An automatic alignment tool to improve repeatability of left ventricular function and dyssynchrony parameters in serial gated myocardial perfusion SPECT studies

• Authors: Yanli Zhou, Emory University; Tracy L. Faber, Emory University; Zenic Patel, Emory University; Russell Folks, Emory University; Alice A. Cheung, Emory University; Ernest V Garcia, Emory University; Prem Soman, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Dianfu Li, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University; Kejiang Cao, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University; Ji Chen, Emory University
• Journal Title: Nuclear Medicine Communications
• Volume: Volume 34, Number 2
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins | 2013-02, Pages 124-129
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1097/MNM.0b013e32835c08c1
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Radiology; Health Sciences, General
• Keywords: gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography; left ventricular dyssynchrony; left ventricular function

Abstract

Objective Left ventricular (LV) function and dyssynchrony parameters measured from serial gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using blinded processing had a poorer repeatability than when manual side-by-side processing was used. The objective of this study was to validate whether an automatic alignment tool can reduce the variability of LV function and dyssynchrony parameters in serial gated SPECT MPI. Methods Thirty patients who had undergone serial gated SPECT MPI were prospectively enrolled in this study. Thirty minutes after the first acquisition, each patient was repositioned and a gated SPECT MPI image was reacquired. The two data sets were first processed blinded from each other by the same technologist in different weeks. These processed data were then realigned by the automatic tool, and manual side-by-side processing was carried out. All processing methods used standard iterative reconstruction and Butterworth filtering. The Emory Cardiac Toolbox was used to measure the LV function and dyssynchrony parameters. Results The automatic tool failed in one patient, who had a large, severe scar in the inferobasal wall. In the remaining 29 patients, the repeatability of the LV function and dyssynchrony parameters after automatic alignment was significantly improved from blinded processing and was comparable to manual side-by-side processing. Conclusion The automatic alignment tool can be an alternative method to manual side-by-side processing to improve the repeatability of LV function and dyssynchrony measurements by serial gated SPECT MPI.