Assessment of myocardial perfusion, metabolism and pharmacology using positron emission tomography.

Positron emission tomography is a non-invasive radionuclide imaging technique which enables in vivo assessment of regional cardiac function. When used with appropriate radiotracers and kinetic models, it can provide quantitative measurements of myocardial perfusion, metabolism and pharmacology. The development of quantitative measurements should help to decrease much of the ambiguity in the interpretation of data that often occurs. The short half-life of the radionuclides used allows the imaging of more than one function to be performed conveniently within the same scanning session with a low radiation dose to the subject. This integrated approach provides a means for investigating in vivo the physiology and pathophysiology of the human heart.