title: Ventilation/perfusion SPECT/CT in patients with pulmonary emphysema. Evaluation of software-based analysing.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of a new software based analysing system for ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (V/P SPECT/CT) in patients with pulmonary emphysema and to compare it to the visual interpretation.
  
  
  METHODS
  19 patients (mean age: 68.1 years) with pulmonary emphysema who underwent V/P SPECT/CT were included. Data were analysed by two independent observers in visual interpretation (VI) and by software based analysis system (SBAS). SBAS PMOD version 3.4 (Technologies Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland) was used to assess counts and volume per lung lobe/per lung and to calculate the count density per lung, lobe ratio of counts and ratio of count density. VI was performed using a visual scale to assess the mean counts per lung lobe. Interobserver variability and association for SBAS and VI were analysed using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interobserver agreement correlated highly in perfusion (rho: 0.982, 0.957, 0.90, 0.979) and ventilation (rho: 0.972, 0.924, 0.941, 0.936) for count/count density per lobe and ratio of counts/count density in SBAS. Interobserver agreement correlated clearly for perfusion (rho: 0.655) and weakly for ventilation (rho: 0.458) in VI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SBAS provides more reproducible measures than VI for the relative tracer uptake in V/P SPECT/CTs in patients with pulmonary emphysema. However, SBAS has to be improved for routine clinical use.
authors: Dr. N. F. Schreiter, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin - Department of Nuclear Medicine, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany, E-maiol: nils.schreiter@charite.de.
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Schreiter
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Steffen
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Huebner
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Bredow
authors: U
authors: U
authors: Heimann
authors: T J
authors: TJ
authors: Kroencke
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Poellinger
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Doellinger
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Buchert
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Hamm
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Brenner
authors: N F
authors: NF
authors: Schreiter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012984:Software; D012986:Software Validation; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio
keywords: V/P SPECT/CT; pulmonary emphysema; software-based analysing