Can upright myocardial perfusion imaging be used alone with a solid-state dedicated cardiac camera?
Upright myocardial perfusion imaging on D-SPECT shows a common artefact (in up to 1/3 of cases) in the infero-apical region mainly in overweight female patients. Getting acquainted with this artefact this may increase Physician confidence in reporting, similarly as to conventional supine imaging. Indeed, some of the artefacts seen on supine imaging appear less commonly with upright imaging. Thus, upright imaging can potentially be used alone for diagnosis with D-SPECT. Performance of both supine and upright imaging can be reserved for overweight patients thereby minimizing impact on scanning time and clinical throughput in busy departments.
We conclude that the effects of PLV with perfluorocarbon can extend beyond improvements in pulmonary physiology and that PLV may be beneficial in reducing systemic sequelae of acute lung injury and inflammation.