Scintigraphic measurement of left-ventricular volumes from the count-density distribution

An experimental model was developed using ellipsoidal balloons of different volumes to derive an empirical formula linking the "normalized" total count rates on gamma-camera images to volume. The normalized total count rate (NTC) is defined as the total count rate divided by the maximum count density. If an object is at a constant distance from the collimator, the NTC is found to be a linear function of volume. This formula was then applied to calculate left-ventricular end-diastolic volume from scintigraphic images obtained by radionuclide ventriculography in 71 consecutive patients. The distance from the left ventricle to the collimator was estimated from the patient's height and weight. The volumes calculated by the radionuclide method were compared with angiographic volumes obtained at cardiac catheterization, and good correlation was found (r = 0.95).