Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using Different Radionuclides

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Medicine - Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, grade: 5.0, University of Michigan, language: English, abstract: Myocardial perfusion imaging specifically requires the use of radionuclides as tracers which are taken up and held on to by the cardiac muscles. The end result of the uptake of radioactive tracers is a three dimensional objective image which is quantifiable as it shows the intensity of tracer uptake within the myocardium (atrial or ventricular). The intensity of the tracer at any point on the image directly implies either blood flow sufficiency (perfusion) to that portion of the myocardium; of the ratio of live myocardium to fibrosed regions; or both. On this image, regions of ischemia or infarction appear as 'cold spots'. In actual practice, the tracer intensity or concentration on the image is normalised to a normal myocardial region, that is, the region that shows the most radiotracer uptake. Therefore, the myocardial perfusion image can be said to be an image of relative perfusion of the myocardium.