CineCT platform for in vivo and ex vivo measurement of 3D high resolution Lagrangian strains in the left ventricle following myocardial infarction and intramyocardial delivery of theranostic hydrogel.

Myocardial infarction (MI) produces acute changes in strain and stiffness within the infarct that can affect remote areas of the left ventricle (LV) and drive pathological remodeling. We hypothesized that intramyocardial delivery of a hydrogel within the MI region would lower wall stress and reduce adverse remodeling in Yorkshire pigs (n = 5). 99mTc-Tetrofosmin SPECT imaging defined the location and geometry of induced MI and border regions in pigs, and in vivo and ex vivo contrast cine computed tomography (cineCT) quantified deformations of the LV myocardium. Serial in vivo cineCT imaging provided data in hearts from control pigs (n = 3) and data from pigs (n = 5) under baseline conditions before MI induction, post-MI day 3, post-MI day 7, and one hour after intramyocardial delivery of a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel with shear-thinning and self-healing properties to the central infarct area. Isolated, excised hearts underwent similar cineCT imaging using an ex vivo perfused heart preparation with cyclic LV pressurization. Deformations were evaluated using nonlinear image registration of cineCT volumes between end-diastole (ED) and end-systole (ES), and 3D Lagrangian strains were calculated from the displacement gradients. Post-MI day 3, radial, circumferential, maximum principal, and shear strains were reduced within the MI region (p < 0.04) but were unchanged in normal regions (p > 0.6), and LV end diastolic volume (LV EDV) increased (p = 0.004), while ejection fraction (EF) and stroke volume (SV) decreased (p < 0.02). Post-MI day 7, radial strains in MI border zones increased (p = 0.04) and dilation of LV EDV continued (p = 0.052). There was a significant negative linear correlation between regional radial and maximum principal/shear strains and percent infarcted tissue in all hearts (R2 > 0.47, p < 0.004), indicating that cineCT strain measures could predict MI location and degree of injury. Post-hydrogel day 7 post-MI, LV EDV was significantly reduced (p = 0.009), EF increased (p = 0.048), and radial (p = 0.021), maximum principal (p = 0.051), and shear strain (p = 0.047) increased within regions bordering the infarct. A smaller strain improvement within the infarct and normal regions was also noted on average along with an improvement in SV in 4 out of 5 hearts. CineCT provides a reliable method to assess regional changes in strains post-MI and the therapeutic effects of intramyocardial hydrogel delivery.

Magnetically Coated Bioabsorbable Stents for Renormalization of Arterial Vessel Walls after Stent Implantation.

The insertion of a stent in diseased arteries is a common endovascular procedure that can be compromised by the development of short- and long-term inflammatory responses leading to restenosis and thrombosis, respectively. While treatment with drugs, either systemic or localized, has decreased the incidence of restenosis and thrombosis these complications persist and are associated with a high mortality in those that present with stent thrombosis. We reasoned that if stents could be made to undergo accelerated endothelialization in the deployed region, then such an approach would further decrease the occurrence of stent thrombosis and restenosis thereby improving clinical outcomes. Toward that objective, the first step necessitated efficient capture of progenitor stem cells, which eventually would become the new endothelium. To achieve this objective, we engineered intrinsic ferromagnetism within nonmagnetizable, biodegradable magnesium (Mg) bare metal stents. Mg stents were coated with biodegradable polylactide (PLA) polymer embedding magnetizable iron-platinum (FePt) alloy nanoparticles, nanomagnetic particles, nMags, which increased the surface area and hence magnetization of the stent. nMags uniformly distributed on stents enabled capture, under flow, up to 50 mL/min, of systemically injected iron-oxide-labeled (IO-labeled) progenitor stem cells. Critical parameters enhancing capture efficiency were optimized, and we demonstrated the generality of the approach by showing that nMag-coated stents can capture different cell types. Our work is a potential paradigm shift in engineering stents because implants are rendered as tissue in the body, and this "natural stealthiness" reduces or eliminates issues associated with pro-inflammatory immune responses postimplantation.

