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Feasibility of Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction Calculation Using Electrocardiographically Gated SPECT Acquisition of
Erik T Te Beek1, Albert Lafeber1, Jan W A Postema1
1From the Departments of Nuclear Medicine.
Insights
Bone scintigraphy with electrocardiographically gated SPECT can assess left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in cardiac amyloidosis. This method offers feasible LVEF estimations comparable to echocardiography.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Medicine
- Cardiology
- Cardiac Imaging
Background:
- Cardiac amyloidosis is a progressive disease affecting heart function.
- Accurate assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is crucial for managing cardiac amyloidosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of analyzing left ventricle function using electrocardiographically gated SPECT during bone scintigraphy in patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis.
- To assess the accuracy of LVEF estimations derived from this technique compared to echocardiography.
Main Methods:
- Bone scintigraphy was performed in 6 patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis.
- Electrocardiographically gated SPECT acquisition was added to assess left ventricle function.
- LVEF was automatically determined from the gated SPECT data.
Main Results:
- Cardiac-gated SPECT data showed adequate tracer uptake for myocardial contour determination.
- LVEF estimations ranged from 24% to 54%.
- LVEF measurements from gated SPECT generally showed small differences compared to prior echocardiography.
Conclusions:
- Electrocardiographically gated SPECT acquisition during bone scintigraphy is feasible for LVEF analysis in cardiac amyloidosis.
- This technique provides meaningful LVEF estimates that are comparable to echocardiography.
- The method may help monitor disease progression or treatment response.
Abstract:
We performed bone scintigraphy in 6 patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis. To evaluate feasibility of left ventricle function analysis, we additionally performed electrocardiographically gated SPECT acquisition. The cardiac-gated SPECT data confirmed adequate tracer uptake for automatic myocardial contour determination. LVEF estimations ranged between 24% and 54%. Comparison with LVEF estimations from prior echocardiography generally showed only small differences. In one patient, the LVEF measurements from both methods seemed discordant, probably reflecting actual LVEF worsening, which was confirmed at follow-up echocardiography. Therefore, our results may suggest that cardiac-gated SPECT acquisition at bone scintigraphy can provide meaningful estimates of LVEF.
