SPECT-Light: Accuracy of Half of the Usual Radiotracer Dose in SPECT

Sponsor

Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT01412827

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

Arm

Duration (Months)

0.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

There has been a shortage of nuclear isotopes, not only in Canada but around the world. New, more sensitive SPECT cameras can obtain better images in shorter scan times. These cameras have also shown the ability to use a smaller dose of radioisotope to obtain the images. New software has been tested on the standard camera, the GE Infinia-Hawkeye SPECT/CT. The Diagnostic Imaging Department of The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has also acquired a new camera, the Discovery NM530c CZT and has been doing heart scans in shorter times. The investigators will now be looking at the quality of images using less isotope during SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for diagnostic and prognostic purposes.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Coronary Artery Disease	Radiation: 1/2 dose of 99mTc OR 201Tl tracers	N/A

Detailed Description

SPECT MPI is well accepted as a reliable and cost-effective tool for diagnosis, risk stratification and management of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD) (1;2). MPI represents approximately 40% of nuclear medicine patient studies and most of these use 99mTc-sestamibi or 99mTc-tetrofosmin(3). Rest/stress MPI using 99mTc-sestamibi and 99mTc-tetrofosmin uses more tracer doses than many other nuclear medicine tests and thus account for >50% of injected radiotracer activity(3). Thus, interruptions in the supply of 99Mo, the parent isotope of 99mTc, significantly affect stress MPI imaging and associated patient care.

Alternatives to 99mTc-sestamibi and 99mTc-tetrofosmin for perfusion imaging include 201Tl for SPECT imaging and 82Rb or 13NH3 for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging (4;5). MPI using 201Tl has similar diagnostic accuracy but image interpretation is more difficult due to greater scatter and attenuation. Moreover, the patient effective radiation dose for MPI using a standard injected dose of 3.5mCi of 201Tl is ~20 mSv. This radiation dose is twice that of 99mTc tracers which typically deliver an effective dose of ~10 mSv. PET imaging with 82Rb or 13NH3 is another alternative, but is much more expensive and not routinely available in Canada due to a very limited install base of PET scanners and associated cyclotrons. The number of SPECT cameras operational in Canada is more than 40 times the number of PET scanners.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

18 participants

Allocation:

N/A

Intervention Model:

Single Group Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Diagnostic

Official Title:

Diagnostic and Prognostic Accuracy of Stress SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging With Half the Usual Radiotracer Dose

Study Start Date :

Apr 1, 2010

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Mar 1, 2013

Actual Study Completion Date :

Sep 1, 2014

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Other: Comparison of radioisotope dosing	Radiation: 1/2 dose of 99mTc OR 201Tl tracers Rest: Imaging will occur 30 to 60 minutes after injection of tracer. Stress: All patients will undergo a symptom-limited Bruce protocol treadmill exercise test. At peak stress, the radiotracer will be injected intravenously, and exercise will continue for an additional 60 s. The patients who are unable to achieve the targeted heart rate or exercise will be stressed pharmacologically. Dipyridamole (0.142 mg/kg/min) will be infused intravenously for 5 minutes, and 99mTc radiotracer will be injected at 2 min after infusion completion (7 min into the study). Aminophylline (100-200 mg) will be given intravenously 2 min after injection of the radiotracer.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Other: Comparison of radioisotope dosing

Radiation: 1/2 dose of 99mTc OR 201Tl tracers

Rest: Imaging will occur 30 to 60 minutes after injection of tracer. Stress: All patients will undergo a symptom-limited Bruce protocol treadmill exercise test. At peak stress, the radiotracer will be injected intravenously, and exercise will continue for an additional 60 s. The patients who are unable to achieve the targeted heart rate or exercise will be stressed pharmacologically. Dipyridamole (0.142 mg/kg/min) will be infused intravenously for 5 minutes, and 99mTc radiotracer will be injected at 2 min after infusion completion (7 min into the study). Aminophylline (100-200 mg) will be given intravenously 2 min after injection of the radiotracer.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Rate of non-fatal infarction or death in the normal group of SPECT-Light acquisitions versus standard SPECT acquisitions [2 years]
The difference in the rate of non-fatal infarction or death that occurs in the normal group of the combined SPECT-Light acquisition protocols (LDa and LDb) versus the outcome that occurs in the acquisitions obtained by the standard SPECT (FD) protocol.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Comparison of classification of the degree of abnormality based on the two image acquisition protocols [2 years]
A comparison of classification of the degree of abnormality based on the two image acquisition protocols. Multi-level correlation between the two image sets (LDa vs 2 and LDb vs 2) will be obtained against the standard SPECT (FD) images. The combined rates of non-fatal MI or death in each of the LD images as well as the standard dose images (FD) which are considered abnormal (SSS ≥ 4) will also be calculated.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

Consecutive patients presenting for clinically indicated SPECT perfusion scan
Patients presenting to sites with a functional CZT camera. Available sites are Ottawa (OHI), Mississauga, and Calgary.
Age >18 years old