Application of BOLD Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Evaluating Regional Volumetric Foot Tissue Oxygenation: A Feasibility Study in Healthy Volunteers.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: To evaluate the feasibility and repeatability of applying blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the feet to quantify regional dynamic changes in tissue oxygenation during proximal cuff occlusion and reactive hyperemia. METHODS: Ten healthy male subjects underwent BOLD and T1-weighted imaging of the feet on two separate occasions, using a 3-T scanner. Dynamic changes in BOLD signal intensity were assessed before and during proximal cuff occlusion of the thigh and during reactive hyperemia, and BOLD time course data were evaluated for the time-to-half ischemic minimum, minimum ischemic value, peak hyperemic value, time-to-peak hyperemia, time-to-half peak hyperemia, and end value. T1-weighted images were used for segmentation of volumes of interest (VOI) in anatomical regions of the foot (heel, toes, dorsal foot, medial and lateral plantar foot). Repeatability of vascular responses was assessed for each foot VOI using semiautomated image registration and quantification of serial BOLD images. RESULTS: The heel VOI demonstrated a significantly higher peak hyperemic response, expressed as percent change from baseline BOLD signal intensity, compared with all other VOIs of the foot (heel, 7.4 ± 1.2%; toes, 5.6 ± 0.8%; dorsal foot, 5.7 ± 1.6%; medial plantar, 5.6 ± 1.7%; lateral plantar, 5.6 ± 1.5% [p < .05]). Additionally, the lateral plantar VOI had a significantly lower terminal signal intensity value (i.e., end value) when compared with all foot VOIs (p < .05). BOLD MRI was repeatable between visits in all foot VOIs, with no significant differences between study visits for any of the evaluated functional indices. CONCLUSION: BOLD MRI offers a repeatable technique for volumetric assessment of regional foot tissue oxygenation. Future application of BOLD imaging in the feet of patients with peripheral vascular disease may permit serial evaluation of regional tissue oxygenation and allow for improved assessment of therapeutic interventions targeting specific sites of the foot.

Design and development of the DE-SPECT system: a clinical SPECT system for broadband multi-isotope imaging of peripheral vascular disease.

Objective. Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) affects more than 230 million people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of disability among people over age 60. Nowadays, PVD remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated, and requires the development of tailored diagnostic approaches. We present the full design of the Dynamic Extremity SPECT (DE-SPECT) system, the first organ-dedicated SPECT system for lower extremity imaging, based on 1 cm thick Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) spectrometers and a dynamic dual field-of-view (FOV) synthetic compound-eye (SCE) collimator.Approach. The proposed DE-SPECT detection system consists of 48 1 cm thick 3D-position-sensitive CZT spectrometers arranged in a partial ring of 59 cm in diameter in a checkerboard pattern. The detection system is coupled with a compact dynamic SCE collimator that allows the user to select between two different FOVs at any time during an imaging study: a wide-FOV (28 cm diameter) configuration for dual-leg or scout imaging or a high-resolution and high-sensitivity (HR-HS) FOV (16 cm diameter) for single-leg or focused imaging.Main results.The preliminary experimental data show that the CZT spectrometer achieves a 3D intrinsic spatial resolution of <0.75 mm FWHM and an excellent energy resolution over a broad energy range (2.6 keV FWHM at 218, 3.3 keV at 440 keV). From simulations, the wide-FOV configuration offers a 0.034% averaged sensitivity at 140 keV and <8 mm spatial resolution, whereas the HR-HS configuration presents a peak central sensitivity of 0.07% at 140 keV and a ∼5 mm spatial resolution. The dynamic SCE collimator enables the capability to perform joint reconstructions that would ensure an overall improvement in imaging performance.Significance. The DE-SPECT system is a stationary and high-performance SPECT system that offers an excellent spectroscopic performance with a unique computer-controlled dual-FOV imaging capability, and a relatively high sensitivity for multi-tracer and multi-functional SPECT imaging of the extremities.

Glucose metabolism distal to a critical coronary stenosis in a canine model of low-flow myocardial ischemia.

