C.P. Herbst

Production of radioactive quality assurance phantoms using a standard inkjet printer.

This note proposes the use of a standard inkjet printer to produce radioactive 99mTc phantoms that can be used for routine quality control of gamma cameras. The amount of activity that will be deposited on paper per unit area was predicted and compared to the measured activity. The uniformity of the printouts was compared to the uniformity obtained with a standard 57Co flood source. A scintillation detector connected to a multi-channel analyzer was used to evaluate the uniformity of the printout independently from the gamma camera. Joining two A4 size printed phantoms to create larger sources was evaluated. The spatial resolution obtained with printed sources was compared to that obtained using standard line source techniques. The results indicated that the uniformity of the printed phantoms compared well with those obtained with the 57Co flood source (integral uniformity 2.29% (printed source) and 2.10% (57Co flood source)). There was no difference in the resolution measurements obtained with the printed sources and those obtained with the standard methods. This study demonstrates that affordable phantoms can easily be created to evaluate system uniformity and resolution in any department where a standard PC and inkjet printer are available.

Implementation of a Tc-99m and Ce-139 scanning line source for attenuation correction in SPECT using a dual opposing detector scintillation camera

Image degradation during single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) due to attenuation and Compton scatter of photons can cause clinical image artifacts and will also result in inaccurate quantitative data. Therefore attenuation correction methods recently received wide interest. Transmission imaging can be performed to obtain the attenuation coefficients of a nonhomogeneous attenuating medium accurately. The aim of this study was firstly to evaluate the imaging characteristics of the scanning line source assembly. The results obtained with Tc-99m and Ce-139 were compared. Secondly the calculated attenuation coefficients were compared with known values from literature, using Tc-99m and Ce-139 as transmission sources. Lastly the method of acquiring simultaneous transmission and emission data was investigated. This study shows that an attenuation coefficient map can be obtained using a scanning line source for transmission imaging with a dual opposing detector camera. The imaging characteristics of Tc-99m and Ce-139 as transmission sources are similar. The resolution obtained with the Ce-139 line source was poorer than that obtained with the Tc-99m line source. A linear relationship was found between CT numbers and attenuation coefficients for transmission images using both Tc-99m and Ce-139 line sources. The attenuation coefficient value for water was underestimated by 1% using the Tc-99m transmission source and underestimated by 10% using Ce-139 as transmission source. This underestimation of attenuation coefficient values was also obtained in the human study. A myocardial perfusion study processed without and with attenuation correction clearly demonstrated the effect of the attenuation correction in the inferior myocardial region. The potential of using a scanning line source as transmission source with a dual opposing detector camera has been demonstrated in this study. The transmission source, Ce-139 was successfully introduced in this investigation for simultaneous acquisition of transmission and emission data.

Synthesis and 99mTc labelling of MMI (MIBI) and its ethyl analogue EMI

Abstract A convenient synthesis of MMI (MIBI) and its ethyl analogue EMI was developed. A reliable 99mTc labelling method and easy formulation of these isonitriles are also described. HPLC and ITLC methods indicated acceptable radiochemical purity and stability over 3 h.

A comparison of the acute hemodynamic effects of nifedipine and nisoldipine in patients with ischemic reduced left ventricular function.

Nisoldipine (BAY k 5552) like nifedipine, is a dihidropyridine compound with strong calcium blocking activity. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the absolute hemodynamic effects of these two drugs before and at 30 min, 60 min and 120 min after oral intake in 20 ischemic heart disease patients with radionuclide gated cardiac scintigraphy. No significant change was seen in end diastolic volume index with either of the drugs. With nifedipine the stroke volume index (SVI) increased significantly from the basal value at 30 min (P=0.004) and 60 min (P=0.034) yet not significantly at 120 min. The same trend was seen in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with significant increases at 30 min (P=0.02) and 60 min (P=0.025) yet not at 120 min. The cardiac index increased significantly at 30 min (P=0.001), 60 min (P=0.002) and 120 min (P=0.025) but the latter value was significantly lower than the 30 min value indicating the maximal effect had already passed. With nisoldipine the SVI increased significantly at 60 min (P=0.004) and 120 min (P=0.001) but not at 30 min. These changes were again reflected by a significant increase in LVEF at 60 min (P=0.021) and 120 min (P=0.002) without significant increase at 30 min. The increase in CI was highly significant at 60 min (P=0.003) and 120 min (P=0.001) without significant change at 30 min. Nisoldipine proved to be a potent calcium antagonist with slower onset and longer duration of action than nifedipine.

Evaluation of (o)-[77Br]bromohippuran as renal tubular function agent.

(o)-[77Br]bromohippuran (BHIP) was developed as renal tubular function agent due to its favourable chemical and physical properties and compared to (o)-[131I]iodohippuran (IHIP). Renograms obtained from baboons were compared and absorbed radiation dose calculations performed. Although BHIP showed a delayed kidney uptake and washout pattern, good kidney clearance of the radionuclide was obtained after 30 min. Radiation dose values for BHIP were markedly lower than for IHIP indicating that larger activities of BHIP could be administered to increase counting statistics. BHIP imaging in normal volunteers did however not substantiate the favourable behaviour obtained in the primate.

