[Regional myocardial blood flow quantitatively measured using O-15 water and dynamic positron emission tomography]

This study was performed to measure regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) quantitatively using dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) and O-15 water. The subjects consisted of two normal volunteers, four patients with normal coronary angiograms (CAG), two patients with angina pectoris (3-vessel disease) and three patients with myocardial infarction. O-15 water (15-20 mCi) was injected via the cubital vein in a bolus, and dynamic PET was performed. MBF was calculated according to the method of Iida. The region of interest (ROI) was selected on the left ventricular wall (septum, anterior and lateral walls) and MBF was calculated in each ROI. In normal volunteers, MBF was 1.07 to 1.17 ml/g/min. It was 0.96 to 1.02 ml/g/min in patients with normal CAG, and 0.53 to 0.64 ml/g/min in patients with angina pectoris in the ischemic area. In patients with myocardial infarction, MBF was so diminished in the infarcted area as detected by 2-DE or ECG that the absolute value was almost 0 ml/g/min. In patients with angina pectoris, there was no definite defect on the MBF image, but we could estimate the severity of coronary stenosis by quantifying the MBF. The clinical advantages of this method include estimation of the severity of coronary arterial stenosis in the resting state.