Myocardial regions perfused through a coronary stenosis may cease contracting, but remain viable. Clinical observations suggest that increased glucose utilization may be an adaptive mechanism in such "hibernating" regions. In this study, we used a combination of 13C-NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS analysis, and tissue biochemical measurements to track glucose through intracellular metabolism in intact dogs infused with [1-13C]glucose during a 3-4-h period of acute ischemic hibernation. During low-flow ischemia [3-13C]alanine enrichment was higher, relative to plasma [1-13C]glucose enrichment, in ischemic than in nonischemic regions of the heart, suggesting a greater contribution of exogenous glucose to glycolytic flux in the ischemic region (approximately 72 vs. approximately 28%, P < 0.01). Both the fraction of glycogen synthase present in the physiologically active glucose-6-phosphate-independent form (46 +/- 10 vs. 9 +/- 6%, P < 0.01) and the rate of incorporation of circulating glucose into glycogen (94 +/- 25 vs. 20 +/- 15 nmol/gram/min, P < 0.01) were also greater in ischemic regions. Measurement of steady state [4-13C)glutamate/[3-13C]alanine enrichment ratios demonstrated that glucose-derived pyruvate supported 26-36% of total tricarboxylic acid cycle flux in all regions, however, indicating no preference for glucose over fat as an oxidative substrate in the ischemic myocardium. Thus during sustained regional low-flow ischemia in vivo, the ischemic myocardium increases its utilization of exogenous glucose as a substrate. Upregulation is restricted to cytosolic utilization pathways, however (glycolysis and glycogen synthesis), and fat continues to be the major source of mitochondrial oxidative substrate.

Effect of ischemia and postischemic dysfunction on myocardial uptake of technetium-99m-labeled methoxyisobutyl isonitrile and thallium-201.

The myocardial uptake of a new technetium-99m-labeled myocardial perfusion agent, methoxyisobutyl isonitrile (Tc-99m MIBI), and thallium-201 was correlated with microsphere flow in an open chest canine model of low coronary flow and postischemic dysfunction. Eighteen dogs were given an injection of thallium-201 (0.5 mCi) and Tc-99m MIBI (5 mCi) either after 40 min of partial left anterior descending artery occlusion (Group I, 10 dogs) or during reperfusion after 15 min of left anterior descending artery occlusion (Group II, 8 dogs). Regional dysfunction was documented during injection in both groups by quantitative two-dimensional echocardiography. Regional blood flow was assessed by radiolabeled microspheres. The heart was excised 15 min after radionuclide injection and the left ventricle divided into 96 segments for gamma well counting. Among Group I dogs, central ischemic thallium-201 and Tc-99m MIBI activity (expressed as a percent of the activity in the corresponding nonischemic zone) was comparable, respectively, for endocardial (54 +/- 17% and 52 +/- 17%), mid-wall (71 +/- 20% and 69 +/- 17%) and epicardial (89 +/- 13% and 94 +/- 9%) segments and increased proportionally with flow. There was a good linear correlation among these endocardial segments between flow and both thallium-201 (r = 0.78) and Tc-99m MIBI (r = 0.85) activity. Among Group II dogs, central ischemic endocardial flow (59 +/- 14%) was comparable to thallium-201 (70 +/- 18%) and Tc-99m MIBI (74 +/- 12%) activity. Similarly, relative endocardial flow in the intermediate ischemic region (71 +/- 11%) was comparable to thallium-201 (77 +/- 11%) and Tc-99m MIBI (81 +/- 10%) activity. Thus, myocardial uptake of Tc-99m MIBI and thallium-201 is comparable under conditions of low coronary flow and postischemic dysfunction and closely parallels flow alterations.

