Dedicated cardiac cameras: a new option for nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging

Excerpt

Among non-invasive methods for the assessment of ischaemic heart disease, myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using SPECT tracers is firmly established; it allows one to obtain quantifiable and cost-effective information for the management of patients with suspected or proven coronary artery disease (CAD). In clinical practice, MPI for evaluating regional myocardial blood flow and viability under rest or stress conditions has emerged with two clear roles: diagnosis of CAD and assessment of prognosis in patients with known CAD [1]. In fact, MPI provides clinical benefit in the initial evaluation of patients with suspected, but unproven CAD, and in those patients where a diagnosis of CAD has been established and prognostic information on long-term outcomes is required, also for making the most appropriate treatment decisions. …