Background Recently introduced high-efficiency (HE) SPECT cameras with solid-state CZT detectors have been shown to decrease imaging time and reduce radiation exposure to patients. An automated, computer derived quantification of HE MPI has been shown to correlate well with coronary angiography on one HE SPECT camera system (D-SPECT), but has not been compared to visual interpretation on any of the HE SPECT platforms. Methods Patients undergoing a clinically indicated Tc-99m sestamibi HE SPECT (GE Discovery 530c with supine and prone imaging) study over a one year period followed by a coronary angiogram within 2 months were included. Only patients with a history of CABG surgery were excluded. Both MPI studies and coronary angiograms were reinterpreted by blinded readers. One hundred and twenty two very low (risk of CAD < 5%) or low (risk of CAD < 10%) likelihood subjects with normal myocardial perfusion were used to create normal reference limits. Computer derived quantification of the total perfusion deficit (TPD) at stress and rest was obtained with QPS software. The visual and automated MPI quantification were compared to coronary angiography (≥ 70% luminal stenosis) by receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. Results Of the 3,111 patients who underwent HE SPECT over a one year period, 160 patients qualified for the correlation study (66% male, 52% with a history of CAD). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) was similar for both the automated and visual interpretations using both supine only and combined supine and prone images (0.69-0.74). Using thresholds determined from sensitivity and specificity curves, the automated reads showed higher specificity (59-67% versus 27-60%) and lower sensitivity (71-72% versus 79-93%) than the visual reads. By including prone images sensitivity decreased slightly but specificity increased for both. By excluding patients with known CAD and cardiomyopathies, AUC and specificity increased for both techniques (0.72-0.82). The use of a difference score to evaluate ischemic burden resulted in lower sensitivities but higher specificities for both automated and visual quantification. There was good agreement between the visual interpretation and automated quantification in the entire cohort of 160 unselected consecutive patients (r = 0.70-0.81, p < 0.0001). Conclusions Automated and visual quantification of high-efficiency SPECT MPI with the GE Discovery camera provide similar overall diagnostic accuracy when compared to coronary angiography. There was good correlation between the two methods of assessment. Combined supine and prone stress imaging provided the best diagnostic accuracy.

Background Ejection fraction (EF) reserve has been found to be a useful adjunct for identifying high risk coronary artery disease in cardiac positron emission tomography (PET). We aimed to evaluate EF reserve obtained from technetium-99m sestamibi (Tc-99m) high-efficiency (HE) SPECT. Methods Fifty patients (mean age 69 y) undergoing regadenoson same-day rest (8–11 mCi)/stress (32–42mCi) Tc-99m gated HE SPECT were enrolled. Stress imaging was started one min after sequential intravenous regadenoson 0.4mg and Tc-99m injection, and was composed of five 2 min supine gated acquisitions followed by two 4 min supine and upright images. Ischemic total perfusion deficit (ITPD) ≥ 5 % was considered as significant ischemia. Results Significantly lower mean EF reserve was obtained in the 5th and 9th min after regadenoson bolus in patients with significant ischemia versus patients without (5th min: −4.2 ± 4.6% vs. 1.3 ± 6.6%, p = 0.006; 9th min: −2.7 ± 4.8% vs. 2.0 ± 6.6%, p = 0.03). Conclusions Negative EF reserve obtained between 5th and 9th min of regadenoson stress demonstrated best concordance with significant ischemia and may be a promising tool for detection of myocardial stunning with Tc-99m HE-SPECT.

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