Myocardial perfusion SPECT: Perfusion quantification

Different software tools for quantification of myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) studies are routinely used. Several perfusion parameters can be computed automatically.  Interpretation of the MPS should start with visual inspection of the rotating planar images, visual analysis of reconstructed SPECT slices and then quantitative analysis to confirm the visual impression. Quantification should be used routinely as complementary to visual analysis. Advantages of quantification are: greater confidence in interpretation, better reproducibility, diagnostic accuracy and measuring the degree of abnormality even subtle changes for serial comparisons. In this review, we look at the common features of such quantitative tools: 17-segment scoring system, polar maps including: raw, severity and extent polar maps, lung-to-heart ratio, transient ischemic dilation ratio, total perfusion deficit and spherecity index.