An improved model for the measurement of myocardial perfusion in human beings using N-13 ammonia.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2005
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oxygen 15 water and nitrogen 13 ammonia are widely used for the quantitative measurement of myocardial perfusion with positron emission tomography. However, blood flow obtained with N-13 ammonia by use of the conventional 2-compartment model frequently underestimates flow by 30% to 50% compared with O-15 water. We hypothesized that this discrepancy is a result of the model configuration of N-13 ammonia and investigated changes to the mathematical model to determine whether more accurate measurements of perfusion could be obtained.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Twelve healthy volunteers were sequentially studied with O-15 water and N-13 ammonia at rest and during maximal coronary vasodilation with adenosine. Perfusion measurements obtained with the conventional and modified models were compared with values obtained with O-15 water. The conventional N-13 ammonia model underestimated flow by 37% +/- 16% at rest and by 20% +/- 24% with stress when compared with flows obtained with O-15 water. The modified model yielded flow values closer to the line of identity than the conventional model (y = 1.07x + 0.04 vs y = 0.69x + 0.08; respectively; P < .01).
CONCLUSIONS: Model changes made N-13 ammonia myocardial blood flow estimates more comparable to those obtained with O-15 and may allow for better comparison of flows obtained with these two tracers in the future. Further efforts are warranted to evaluate the accuracy of flow models in human subjects.
Volume
12
Issue
3
First Page
311
Last Page
317
ISSN
1071-3581
Published In/Presented At
Hickey, Kathleen T et al. “An improved model for the measurement of myocardial perfusion in human beings using N-13 ammonia.” Journal of nuclear cardiology : official publication of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology vol. 12,3 (2005): 311-7. doi:10.1016/j.nuclcard.2005.01.010
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
15944536
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article