[Radionuclide ventriculography. I. Fundamentals and methods (author's transl)]

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Assessing cardiac function and regional myocardial motion is crucial for diagnosing heart conditions.
• Traditional methods may face challenges with background inhomogeneity and accurate contour determination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel method for evaluating local heart wall motion using time activity curves.
• To enable precise determination of heart cavity contours and assessment of segmental wall motion abnormalities.
• To accurately calculate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) even with background inhomogeneity.

Main Methods:

• Calculation of functional parameters derived from local time activity curves.
• Utilizing these parameters to define heart cavity contours.
• Employing a specific method for LVEF calculation based on end-diastolic and end-systolic counts.
• Incorporating a technique to account for background signal inhomogeneity.

Main Results:

• The developed method allows for the calculation of parameters directly related to local myocardial wall motion.
• Accurate determination of heart chamber contours was achieved.
• Segmental wall motion disorders could be effectively assessed.
• Left ventricular ejection fraction was calculated reliably, even in the presence of background inhomogeneity.

Conclusions:

• Local time activity curves provide valuable parameters for assessing cardiac mechanics.
• The proposed method offers an effective approach for evaluating heart cavity contours and segmental wall motion.
• This technique enhances the accuracy of left ventricular ejection fraction calculation, addressing challenges posed by background inhomogeneity.