Prognostic Value of Myocardial Perfusion Heterogeneity in Normal SPECT Studies

SPECT imaging protocol and analysis Stress tests and SPECTs are performed according to the routine protocols in use in our center. Briefly, at peak stress, patients were injected with thallium-201. Five to 10 minutes after stress, a 5-minutes supine acquisition was performed followed by a 5-minutes prone acquisition. Subsequently, technetium-99m-sestamibi was injected, and 2 minutes later a single 5-minutes rest acquisition was performed. During stress acquisition, patients were imaged in supine and prone positions with their arms positioned over their head. The rest acquisition was only acquired in supine position. The gated SPECT studies were performed at each acquisition. Injected activity (IA) was adjusted for patient weight. For weights of <80 kg/ 80-100 kg/>100 kg, thallium-201 IAs were 74/92/111 MBq and technetium-99m-sestamibi IAs were 300/370/450 MBq, respectively. A uniform imaging pre-treatment for the reconstruction of raw myocardial perfusion imaging data was applied, and images were reconstructed and reoriented to obtain transaxial sections of the left ventricle according to the three standard cardiac planes.

In this study, we use a new mathematic technique from entropy analysis to provide precise, objective, automated quantification of perfusion heterogeneity at stress with camera SPECT. This method may be a non-invasive imaging to assess coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Inclusion criteria

• Age > 18 years
• Clinical indication for myocardial perfusion imaging

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding women
• Myocardial perfusion abnormalities with SSS > 4