Myocardial risk area defined by technetium-99m sestamibi imaging during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: comparison with coronary angiography.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the assessment of myocardial area at risk in patients with coronary artery stenosis by coronary angiography and quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging with technetium-99m sestamibi. BACKGROUND: Decisions concerning patient management frequently rely on semiquantitative angiographic estimation of the myocardial area at risk, although this approach has not been well validated. Technetium-99m sestamibi is a perfusion imaging agent with little redistribution after initial myocardial uptake. This characteristic allows for injection during angioplasty and later imaging for visualization and quantitation of the nonperfused area at risk. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients referred for coronary angioplasty were studied. Technetium-99m sestamibi was injected intravenously during angioplasty balloon inflation. Planar (33 patients) or tomographic (6 patients) imaging was performed after completion of angioplasty. Imaging was repeated 24 to 48 h later. Myocardial risk area (perfusion defect on angioplasty image) was quantified as an integral using circumferential count distribution profiles and normal reference. Angiographic risk area was assessed using five scoring methods. RESULTS: The scintigraphic risk area was 14 +/- 15 on planar images and 39 +/- 16 on tomography. Scintigraphic risk area of patients with infarction was larger than in patients without (22 +/- 17 versus 7 +/- 8, p = 0.003). The left anterior descending coronary artery had a larger mean risk area than other vessels (22 +/- 15 versus 7 +/- 11, p = 0.002). The presence of angiographic collateral channels was associated with smaller risk areas. Angiographic risk scores correlated only moderately with the technetium-99m sestamibi risk area (r = 0.54 to 0.65), with considerable spread of data. CONCLUSIONS: Area at risk estimated from coronary angiography does not correlate well with that from quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging with technetium-99m sestamibi. These findings emphasize that the functional significance of coronary artery disease is not predicted by coronary anatomy alone.

Biokinetics of technetium-99m-tetrofosmin: myocardial perfusion imaging agent: implications for a one-day imaging protocol.

Tetrofosmin is a 99mTc-labeled myocardial perfusion imaging agent that has shown encouraging results in Phase I and II clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to determine the biokinetics of this agent following administration during exercise and at rest in order to determine an optimal imaging protocol. Twenty patients with suspected coronary artery disease underwent symptom-limited treadmill exercise. Six to 8 mCi of 99mTc-tetrofosmin was injected at peak exercise and 22-24 mCi was injected 4 hr later at rest. Serial 5-min planar images were obtained in the left anterior oblique view at 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min after the radiotracer injection. Regions of interest were drawn on the serial images around the entire heart and portions of liver, lung, spleen, gallbladder and gastrointestinal tract. Average decay-corrected counts per pixel in each organ were plotted against time. In addition, heart-to-adjacent organ ratios were also determined. On stress images, the heart had the highest activity at all times, with the exception of gallbladder in the first 15 min. On rest images, the gallbladder, liver and gastrointestinal tract initially had higher activity than the heart; but the activity in these organs cleared rapidly over the subsequent 30-60 min. Heart-to-adjacent organ ratios were > 1.0 at all times in the stress images. Heart-to-organ ratios were < 1.0 in the first 15 min on the rest images for the liver and gastrointestinal tract. However, 30 min later, all ratios on the rest images were > or = 1.0. Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin images were considered to be of good to excellent quality with good myocardial delineation and adequate contrast between the heart and background. These These observations indicate that a convenient one-day tetrofosmin imaging protocol similar in duration to conventional 201Tl imaging is feasible.

Quantitative planar imaging with technetium-99m methoxyisobutyl isonitrile: comparison of uptake patterns with thallium-201.

To compare the myocardial uptake pattern of 99mTc-labeled methoxyisobutyl isonitrile [( 99mTc] MIBI) and 201TI, planar scintigraphy were performed in both patients with documented coronary artery disease and subjects with a low likelihood of disease. Quantitative analysis was employed using a standard interpolative background subtraction algorithm and a new algorithm modified to better accommodate for the differences in extracardiac activity seen with [99mTc]MIBI rest images. Among patients with coronary artery disease, the standard algorithm yielded no significant difference in relative defect magnitude between [99mTc]MIBI and 201TI on stress scintigrams (p = 0.48), although the magnitude of [99mTc]MIBI defects was greater on resting images (p = 0.02). When the modified algorithm was employed, defect magnitude was similar for both stress (p = 0.91) and rest (p = 0.20) images. Normal segmental uptake ratios derived from a comparison of contralateral segments (e.g., septal:posterolateral) in the low likelihood patients were similar for both [99mTc]MIBI and 201TI. Thus, modification of the standard interpolative background subtraction algorithm is necessary for quantitative planar [99mTc]MIBI perfusion imaging. When appropriate background subtraction is employed, myocardial uptake and quantitative defect magnitude of [99mTc]MIBI and 201TI planar images are similar.

Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin to assess myocardial blood flow: experimental validation in an intact canine model of ischemia.

