Recommendations for reducing radiation exposure in myocardial perfusion imaging

Figure 1 illustrates the patient flow resulting from the above discussion. It is consistent with the concept of lowering the radiation dose while maintaining or improving image quality which should be considered an improvement in quality of care. The lower the radiation and the higher the image quality the greater the improvement in the quality of patient care. This approach combines the radiation reduction factors, which if implemented correctly, will provide the highest quality MPI studies at the lowest possible radiation dose. It must be recognized that such an approach requires moving away from the comfortable, familiar, time-tested, and efficient protocols adapted in most nuclear cardiology laboratories. It requires patient assessment at the time of scheduling, flexibility in patient flow as each patient will potentially go through a different protocol, and ultimately modifying existing imaging systems or purchasing new equipment. Based on these recommendations, we expect that for the population of patients referred for SPECT or PET MPI, on average a total radiation exposure of ≤9 mSv can be achieved in 50% of studies by 2014. Copyright © 2010 by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology.