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Misalignment between PET transmission and emission scans: its effect on myocardial imaging
M E McCord1, S L Bacharach, R O Bonow
1National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Summary
Patient movement during PET scans causes misalignment, leading to significant errors in myocardial activity quantification. Even a 2-cm shift can alter results by up to 30%, potentially causing misinterpretations.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Nuclear Medicine
- Cardiology
Background:
- Patient motion between PET scanning sequences can cause misalignment between attenuation and emission scans.
- This misalignment introduces significant errors in the emission image, affecting quantitative analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the severity of errors caused by misalignment in myocardial PET scans.
- To assess the effect of misalignment on the quantitation of regional myocardial activity.
Main Methods:
- Myocardial FDG scans from 14 patients were analyzed.
- Simulated translational, rotational, and out-of-plane patient movements were introduced.
- Eight myocardial regions per patient were examined to quantify the impact of misalignment.
Main Results:
- A 2-cm shift between attenuation and emission scans resulted in up to a 30% change in regional myocardial activity.
- Misalignment caused anomalous regional inhomogeneities, with some areas increasing and others decreasing in activity.
- These changes could lead to qualitative and quantitative misinterpretations of myocardial scans.
Conclusions:
- Patient movement during PET scans significantly impacts the accuracy of myocardial activity quantitation.
- The study provides data to help clinicians assess the magnitude of these errors in their practice.
- Accurate alignment is crucial for reliable interpretation of myocardial PET imaging.