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A Real-Time System for Multi-Image Gated Cardiac Studies

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Stephen L. Bacharach, Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 10, Room 1B38B, Bethesda, MD 20014.

ABSTRACT

A minicomputer-based system is described that allows real-time construction and simultaneous display, in flicker-free movie format, of a cardiac-cycle-spanning sequence of ECG-gated scintigraphic images. In as little as 2 min, the endless-loop flicker-free movie clearly displays cardiac anatomy, time-dependent volume variations of cardiac chambers, and abnormalities of cardiac wall motion that would be difficult or impossible to detect from static gated images. Simultaneously, a time-activity curve with high temporal resolution can be generated from a previously defined region of interest, thereby quantifying additional parameters of cardiac function. Because the movie and time-activity curve are displayed in real time and require only a short data-collection interval to achieve statistical reliability, the physician can use the system interactively, modifying the form, intensity, or duration of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on the observed response. This system is well suited for intervention studies, for continuous cardiac monitoring, and for the rapid screening of patients with suspected cardiac disease.