Separate display and quantification of myocardial scar versus ischemia in polar coordinates for myocardial ECT. A technical note

Quantification of myocardial ECT in polar coordinates ('Bull's Eye') allows easy interpretation and statistical analysis of group data. The relative size of abnormal tissue may be calculated for standard vessel distributions. In this study a modification of the polar images is suggested, that allows separate display and percent quantification of scars ('scar image') and ischemic areas ('ischemia image') for each of the coronary artery areas and the total left ventricular area. These newly designed functional images are derived from the display of the circumferential profiles of all tomographic slices in one image with polar coordinates. They lend themselves to an easy, straightforward interpretation and a convincing demonstration for non-nuclear medicine physicians. A critical comparison with the unprocessed dates, i.e. short and long axis slices, remains mandatory. (orig.)