New software for raw data mask processing increases diagnostic ability of myocardial SPECT imaging

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Medical Imaging
• Radiopharmacology

Background:

• Technetium-99m myocardial perfusion imaging is crucial for diagnosing heart conditions.
• High tracer uptake in the liver and hepatobiliary system can cause streak artifacts, compromising diagnostic accuracy.
• Existing methods struggle to adequately correct for these artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel raw data masking (RDM) software to mitigate streak artifacts in technetium-99m myocardial perfusion imaging.
• To assess the software's ability to improve image quality and diagnostic reliability in the presence of hepatic and other organ accumulation artifacts.

Main Methods:

• A heart phantom (RH-2) was used, with Model A having standard tracer levels and Model B having ten times higher levels overlapping other organs.
• Raw data masking (RDM) software was applied to phantom and clinical datasets.
• Analysis involved comparing vertical and circumferential profile variances before and after RDM application.

Main Results:

• RDM significantly reduced profile variances in both phantom models and clinical cases with streak artifacts (P < 0.05) and hepatic accumulation artifacts (P < 0.01).
• In clinical images, RDM improved the accuracy of assessing myocardial uptake, with no significant difference between RDM-processed images and standard imaging times.
• The software enabled batch processing and shifted the myocardium to the center of rotation, streamlining the workflow.

Conclusions:

• The developed RDM software effectively reduces artifacts in technetium-99m myocardial perfusion imaging.
• Implementing RDM can decrease the required waiting time between tracer infusion and image acquisition, reducing patient burden.
• This technology holds the potential to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of myocardial perfusion imaging procedures.