UNLABELLED: Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin is a 99mTc-labeled perfusion tracer demonstrating promise for myocardial perfusion imaging. To determine if 99mTc-tetrofosmin tracks myocardial flow over a pathophysiologic range, the initial myocardial uptake and clearance of 99mTc-tetrofosmin relative to microsphere flow were evaluated in a canine model of ischemia during pharmacological vasodilatation. METHODS: Six open-chest dogs were subjected to complete left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. Dogs were injected with 99mTc-tetrofosmin and radiolabeled microspheres during pharmacological stress. Coincident with radiotracer injection, dynamic planar imaging and arterial sampling were performed to assess 99mTc-tetrofosmin clearance from blood, myocardium, lung and liver. Fifteen minutes after injection, hearts were excised for well counting of myocardial 99mTc-tetrofosmin activity and flow. RESULTS: Myocardial 99mTc-tetrofosmin activity correlated linearly with microsphere flow (r = 0.84). Relative 99mTc-tetrofosmin activity underestimated flow at higher flow ranges (> 2.0 ml/min/g) and overestimated flow in low flow ranges (< 0.2 ml/min/g). Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin cleared rapidly from the blood and was retained in the myocardium. Resting target-to-background activity ratios (heart:lung = 3.57 +/- 1.01; heart:liver = 0.58 +/- 0.04) were acceptable 10 min after injection. CONCLUSION: Our experimental data support both the validity of 99mTc-tetrofosmin as a myocardial perfusion tracer and the use of early poststress 99mTc-tetrofosmin imaging for the assessment of myocardial perfusion in man.

Extracardiac activity complicates quantitative cardiac SPECT imaging using a simultaneous transmission-emission approach.

UNLABELLED: Increased extracardiac activity confounds conventional cardiac SPECT image reconstruction using a filtered backprojection method. Others have proposed that simultaneously acquired transmission-emission (STE) images that are reconstructed with a maximum likelihood (ML) method incorporating a nonuniform attenuation correction would less likely be affected by the presence of extracardiac activity. However, this approach corrects only for decreased myocardial counts from attenuation and not for increased myocardial counts from extracardiac activity. Therefore, STE with nonuniform attenuation correction may also result in reconstruction artifacts when extracardiac activity is present. METHODS: Acquisitions of phantoms with nonuniform and uniform attenuation were performed using STE and conventional approaches, in the absence and presence of extracardiac activity. All acquisitions used a triple-headed SPECT camera. STE acquisitions used fanbeam collimation and a 153Gd transmission source. STE images were reconstructed using ML, with and without nonuniform attenuation correction. Reconstructed short-axis images were quantitated, and percentage variability for each count profile was calculated. RESULTS: In a nonuniform phantom configuration, STE reconstruction with nonuniform attenuation correction significantly improved image uniformity. This improvement in image uniformity was diminished with the addition of increasing extracardiac activity. In a uniform phantom, STE reconstruction with nonuniform attenuation correction significantly improved uniformity only in the presence of extracardiac activity. CONCLUSION: The addition of attenuation correction in the presence of extracardiac activity can have complex effects on ML reconstruction with nonuniform attenuation correction, which depends on the amount of extracardiac activity and pattern of attenuation.

Reproducibility and accuracy of gated SPECT for determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction: experimental validation using MRI.

UNLABELLED: Quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) has been used for computation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction. This study evaluated, first, the effect of injected dose, time of imaging, and background activity on the reproducibility of QGS and, second, the accuracy of QGS, compared with cine MRI, for determining left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions in dogs with and without perfusion defects. METHODS: Sixteen dogs were subjected to either chronic occlusion of the circumflex artery (group I, no perfusion defect) or acute occlusion of the anterior descending coronary artery (group II, perfusion defect). Both groups underwent serial MRI and SPECT. RESULTS: ( QGS was very reproducible using the automated program (r = 0.99997). Correlation between left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at 15 and 45 min was poor after the low-dose injection (r = 0.54; SE = 9%) and only fair after the high-dose injection (r = 0.77; SE = 5%). Correlation was poor in the presence of significant background activity (r = 0.36; SE = 12%). Correlation between QGS left ventricular volumes and MRI was good for group I (end-diastolic volume, r = 0.86; end-systolic volume, r = 0.81) and only fair for group II (end-diastolic volume, r = 0.66; end-systolic volume, r = 0.69). The overall LVEF correlation between QGS and MRI was poor (r = 0.51). QGS LVEF (mean +/- SD, 42% +/- 3%) overestimated MRI LVEF (29% +/- 2%). CONCLUSION: QGS provides a highly reproducible estimate of LVEF. However, QGS is affected by changes in background activity, time of imaging, and injected dose. In the presence of perfusion defects, QGS overestimated volume relative to MRI. The correlation between QGS- and MRI-derived LVEF was poor in this canine model.

