[Three-dimensional display of 99mTc-MIBI myocardial scintigraphy]

One of 99mTc-hexakis, 99mTc-methoxyisobutyl isonitrile (MIBI), has been demonstrated to have a myocardial uptake proportional to regional coronary blood flow. In this study, 99mTc-MIBI myocardial scintigraphy were performed for 16 patients with ischemic heart disease. After injection of 740 MBq of 99mTc-MIBI, 64 projection images were collected during a 360-degree rotation. Three-dimensional (3D) display of the left ventricle was reconstructed with depth-shading method from 99mTc-MIBI SPECT images, which were reconstructed by filtered back projection method. In 9 of the patients, left ventricular cineangiography were performed as diagnostic gold standard. Four physicians blinded to patients' clinical informations interpreted 3D images and SPECT images on separate occasions. Diagnosis of hypoperfusion by 3D displays agreed with those of SPECT in 92.9% (104/112 segments), and disagreed in 7.1% (8 segments). Sensitivity and specificity of 3D images were 87.0 and 93.9%, which were not statistically different (p less than 0.05) from that of SPECT images (91.3, 97.0%). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed nearly identical curves for the two. Although 3D display had nearly identical diagnostic ability with SPECT, observers reported that 3D images were easier to diagnose than SPECT images. An advantage of the 3D display is that the display gives a more realistic impression of the left ventricle to an observer than tomography or planar imaging. Another advantage is that 3D display can reduce the amount of data storage compared with that of SPECT. In conclusion, 3D images may be useful for diagnosis of hypoperfusion of left ventricle.