Abstract
Background
A phantom assembly that simulates the respiratory motion of the heart was used to investigate artifacts and their impact on defect detection.
Methods
SPECT/CT images were acquired for phantoms with and without small and large cardiac defects during normal and deep breathing, and also at four static respiratory phases. Acquisitions were reconstructed with and without AC, and with misalignment of transmission and emission scans. A quantitative analysis was performed to assess artifacts. Two physicians reported on defect presence or absence and their results were evaluated.
Results
All large defects were correctly reported. Attenuation reduced uptake in the basal LV walls, increasing FN physicians’ reports for small defects. Respiratory motion reduced uptake mainly in the anterior and inferior walls increasing FP and FN reports on images without and with small defects, respectively. Artifacts due to misalignment between CT and SPECT scans in normal breathing phantoms did not influence the physicians’ reports.
Conclusions
Attenuation and respiratory motion correction should be applied to reduce artifacts before reporting on small defects in deep breathing conditions. Artifacts due to misalignment between CT and SPECT scans do not affect defect detection in normal breathing when the LV is co-registered in SPECT and CT images prior to AC.
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Abbreviations
- SPECT:
-
Single-photon emission computed tomography
- CT:
-
Computed tomography
- AC:
-
Attenuation correction
- MPI:
-
Myocardial perfusion imaging
- PLC:
-
Programmable logic controller
- RM:
-
Respiratory motion
- LV:
-
Left ventricle
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the staff of the Nuclear Medicine Departments of the Nicosia and Limassol General Hospitals (A. Mormoris, Ch. Christodoulou, L. Lambrou, Ch. Charalambous, C. Ioannou, N. Fasouliotis, A. Panayi, K. Hadjitofi, D. Demetriou) for helping in acquisitions. The Project ΥΓΕΙΑ/ΔΥΓΕΙΑ/0311(ΒΙΕ)/27, with Host Organization the Frederick Research Center and Partner Organizations the Cyprus Ministry of Health and the King’s College London, was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research Promotion Foundation.
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Authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.
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See related editorial, doi:10.1007/s12350-016-0428-0.
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Chrysanthou-Baustert, I., Polycarpou, I., Demetriadou, O. et al. Characterization of attenuation and respiratory motion artifacts and their influence on SPECT MP image evaluation using a dynamic phantom assembly with variable cardiac defects. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 24, 698–707 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-015-0378-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-015-0378-y