Comparison between manual and automated techniques for assessment of data from dynamic antral scintigraphy

This work aimed at determining whether data from dynamic antral scintigraphy (DAS) yielded by a simple, manual technique are as accurate as those generated by a conventional automated technique (fast Fourier transform) for assessing gastric contractility.

Seventy-one stretches (4 min) of "activity versus time" curves obtained by DAS from 10 healthy volunteers and 11 functional dyspepsia patients, after ingesting a liquid meal (320 ml, 437 kcal) labeled with technetium-99m (99mTc)-phytate, were independently analyzed by manual and automated techniques.

Data obtained by both techniques for the frequency of antral contractions were similar. Contraction amplitude determined by the manual technique was significantly higher than that estimated by the automated method, in both patients and controls. The contraction frequency 30 min post-meal was significantly lower in patients than in controls, which was correctly shown by both techniques.

A manual technique using ordinary resources of the gamma camera workstation, despite yielding higher figures for the amplitude of gastric contractions, is as accurate as the conventional automated technique of DAS analysis. These findings may favor a more intensive use of DAS coupled to gastric emptying studies, which would provide a more comprehensive assessment of gastric motor function in disease.