A system for ECG synchronised gamma camera studies

A brief description is given of a method for adapting a processor-linked gamma camera for synchronised cardiac studies. Results obtained so far over a period of several months indicate that the method is potentially useful in the study of left ventricular wall motion; however, the processing times are longer than might be expected from a commercially available synchronising system, and there is no specific mechanism to exclude unwanted data resulting from ectopic heart beats, although the number of these beats has been found to be small compared with the total. It is possible to produce up to 32 images per cardiac cycle with good spatial resolution, cost is small, the hardware modifications being easy to implement, and the manipulation of the software is straightforward. (U.K.)