CARDIAC IMAGING
The potential of cardiac imaging to define cardiac structure and function has expanded dramatically in the past few years. Vanderbilt University Medical Center offer a comprehensive program for cardiac imaging that includes nuclear cardiology. The nuclear cardiology facilities are equipped with 3 state of the art dual head gamma cameras with variable angle allowing rapid acquisition of tomographic SPECT images of the heart, and with a dedicated positron imaging tomograph (PET scanner). Imaging protocols with various perfusion and metabolic radiopharmaceuticals are performed according to the medical question that needs to be answered. Protocols with gated images are performed routinely and allow evaluation of perfusion as well as function of the myocardium with calculation of the left ventricular ejection fraction. With positron emission tomography, true quantitation of the blood flow can be measured.
