Excerpt

Electrocardiography (ECG)-gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) has played an important role in assessments of myocardial perfusion and function.1,2 These assessments provide important information about patients’ prognoses and treatment effects in various cardiovascular diseases. Various functional parameters including the left ventricular (LV) volume and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) have been well validated.3 However, there are some limitations regarding the quantification of the LVEF by gated myocardial perfusion SPECT. Each functional parameter may vary depending on the SPECT reconstruction methods, reconstruction filters, and software application.4-6 The relatively low spatial resolution of nuclear cardiology images may make it difficult to visualize small objects, such as the LV cavity of a small ventricle, particularly at end-systolic phase. Consequently, the left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) is underestimated and the LVEF is overestimated.7 …