Technetium-99m-nitroimidazole (BMS181321): a positive imaging agent for detecting myocardial ischemia.

UNLABELLED: A new technetium-99m-labeled nitroimidazole (BMS181321) has been proposed for positive imaging of myocardial ischemia. METHODS: An in vivo open-chest canine model of partial coronary occlusion and pacing-induced demand ischemia was used to correlate myocardial retention of BMS181321, following an intravenous injection at peak stress, with regional microsphere blood flow. Postmortem measurements of myocardial BMS181321 activity and flow were correlated with in vivo planar and ex vivo SPECT images. Myocardial and hepatic clearance of BMS181321 was derived from ROI analysis of serial planar images. RESULTS: Anaerobic metabolism was documented in the ischemic region by selective venous and arterial sampling for lactate and oxygen consumption. Normalized myocardial BMS181321 activity (165% +/- 42% nonischemic) in the central ischemic region (flow < 0.3 ml/min/gm) was significantly greater than activity in normal regions (p < 0.05). Quantitative circumferential analysis of SPECT images revealed a comparable increase in myocardial BMS181321 activity in the ischemic region. Sixty minutes after injection of BMS181321, liver activity was 423% of ischemic myocardial activity. CONCLUSION: BMS181321 was preferentially retained in ischemic but viable canine myocardium and was inversely related to regional myocardial blood flow. Although enhanced retention of BMS181321 was detectable by ex vivo SPECT imaging, an unfavorable heart-to-liver ratio was observed with in vivo planar imaging which may limit its use in clinical myocardial imaging.

Limitations of dobutamine for enhancing flow heterogeneity in the presence of single coronary stenosis: implications for technetium-99m-sestamibi imaging.

UNLABELLED: Dobutamine is used as an alternative to exercise in conjunction with 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT perfusion imaging for detection of coronary artery disease. However, the use of quantitative dobutamine 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT imaging for enhanced detection of coronary stenosis has not been established. The goal of this study is to examine the effects of dobutamine stress on regional myocardial blood flow and relative myocardial 99mTc-sestamibi activity in the presence of a single-vessel stenosis. METHODS: In six open-chest dogs with left circumflex artery stenosis, radiolabeled microspheres were injected during baseline, severe stenosis and peak dobutamine stress (10 microg/kg/min). Technetium-99m-sestamibi was injected intravenously at peak dobutamine. Hearts were excised 20 min after 99mTc-sestamibi injection for SPECT imaging and post-mortem gamma-well counting. RESULTS: Dobutamine significantly increased heart rate, rate-pressure product and the first derivative of left ventricular pressure. Ischemic zone (left circumflex) myocardial blood flows (in ml/min/g) were: baseline, 0.92 +/- 0.15; stenosis, 0.65 +/- 0.16; and dobutamine, 1.19 +/- 0.38. Nonischemic zone myocardial blood flows were: baseline, 0.99 +/- 0.18; stenosis, 1.01 +/- 0.12; and dobutamine, 1.94 +/- 0.32 (p < 0.01 versus stenosis). Ischemic flows, expressed as percentages of nonischemic flows, were: baseline, 94% +/- 2%; stenosis, 63% +/- 11% (p < 0.05 versus baseline) and dobutamine, 60% +/- 12% (p was not significant versus stenosis). Technetium-99m-sestamibi activity in the ischemic zone (75% +/- 6% nonischemic) underestimated the relative flow deficit produced during dobutamine stress (p = 0.056). Myocardial 99mTc-sestamibi activity correlated with flow when flow was less than 1.0 ml/min/g. At higher flow ranges (1.0 ml/min/g-3.5 ml/min/g), 99mTc-sestamibi did not track flow. CONCLUSION: In a canine model of flow-limiting, single-vessel stenosis, dobutamine (10 microg/kg/min) did not augment flow heterogeneity. In addition, relative myocardial 99mTc-sestamibi activity underestimated microsphere flow at higher flows induced by dobutamine, leading to underestimation of ischemia. These findings suggest that dobutamine stress 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy may underestimate the relative flow deficit.

