Clinical Validation of a Miniature Nuclear Probe System for Continuous On-line Monitoring of Cardiac Function and ST-Segment

• Published in: The Journal of nuclear medicine (1978) Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 37 - 43
• Main Authors: Broadhurst, Paul, Cashman, Peter, Crawley, John, Raftery, Edward, Lahiri, Avijit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA Soc Nuclear Med 01.01.1991; Society of Nuclear Medicine
• Subjects: 550601 - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics; ALGORITHMS; ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES; Biological and medical sciences; BODY; CAMERAS; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES; CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM; Cesium; CESIUM ISOTOPES; COUNTING TECHNIQUES; DIAGNOSIS; DISEASES; DYNAMIC FUNCTION STUDIES; Female; GAMMA CAMERAS; Gated Blood-Pool Imaging; HEART; Heart - diagnostic imaging; Heart Diseases - diagnosis; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Iodides; ISOTOPES; Male; MATHEMATICAL LOGIC; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miniaturization - instrumentation; Monitoring, Physiologic - instrumentation; Nuclear Medicine - instrumentation; ORGANS; RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING; RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE; SCINTILLATION COUNTING; Scintillation Counting - instrumentation; Stroke Volume - physiology; Ventricular Function, Left - physiology; Heart; Continuous process; Validation; Clinical investigation; Molecular probe; Monitoring
• ISSN: 0161-5505; 1535-5667

A new, miniature cesium iodide/photodiode nuclear probe (the "Cardioscint") has been developed for continuous on-line measurement of left ventricular function and the ST-segment. Ejection fraction (EF) measurements in 77 patients were compared with gated equilibrium radionuclide ventriculograms. The probe was positioned over the left ventricle by first using a blind positioning algorithm and then by using the gamma camera. Background was measured both manually and automatically. There was good correlation between probe (positioned blind) and gamma camera EF with both manual (r = 0.80, n = 65) and automatic (r = 0.78, n = 66) backgrounds. Use of the gamma camera did not significantly alter the results. Correlation between the probe stroke counts and thermodilution-derived stroke index during atrial pacing in six subjects was also satisfactory (r = 0.69, n = 102). Thus, the Cardioscint is able to provide a reliable estimate of EF and can track rapid changes in cardiac volumes.