The performance of phase analysis of gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging in the presence of perfusion defects: a simulation study.
BACKGROUND
Phase analysis has been developed and validated to measure left-ventricular dyssynchrony from gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging. The purpose of this study is to evaluate its performance in regions with perfusion defects.


METHODS
A special version of the eXtended CArdiac Torso digital phantom was developed to track B-spline points in each temporal frame. A region of 35 B-spline points in the inferior wall with normal and abnormal perfusion uptakes were simulated. Phase shifts were simulated in the same region, representing dyssynchronous contraction. Gated SPECT data were analyzed using a modified phase analysis algorithm, which tracked the same 35 B-spline points to calculate their phases.


RESULTS
Phases and phase shifts measured in the B-spline points with perfusion uptake in the range of 50%-10% did not significantly differ from those measured in the same B-spline points with normal perfusion uptake.


CONCLUSIONS
Phase analysis can accurately measure phases in regions with abnormal perfusion uptake as low as 10% of the perfusion uptake in the normal regions, which corresponded to a regional signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 12.0 or greater. In 42 consecutive patients with myocardial infarction >20% of the left ventricle, only two patients had a SNR within the perfusion defects below that threshold.
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Alice
A
Cheung
Yanli
Y
Zhou
Tracy L
TL
Faber
Ernest V
EV
Garcia
Lei
L
Zhu
Ji
J
Chen
D000465:Algorithms; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology