A performance comparison of novel cadmium–zinc–telluride camera and conventional SPECT/CT using anthropomorphic torso phantom and water bags to simulate soft tissue and breast attenuation

Abstract

CZT camera has better physical performance and image quality with less artificial perfusion defects than conventional SPECT. CZT camera also has less breast attenuation than conventional SPECT. However, extracardiac soft tissue may degrade the superior performance of CZT camera, and attenuation correction methods are still needed to solve the attenuation issues in inferior and inferolateral myocardium.

Comparative analysis of cadmium-zincum-telluride cameras dedicated to myocardial perfusion SPECT: A phantom study

“…The lack of significant differences in the considered parameters along the range of count statistics explored, combined with the increased sensitivity of these systems (fourfold for the D530c to sevenfold for the D-SPECT) in comparison to a conventional Anger camera, 9,14 seems to indicate that there is still a possibility for a further reduction in the injected activity and/or the acquisition time, in order to improve patients' comfort and contain both patients' and operators' radiation exposure.…”

“…9 However, CNR values in our study are higher than those reported by Liu et al for the D530c (*3.8). 14 …”

Diagnostic implications of CZT SPECT and impact of CT attenuation correction

“…Liu et al used an anthropomorphic torso phantom and found that CZT had higher myocardial count sensitivity, better signal-tonoise ratio, and superior uniformity of overall myocardial tracer uptake compared to NaI; however, CZT was more susceptible to inferior and inferolateral attenuation with lower normalized uptake compared to the NaI camera in the anthropomorphic torso model to simulate a male patient. 20 Similarly, Herzog et al reported predominant artifacts in the right coronary artery territory in males. 21 In contrast, CZT performed better than the NaI camera in imaging anterior defects.…”

“…21 In contrast, CZT performed better than the NaI camera in imaging anterior defects. 20 This phenomenon may be explained by the design of the CZT camera, since the pinhole collimator is closest to the linear source in the anterior position and furthest in the right lateral position.…”

Cardiac SPECT/CT Imaging: CT Attenuation Correction and SPECT/CT Hybrid Imaging

“…Compared with conventional NaI gamma cameras, the CZT gamma cameras have multiple advantages, such as improved spatial resolution, high energy resolution, and high sensitivity which reduces patients' discomfort and minimizes motion artifacts [37,40,41]. However, since the acquisition using the CZT cameras is performed by positioning gamma-ray detectors on the anterior and left lateral side of the thorax, the myocardial SPECT images show noticeable attenuation artifacts in the septal, inferoposterior, and posterolateral wall of the left ventricular myocardium [42]. The degree of attenuation artifacts in CZT images is markedly higher than in conventional NaI images (Figure 1).…”