A New Approach to the Presentation of Myocardial SPECT Images—Radial Slices—Data Reduction without Loss of Information

Abstract

Objective: SPECT data from myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) are normally displayed as a set of three slices orthogonal to the left ventricular (LV) long axis. For data presentation, the images are orientated about the LV long axis. Therefore, radial slices provide a suitable alternative to standard orthogonal slices, with the advantage of requiring fewer slices to adequately represent the data. In this study, a semi-automatic method is developed for displaying MPI SPECT data as a set of radial slices orientated about the LV axis. The aim is to reduce the number of slices viewed without loss of information and independently from the heart size. Method: Standard short axis slices, orientated perpendicular to the LV axis, are utilized.The skeleton of the segmented myocardium is found and the true LV axis is determined in each central long slice. The LV axis of the whole volume is determined by aligning the axes of all slices. Result: Radial slices centered about this axis were generated by integration over a sector equal to the resolution of the imaging system which was of the order of 1.2 cm. Therefore, assuming a mean LV diameter of 8 cm, 20 slices were sufficient to represent a non-gated study. Gated information could be adequately displayed with 4 slices integrated over an angle of 45. Conclusion: A semi-automatic method for generating radial slices from SPECT MPI short axis slices has been developed.