A New Method for Radionuclide Imaging of Myocardial Infarcts

Abstract

Lesions such as ischemia, which result in myocardial cell death, are accompanied by cellular influx of calcium ions which localize within the mitochondria in the crystalline structure hydroxy-apatite. Using 99mTc-stannous pyrophosphate, an agent which labels hydoxyapatite for bone scanning, the authors have produced scintillation camera images of experimental myocardial infarcts in dogs. Tracer localization disappears with time, suggesting application of this method to fresh infarcts.