Authors : Farshid Gheisari, Pouya Hekmati, Hamid Zare, Zahra Nasiri, Azim Kaveh Ahangar and Mohammad Atefi
Abstract: Occasionally, gastrointestinal activity in radionuclide scintigraphy could be problematic. Drugs which are labeled by Technetium-99m in myocardial perfusion scanning such as tetrofosmin, sestamibi are released mainly through the hepatobiliary system. Following this release, the digestive system adjacent to the myocardium becomes active which is able to create artifact in the resulting images. The aim of this study is to propose a method that while being safe and inexpensive can provide the least possible changes in the normal myocardial perfusion imaging procedures and also provide better images with higher quality and fewer artifacts. The study sample consisted of 15 cases (6 male and 9 female) aged 40-70 (mean 55) who were referred to our nuclear imaging centerand were more likely to develop diaphragmatic artifact on the left ventricle walls of the myocardium, i.e., cases with Body Mass Index (BMI) >25 or those with central obesity. About 30 g of barium sulfate which was solved in 200cc of water at room temperature was administered to the patients in sitting position and immediately they underwent planar scanning of the areas under diaphragm for 5 min. Images of each stage were reviewed and analyzed by the Xeleris 2006 software. All phases of the reconstruction of images, selection of the subdiaphragmatic area, calculation of the count in the selected area and also determination of the radiation activity level in each pixel of the selected area was conducted by this software. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is a possibility of reducing the subdiaphragmatic artifact with this method.
Farshid Gheisari, Pouya Hekmati, Hamid Zare, Zahra Nasiri, Azim Kaveh Ahangar and Mohammad Atefi, 2016. The Effect of Barium Swallowing on the Reduction of Artifact of the Inferior Wall of the Myocardium. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 10: 6-9.