Improving the accuracy of cardiac PET with motion-free imaging.

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Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) uses a minute amount of radioactive labelled compound, called a tracer, to image the heart. Dynamic PET uses a specialized scanner to image the patient over several minutes, taking a series of snap shots of the injected tracer as it distributes through the patient's body. The dynamic images can then be processed by specialized software to measure the rates at which the tracer interacts with the tissues in the body. These rates can be used to assess physiologic function. In cardiac PET we use these methods to measure functions such as myocardial (heart muscle) blood flow (MBF), which can be used to detect reduced blood supply to the heart. PET MBF measurement is a leading tool in basic research for understanding disease and measuring therapy effectiveness, and is emerging as an important clinical tool.