A method to remove artifacts in attenuation-corrected myocardial perfusion SPECT Introduced by misalignment between emission scan and CT-derived attenuation maps.

Abstract

Misalignment in the y-direction between SPECT and the attenuation map can lead to artifacts in the apical, septal, and anterior wall, which will appear as defects. It also can cause overcorrection in the basal inferior and lateral segments. There is evidence that mismatches along the other directions may have a similar effect. The coregistration of SPECT and the attenuation map needs to be verified for every patient, even when using integrated dual-modality imaging devices.