High-contrast film copying for thallium 201 cardiac image processing

To evaluate the usefulness of high-contrast film copying as an economical means of enhancing contrast in thallium 201 cardiac images, stress and rest studies of 47 patients with and 19 patients without coronary artery disease were evaluated. A total of 66 sets of four different image formats were independently interpreted by five observers. The analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curves suggested that the high-contrast film copies were superior to their original analog images and comparable with computer-processed images in diagnostic yield. It appears that contrast enhancement by simple film copying can improve the accuracy of 201Tl image interpretation.