Vessel-specific quantification of absolute myocardial blood flow, myocardial flow reserve and relative flow reserve by means of fused dynamic NH PET and CCTA: Ranges in a low-risk population and abnormality criteria.

Objectives: The goal of the present work is to present a novel methodology for the extraction of MBF, MFR and RFR along coronary arteries by means of multimodality image fusion of dynamic PET and CCTA images.

Background: FFR is the reference standard to identify flow-limiting lesions, but its invasiveness limits broad application. New noninvasive methodologies are warranted to stratify patients and guide treatment.

Methods: A group of 16 low-risk CAD subjects who underwent both NH PET and CCTA were analyzed. Image fusion techniques were employed to align the studies and CCTA-derived anatomy used to identify coronaries trajectories. MBF was calculated by means of a 1-tissue compartmental model for the standard vascular territories and along patient-specific vessel paths from the base to the apex of the heart.

Results: Low-risk ranges for MBF. MFR and RFR for LAD, LCX and rPDA were computed for the entire cohort and separated by gender. Computed low-risk ranges were used to assess a prospective patient with suspected CAD.

Conclusions: Our vessel-specific functional indexes and 3D displays offer promise to more closely replicate what is commonly performed during a catheterization session and have the potential of providing effective noninvasive tools for the identification of flow-limiting lesions and image-guided therapy.