PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chareonthaitawee, Panithaya
AU  - Christenson, Stuart D.
AU  - Anderson, Jill L.
AU  - Kemp, Brad J.
AU  - Hodge, David O.
AU  - Ritman, Erik L.
AU  - Gibbons, Raymond J.
TI  - Reproducibility of Measurements of Regional Myocardial Blood Flow in a Model of Coronary Artery Disease: Comparison of H<sub>2</sub><sup>15</sup>O and <sup>13</sup>NH<sub>3</sub> PET Techniques
DP  - 2006 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1193--1201
VI  - 47
IP  - 7
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/7/1193.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/7/1193.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2006 Jul 01; 47
AB  - PET absolute myocardial blood flow (MBF) with H215O and 13NH3 are widely used in clinical and research settings. However, their reproducibility with a 16-myocardial segment model has not been examined in chronic coronary artery disease (CAD). We examined the short-term reproducibility of PET H215O MBF and PET 13NH3 MBF in an animal model of chronic CAD. Methods: Twelve swine (mean weight ± SD, 38 ± 5 kg) underwent percutaneous placement of a copper stent in the mid circumflex coronary artery, resulting in an intense inflammatory fibrotic reaction with luminal stenosis at 4 wk. Each animal underwent repeated resting MBF measurements by PET H215O and PET 13NH3. Attenuation-corrected images were analyzed using commercial software to yield absolute MBF (mL/min/g) in 16 myocardial segments. MBF was also normalized to the rate·pressure product (RPP). Results: By Bland–Altman reproducibility plots, the mean difference was 0.01 ± 0.18 mL/min/g and 0.01 ± 0.11 mL/min/g, with confidence limits of ±0.36 and ±0.22 mL/min/g for uncorrected regional PET H215O MBF and for uncorrected regional PET 13NH3 MBF, respectively. The repeatability coefficient ranged from 0.09 to 0.43 mL/min/g for H215O and from 0.09 to 0.18 mL/min/g for 13NH3 regional MBF. RPP correction did not improve reproducibility for either PET H215O or PET 13NH3 MBF. The mean difference in PET H215O MBF was 0.03 ± 0.14 mL/min/g and 0.02 ± 0.19 mL/min/g for infarcted and remote regions, respectively, and in PET 13NH3 MBF was 0.03 ± 0.11 mL/min/g and 0.00 ± 0.09 mL/min/g for infarcted and remote regions, respectively. Conclusion: PET H215O and PET 13NH3 resting MBF showed excellent reproducibility in a closed-chest animal model of chronic CAD. Resting PET 13NH3 MBF was more reproducible than resting PET H215O MBF. A high level of reproducibility was maintained in areas of lower flow with infarction for both isotopes.