DMSA and EC scans were performed for each patient according to the standard imaging protocols. A checklist was filled for each patient.

Assessment of LV diastolic dysfunction in myocardial perfusion imaging: a correlative study with transthoracic echocardiography.

Objective: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) by gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a feasible method in the evaluation of left ventricular perfusion and function. The purpose of this study was to determine the threshold and grading of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) using gated SPECT MPI.

Methods: A total of 149 patients were recruited in the study.

Artifacts in Quantitative analysis of myocardial perfusion SPECT, using Cedars-Sinai QPS Software.

Quantitative analysis of myocardial perfusion Single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) images is increasingly applied in modern nuclear cardiology practice, assisting in the interpretation of myocardial perfusion images (MPI). There are different extensively validated state-of-the-art software packages, including QPS (cedars-Sinai), Corridor 4DM (University of Michigan) and Emory cardiac toolbox (Emory university), providing highly accurate and reproducible data. However, these software packages may suffer from potential artifacts related to patient or technical factors.

Comparison of Gated SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging with Echocardiography for the Measurement of Left Ventricular Volumes and Ejection Fraction in Patients With Severe Heart Failure.

Background: Gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is known as a feasible tool for the measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and volumes, which are of great importance in the management and follow-up of patients with coronary artery diseases. However, considering the technical shortcomings of SPECT in the presence of perfusion defect, the accuracy of this method in heart failure patients is still controversial.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare the results from gated SPECT MPI with those from echocardiography in heart failure patients to compare echocardiographically-derived left ventricular dimension and function data to those from gated SPECT MPI in heart failure patients.

The Effect of Milk, Water and Lemon Juice on Various Subdiaphragmatic Activity-Related Artifacts in Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.

Background: Subdiaphragmatic activity can produce subdiaphragmatic-related artifacts, which can degrade the quality of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).

Objectives: We examined the impact of drinking milk, water, and lemon juice on different subdiaphragmatic-related artifacts by using (99m)Tc-sestamibi myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in order to determine a feasible method for improving the image quality.

Patients And Methods: A total of 179 patients (age 58 ± 9.

Ionizing radiation-induced cataract in interventional cardiology staff.

Background: The use of ionizing radiation has led to advances in medical diagnosis and treatment.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of radiation cataractogenesis in the interventionists and staff performing various procedures in different interventional laboratories.

Patients And Methods: This cohort study included 81 interventional cardiology staff.

Effects of filtration on right ventricular function by the gated blood pool SPECT.

Objective: Gated blood po ol single photon emission computed tomography (GBPS) offers the possibility of obtaining additional functional information from blood pool studies, including evaluation of left and right ventricular function simultaneously. The calculation of ventricular volumes based on the identification of the endocardial surface would be influenced by the spatial resolution in the reconstructed images. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of different filters on the right ventricular function.

Influence of respiratory motion correction on quantification of myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Background: Respiratory-related cardiac motion could have considerable effects on myocardial perfusion imaging, leading to misinterpretation of the images. In this study, we examined the influence of respiratory correction on ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (RC-GSPECT) concerning regional myocardial perfusion and function.

Materials And Methods: Using the NCAT phantom, a typical torso phantom was generated.

Assessment of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony by phase analysis of gated-SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging and tissue Doppler imaging: comparison between QGS and ECTb software packages.

Background: Recently, the phase analysis of gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has become feasible via several software packages for the evaluation of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony. We compared two quantitative software packages, quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) and Emory cardiac toolbox (ECTb), with tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) as the conventional method for the evaluation of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony.

Methods And Results: Thirty-one patients with severe heart failure (ejection fraction ≤35%) and regular heart rhythm, who referred for gated-SPECT MPI, were enrolled.

Impact of metoclopramide on image quality in myocardial perfusion imaging.

Background: The effectiveness of metoclopramide in reducing gastrointestinal-induced artifacts in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a subject of debate. We examined the significance of this pharmacological intervention in the quality of images obtained from MPI studies.

Patients And Methods: A total of 211 suspected or known cases with coronary artery disease routinely referred to our nuclear medicine department for MPI were randomly assigned to group A and group B.

Correlation of automatic processing method in myocardial perfusion SPET with the interactive method.

Different techniques have been introduced for full automatic processing of myocardial perfusion imaging with single-photon emission tomography. We tried to evaluate the accuracy of one of these commercial automatic processing methods. The study was performed in 300 patients during 18 months.

Respiratory motion detection and correction in ECG-gated SPECT: a new approach.

Objective: Gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (GSPECT) has been established as an accurate and reproducible diagnostic and prognostic technique for the assessment of myocardial perfusion and function. Respiratory motion is among the major factors that may affect the quality of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and consequently the accuracy of the examination. In this study, we have proposed a new approach for the tracking of respiratory motion and the correction of unwanted respiratory motion by the use of respiratory-cardiac gated-SPECT (RC-GSPECT).

Optimized energy window configuration for 201Tl imaging.

Unlabelled: A poor signal-to-noise ratio attributable to a low injected dose of thallium and the presence of scattered photons are the major impediments in the use of thallium as an imaging agent. Thallium decays in a complicated way and emits photons in a wide range of energies (68-82 keV). To increase the ratios of primary photons to scatter photons (primary-to-scatter ratios) and possibly increase system sensitivity, a new energy window for thallium was investigated.