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Published on: August 8, 2019
Advantages of list-mode data acquisition in gated blood-pool studies
E G DePuey1, J J Almasi, R L Eisner
1Baylor College of Medicine, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, and the Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Insights
List-mode acquisition improves left ventricular volume curves, especially during the diastolic filling phase. This method accurately captures data, including the atrial kick, even in patients with arrhythmias.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular imaging
- Cardiac MRI
- Echocardiography
Background:
- Gated cardiac imaging is crucial for assessing left ventricular function.
- Physiologic variability and arrhythmias can compromise image acquisition accuracy.
- Frame-mode acquisition may lead to errors in volume curve calculation, particularly in diastole.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the accuracy of frame-mode versus list-mode acquisition for left ventricular volume curves.
- To evaluate the impact of arrhythmias on gated imaging techniques.
- To determine the optimal acquisition mode for reliable cardiac function assessment.
Main Methods:
- Gated cardiac imaging was performed on 18 patients in sinus rhythm using both frame-mode and list-mode acquisition.
- Volume curves were analyzed for systolic and diastolic phases.
- List-mode acquisition was also applied to patients with various arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation.
Main Results:
- Systolic portions of volume curves were similar between frame and list modes, with high ejection fraction correlation (R = 0.97).
- Frame-mode acquisition showed data dropout in late diastole in 15 patients.
- List-mode acquisition successfully delineated the atrial kick and avoided diastolic data dropout, providing complete volume curves.
Conclusions:
- List-mode acquisition provides superior left ventricular volume curves compared to frame-mode.
- List-mode is particularly advantageous for accurate assessment in patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
- This technique enhances the reliability of diastolic filling phase analysis.
Abstract:
Because of physiologic R-R interval variability and arrhythmia, frame-mode acquisition of gated images may produce erroneous left ventricular volume curves, particularly in the diastolic filling phase. Eighteen patients in sinus rhythm underwent gated imaging in which both frame-mode and list-mode acquisitions were used. The systolic portions of the volume curves were similar in both studies, and the ejection fractions correlated well (R = 0.97). "Dropout" of data in the late diastolic phase, noted in 15 patients in whom frame mode was used, was not present in list mode, in which the atrial kick was clearly delineated. In additional patients with various arrhythmias, separate volume curves were obtained with list mode for premature, post-premature, and sinus beats. In patients with atrial fibrillation, a prominent peak mid-range on the R-R histogram was selected, and a complete volume curve was obtained. It was concluded that list-mode acquisition provided improved volume curves, with particular applicability in arrhythmic patients.
