Reduced acquisition times for measurement of myocardial blood flow with Tc-tetrofosmin and solid-state detector SPECT.

BACKGROUND

Measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) is feasible using SPECT imaging but the acquisition requires more time than usual. Our study assessed the impact of reducing acquisition times on the accuracy and repeatability of the uptake rate constant (K1).

METHODS

Twenty-nine patients underwent two rest/stress studies with Tc-99m-tetrofosmin 18 ± 13 days apart, using a one-day rest/stress dynamic SPECT imaging protocol with a solid-state cardiac camera. A 5-minute static image was acquired prior to tracer injection for subtraction of residual activity, followed immediately by 11-minute of list-mode data collection. Static image acquisition times of 0.5, 1, and 3 minutes and dynamic imaging times of 5, 7, and 9 minutes were simulated by truncating list-mode data. Images were reconstructed with/without attenuation correction and with/without motion correction. Kinetic parameters were calculated using a 1-tissue-compartment model.

RESULTS

K1 increased with reduced dynamic but not static imaging time (P < 0.001). The increase in K1 for a 9-minute scan was small (4.7 ± 5.3%) compared with full-length studies. The repeatability of K1 did not change significantly (13 ± 12%, P > 0.17).

CONCLUSIONS

A shortened imaging protocol of 3-minute (rest) or 30-second (stress) static image acquisition and 9 minutes of dynamic image acquisition altered K1 by less than 5% compared to a previously validated 11-minute acquisition.