Experimental studies of the physiologic properties of technetium-99m isonitriles.

Recently, efforts have been directed at the development of technetium-99m (Tc-99m)-labeled isonitrile compounds for assessment of regional perfusion and viability after experimental myocardial infarction or ischemia. One of the most promising of these agents, Tc-99m sestamibi, has undergone rather extensive laboratory investigation. Like thallium-201 (Tl-201), the uptake of Tc-99m sestamibi in myocardial tissue is proportional to myocardial blood flow after intravenous injection. Similar to other diffusible indicators, Tc-99m sestamibi underestimates blood flow at high flow rates. In low flow regions, the myocardial uptake of this agent is higher relative to nonischemic uptake than is microsphere-determined blood flow. This is attributed to increased extraction at low flows. This first-pass myocardial extraction fraction for Tc-99m sestamibi is less than that for Tl-201. However, Tc-99m sestamibi has a higher parenchymal cell permeability and higher volume of distribution than T;-201. Tc-99m sestamibi shows minimal "delayed redistribution" after initial intravenous administration. Uptake of Tc-99m sestamibi is not altered by myocardial "stunning" or with ischemic dysfunction produced by sustained low coronary flow. The uptake of the isonitrile is still proportional to blood flow in these situations. In intact animal models, myocardial uptake of Tc-99m sestamibi during coronary occlusion delineates the in vivo area at risk. When Tc-99m sestamibi is administered after reperfusion following variable periods of preceding coronary occlusion, Tc-99m sestamibi uptake delineates the area of viable myocardium that is salvaged and not simply the degree of reflow. This suggests that serial Tc-99m sestamibi imaging might be useful in assessing the efficacy of coronary reperfusion after thrombolytic therapy.

Pathoanatomic correlates of regional left ventricular wall motion assessed by equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography: a postmortem correlation.

The pathoanatomic correlates of qualitative assessment of regional wall motion (RWM) on routine equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography (ERNA) were evaluated in 62 patients who had ERNA within 3 months before they died. Of 51 patients with abnormal RWM, 46 (90%) had gross myocardial lesions at autopsy. Of 11 patients with normal RWM, 9 (82%) had normal myocardium. Complete agreement of RWM with postmortem findings in all left ventricular segments occurred in 32% of the patients. Compared with postmortem findings, abnormal RWM on ERNA overestimated the number of macroscopically abnormal segments in 21% of the patients and underestimated in 47%. Of 372 segments analyzed, the overall sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of abnormal RWM on ERNA for detecting gross myocardial infarction or fibrosis was 73%, 75% and 83%, respectively. There were 35 false-positive segments (9%) (15 patients). In 27 of these segments (77%), severe stenosis of the coronary artery supplying the segment or electrocardiographic left bundle branch block could explain these findings. There were 61 false-negative segments (16%) (30 patients). In 55 of these segments (90%), either nontransmural infarction or masking by severe adjacent asynergy provided a potential explanation. Thus, qualitative analysis of RWM on routine ERNA correlates well with postmortem findings.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulation of myocardial glucose uptake and transport during ischemia and energetic stress.

Myocardial glucose utilization increases in response to the energetic stress imposed on the heart by exercise, pressure overload, and myocardial ischemia. Recruitment of glucose transport proteins is the cellular mechanism by which the heart increases glucose transport for subsequent metabolism. Moderate regional ischemia leads to the translocation of both glucose transporters, GLUT4 and GLUT1, to the sarcolemma in vivo. Myocardial ischemia also stimulates 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, which may be a fuel gauge in the heart and other tissues signaling the need to turn on energy-generating metabolic pathways. Pharmacologic stimulation of this kinase increases cardiac glucose uptake and transporter translocation, suggesting that it may play an important role in augmenting glucose entry in the setting of ischemic or energetic stress. Thus, recent work has provided insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for glucose uptake during energetic stress, which may lead to new approaches to the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease.