Determination of right ventricular ejection fraction utilising a radionuclide washout technique

A radionuclide washout technique (WO), for calculation of the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) which is independent of the exact position of the right ventricular region of interest was evaluated and results compared with first pass (FP) and equilibrium gated blood pool (GBP) values. Regression analysis between RVEF values of 24 patients obtained from FP and WO yielded a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.89, while a slightly poorer correlation coefficient was obtained when FP and GBP were compared (r=0.79) and between WO and GBP (r=0.71). No significant difference between RVEF values calculated from the three techniques was found (P<0.05) on inter- and intraobserver level. The radionuclide washout technique yields an accurate determination of RVEF without the necessity of outlining the RV accurately.

The imaging of myocardial perfusion with 81mKr during coronary arteriography

The use of 81mKr was investigated for imaging myocardial perfusion during coronary arteriography using conventional catheters. When the significance of stenosis judged by arteriography is unclear, the effect on tissue perfusion can be established and the contribution to collateral flow by each artery separately evaluated. The distribution of 81mKr, due to its 13-s half-life, represents regional blood flow. In order to evaluate interventions, studies can be repeated at a low radiation risk to patients. A sterile pyrogenfree 81Rb−81Kr generator was developed. With slow infusion, inadequate mixing and streaming takes place due to laminar flow in coronary arteries. Fast intermittent 3-ml 81Kr-dextrose bolus injections convincingly eliminated streaming artefacts. Imaging was performed in 13 patients with a mobile scintillation camera and digital imaging system. Blood flow was calculated using the inert gas washout technique. There was good correlation (r=0.91) between coronary blood flow determinations using 81mKr and 133Xe respectively. The perfusion images correlated well with the coronary angiograms. Total coronary arterial occlusions as demonstrated by arteriography were all shown as perfusion defects during rest. During atrial pacing myocardial flow was increased two-fold in normal coronary arteries and to a lesser extent in arteries with significant disease. The most critical lesion in a branch of a left coronary artery leads to a redistribution of perfusion during pacing.

Evaluation of an uncollimated printed paper transmission source used under scatter limiting conditions

Transmission sources used for image attenuation correction, allowing image quantification, are collimated to reduce scatter. We propose the same effect can be achieved for an uncollimated source by increasing source to patient distance. The aim was to compare planar image performance characteristics and absorbed doses of uncollimated and collimated radioactive printed paper transmission sources. The scatter contribution to the uncollimated (⁹⁹m)Tc source data was evaluated for different combinations of detector phantom distance, detector source distance and phantom source distance. Measurements were performed by increasing the Lucite phantom thickness in 1cm steps to 20 cm. Spatial resolution, detection efficiency and entrance absorbed dose rate were measured for the uncollimated and collimated transmission source images. Results derived from the energy spectra, obtained with the uncollimated transmission source indicate that scatter contribution increases with decreasing detector source distance. The scatter component in the uncollimated transmission images (detector source distances ≥ 60 cm; phantom source distances ≥ 40 cm) was comparable to that obtained with collimated transmission images. Attenuation coefficients obtained compared well (0.168 cm⁻¹ vs. 0.171 cm⁻¹). The full widths at half maxima differed by less than 0.9 mm. The detection efficiency of the uncollimated source was 2.5 times higher than obtained with the collimated source. The entrance absorbed dose obtained from an uncollimated source was 3.75 times larger than that obtained from the collimated source. An uncollimated transmission source (detector source distance ≥ 60 cm) results in acceptable image characteristics and presents a low cost, low dose, high efficiency option for transmission imaging.

Radionuclide determination of absolute LV volumes: interstudy, interobserver and intraobserver variances

The results of 22 absolute left ventricular volume (LVV) determinations by a radionuclide (RN) method are compared to the results obtained by contrast ventriculography (CV). Another 10 patients were analysed in order to evaluate the interstudy, interobserver and intraobserver variances. Good correlation was shown between the RN and CV measurements of the end diastolic volume (EDV), end systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF), but the RN method overestimates the EDV and ESV. The EF was underestimated, but no difference could be shown for the SV. On the inter- and intraobserver levels, regression analysis yielded excellent correlation (r greater than 0.99 in all cases) with no statistically significant difference (P less than 0.05). The interstudy variance was minimal as indicated by regression analysis (r greater than 0.87) and no statistically significant difference (P less than 0.05) could be shown between studies. The results indicate that the RN method of LVV determination can be used in intervention studies over a limited period.

Optimization of Exposure Factors and Image Quality for Computed Radiography

The aim of this research was to optimise the Computed Radiography (CR) system at Universitas Hospital by establishing baseline exposure levels for an Automatic Ex- posure Control (AEC) system and to investigate the relation- ship between the CR reader system generated logarithmic mean (lgM) value and the corresponding quality of the radio- graphic image.