Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2025
High-Resolution Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Small Animals
Published on: December 16, 2022
Lung-to-heart ratio analysis using virtual planar images obtained from myocardial perfusion SPECT data: A phantom and
Akira Imoto1, Emi Tateishi2, Keizo Murakawa2
1Department of Radiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka, Japan. aimoto@ncvc.go.jp.
Backgrounds:
The lung-to-heart ratio (L/H ratio) in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) is a useful marker that complements the sensitivity of ischemia detection. However, it requires planar imaging acquired following a separate protocol in addition to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We developed a novel method for constructing virtual planar image (VPI) from SPECT data.
Methods:
Myocardial phantoms using Tl-201 were built with different amounts of radioactivity in the lungs. SPECT data and conventional planar images of these phantoms were collected with an Anger-type gamma camera. VPIs were constructed by adding all coronal images reconstructed from SPECT data. The clinical utility of VPIs obtained from 52 patients who underwent MPS with Tc-99m sestamibi was evaluated.
Results:
The radioactivity linearity of VPIs was satisfactory, with a correlation coefficient of r ≥ .99 between the measured amounts of radioactivity and image counts. The L/H ratios obtained from VPI analysis were strongly correlated with those of conventional planar images with a correlation coefficient of r ≥ .99 in the phantom study and r = .929 in clinical application.
Conclusion:
The accuracy of VPI-based L/H ratio analysis was comparable to that of conventional planar image-based analysis. VPIs could be used as an alternative method of obtaining planar images in clinical settings.