The potential for myocardial imaging with hypoxia markers.

Direct "hot spot" imaging of myocardial tissue hypoxia is potentially of great clinical importance because available noninvasive approaches for the detection of myocardial ischemia have generally been based on the detection of flow heterogeneity or identification of regional alterations of myocardial metabolism. These existing approaches provide only an indirect assessment of regional myocardial ischemia, and may be affected by either sympathetic activation or substrate availability. The assessment of tissue oxygenation with hypoxic compounds may be the best indicator of the balance of flow and oxygen consumption. These compounds may provide a means of identifying dysfunctional chronically ischemic but viable "hibernating" myocardium and find a critical place in the assessment of angiogenesis. Nitroimidazole compounds hold promise for positive imaging of hypoxia in the heart. However, refinement of these compounds is needed to improve target specificity. The potential of technetium-99m (Tc99m) complexes derived from removal of the nitroimidazole moiety from a nitroimidazole-containing ligand is interesting and warrants further investigation. Experimental studies support the possibility of identifying myocardial hypoxia with the positron-emitting compound F18-fluoromisonidazole noninvasively. The potential of a Tc99m labeled nitroimidazole for positive imaging of myocardial ischemia is tremendous because single-photon imaging is more widely available. The true clinical potential of these nitroimidazole compounds can only be defined with future experimental and clinical studies. Ideally, these studies should include comparisons of tracer uptake with independent measures of regional ischemia or measures of oxygen tension, potentially using magnetic resonance imaging.

Tracking myocardial deformation using phase contrast MR velocity fields: a stochastic approach.

The authors propose a new approach for tracking the deformation of the left-ventricular (LV) myocardium from two-dimensional (2-D) magnetic resonance (MR) phase contrast velocity fields. The use of phase contrast MR velocity data in cardiac motion problems has been introduced by others (N.J. Pelc et al., 1991) and shown to be potentially useful for tracking discrete tissue elements, and therefore, characterizing LV motion. However, the authors show here that these velocity data: 1) are extremely noisy near the LV borders; and 2) cannot alone be used to estimate the motion and the deformation of the entire myocardium due to noise in the velocity fields. In this new approach, the authors use the natural spatial constraints of the endocardial and epicardial contours, detected semiautomatically in each image frame, to help remove noisy velocity vectors at the LV contours. The information from both the boundaries and the phase contrast velocity data is then integrated into a deforming mesh that is placed over the myocardium at one time frame and then tracked over the entire cardiac cycle. The deformation is guided by a Kalman filter that provides a compromise between 1) believing the dense field velocity and the contour data when it is crisp and coherent in a local spatial and temporal sense and 2) employing a temporally smooth cyclic model of cardiac motion when contour and velocity data are not trustworthy. The Kalman filter is particularly well suited to this task as it produces an optimal estimate of the left ventricle's kinematics (in the sense that the error is statistically minimized) given incomplete and noise corrupted data, and given a basic dynamical model of the left ventricle. The method has been evaluated with simulated data; the average error between tracked nodes and theoretical position was 1.8% of the total path length. The algorithm has also been evaluated with phantom data; the average error was 4.4% of the total path length. The authors show that in their initial tests with phantoms that the new approach shows small, but concrete improvements over previous techniques that used primarily phase contrast velocity data alone. They feel that these improvements will be amplified greatly as they move to direct comparisons in in vivo and three-dimensional (3-D) datasets.

Point-tracked quantitative analysis of left ventricular surface motion from 3-D image sequences.

We propose and validate the hypothesis that we can use differential shape properties of the myocardial surfaces to recover dense field motion from standard three-dimensional (3-D) image sequences (MRI and CT). Quantitative measures of left ventricular regional function can be further inferred from the point correspondence maps. The noninvasive, algorithm-derived results are validated on two levels. First, the motion trajectories are compared to those of implanted imaging-opaque markers of a canine model in two imaging modalities, where subpixel accuracy is achieved. Second, the validity of using motion parameters (path length and thickness changes) for detecting myocardial injury area is tested by comparing algorithms derived results to postmortem analysis TTC staining of myocardial tissue, where the achieved Pearson product-moment correlation value is 0.968.