Background: Respiratory motion (RM) complicates the analysis of myocardial perfusion (MP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. The effects of RM on left ventricular (LV) functional variables have not been thoroughly investigated.
Methods and results: Thoracic electrical bioimpedance and electrocardiographic signals were recorded from eighteen patients undergoing the rest phase of a 1-day stress/rest cardiac-gated MP-SPECT examination. The signals and list-mode emission data were retrospectively processed to yield standard cardiac- and dual-gated (respiratory and cardiac gating) image sets applying a novel algorithm. LV volume, MP, shape index (SI), wall motion (WM), wall thickening (WT), and phase analysis parameters were measured with Quantitative Perfusion SPECT/Quantitative Gated SPECT software (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center). Image quality was evaluated by three experienced physicians. Dual gating increased LV volume (77.1 ± 26.8 vs 79.8 ± 27.6 mL, P = .006) and decreased SI (0.57 ± 0.05 vs 0.56 ± 0.05, P = .036) and global WT (39.0 ± 11.8% vs 36.9 ± 9.4%, P = .034) compared to cardiac gating, but did not significantly alter perfusion, WM or phase analysis parameters or image quality (P > .05).
Conclusions: RM reduction has an effect on LV volume, shape, and WT parameters. RM exerts no significant effect on phase analysis parameters.
Keywords: Myocardial perfusion: SPECT; gated SPECT; left ventricular function; respiratory motion.