Introduction and objectives: In everyday clinical practice, the cardiologist needs to integrate anatomical and functional information from patients with coronary artery disease. The aim of this study is to present a way to unify, in three-dimensional images, anatomical information from coronary angiography with physiological information from myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.
Methods: Three patients with one vessel disease (left anterior descending, right coronary and left circumflex arteries, respectively) scheduled for percutaneous coronary revascularization were selected. Two-dimensional angiographic images were obtained before and after revascularization. 99mTc-tetrofosmin was administered during coronary occlusion and tomographic images corresponding to the occlusion were detected after coronary dilatation. Control rest scintigraphic images were obtained after two days. The three-dimensional coronary tree from coronary angiography was superposed on the epicardial contours of the myocardial perfusion images following a method of our own.
Results: A correct three-dimensional reconstruction of myocardial contour and coronary tree was achieved for each patient. The three-dimensional unified images showed excellent concordance between the extent of perfusion defects and the anatomic distribution of the occluded vessel.
Conclusions: Three-dimensional unification of myocardial perfusion images and coronary angiography is technically possible. This technology integrates anatomical and functional information to facilitate the cardiologist's decision-making and so improve coronary patient management.