81mKr equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography for the assessment of right heart function

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Abstract
Right heart81mKr equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography was used to derive right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) in 12 healthy male volunteers. Anatomical lung subtraction using99mTc-MAA perfusion scintigraphy was compared with conventional background correction and the effect of imaging projection on the techniques of image analysis evaluated. Both intra and inter observer variability were reduced by anatomical lung subtraction when compared to conventional background correction. In the right anterior oblique (RAO) projection, background corrected RVEF was lower than lung subtracted RVEF - 0.544 ±0.05 and 0.612±0.08 (mean ± SD) (PPP < 0.001). We conclude that optimal separation of right heart structures is achieved in the RAO projection and that reproducibility of the analytical technique is improved by anatomical lung subtraction.