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Emerging PET Radiotracer May Improve Detection of Coronary Artery Disease in Obese Patients
In a recent interview at the SNMMI conference, Krishna Patel, M.D., discussed the benefits of the PET perfusion radiotracer agent 18F-flurpiridaz and new research findings showing the agent’s increased sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing coronary artery disease in obese patients.
The use of conventional imaging for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) in obese patients can be challenging. Attenuation artifacts can be problematic with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and a lack of crisp image quality is an issue with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in this patient population, pointed out Krishna Patel, MD, in an interview at the recent Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) conference.
Higher radiation dosing is also a concern with both of the aforementioned modalities, noted Dr. Patel, an assistant professor of medicine (cardiology) and population health science and policy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Accordingly, Dr. Patel and colleagues examined the use of the positron emission tomography (PET) perfusion radiotracer agent 18F-flurpiridaz in comparison to 99mTc-SPECT for detecting CAD in a subgroup analysis involving 298 obese patients (mean age of 62.1) from a phase 3 trial.
The researchers found that among obese patients, 18F-flurpiridaz demonstrated higher sensitivity rates (76.9 percent versus 69.2 percent) and specificity rates (66.9 percent versus 61.9 percent) in comparison to 99mTc-SPECT. The use of 18F-flurpiridaz also reduced radiation exposure by one-third (6.2 mSv PET) in comparison to tetrofosmin SPECT (9.9 mSv) and by one-half in comparison to sestamibi SPECT (12.4 mSv), according to Dr. Patel and colleagues.
Dr. Patel, the director of cardiac PET at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City, added that other key benefits of 18F-flurpiridaz include a longer half-life (110 minutes) than other PET perfusion tracer agents and unit dose availability, factors that may significantly expand access to stress cardiac PET myocardial perfusion imaging.
For more insights from Dr. Patel, watch the video below.
Study of Ofatumumab for Multiple Sclerosis Shows 'Profoundly Suppressed MRI Lesion Activity'
April 17th 2024The use of continuous ofatumumab in patients within three years of a relapsing multiple sclerosis diagnosis led to substantial reductions in associated lesions on brain MRI scans, according to research recently presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) conference.
Could a Deep Learning Model for Mammography Improve Prediction of DCIS and Invasive Breast Cancer?
April 15th 2024Artificial intelligence (AI) assessment of mammography images may significantly enhance the prediction of invasive breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in women with breast cancer, according to new research presented at the Society for Breast Imaging (SBI) conference.
Interventional Radiology Study Shows Low Breast Cancer Recurrence 16 Months After Cryoablation
March 29th 2024In a cohort of patients with invasive breast cancer and tumor sizes ranging between 0.3 to 9 cm, image-guided cryoablation was associated with a 10 percent recurrence rate at 16 months, according to research recently presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) conference.
Emerging Insights on MRI-Guided Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation for Prostate Cancer
March 21st 2024For men with prostate cancer, the use of MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) led to a 92 percent decrease in median prostate volume at one year, according to new research recently presented at Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) conference.
Could Cloud-Based 'Progressive Loading' be a Boon for Radiology Workflows?
March 13th 2024The newly launched Progressive Loading feature, available through RamSoft’s OmegaAI software, reportedly offers radiologist rapid uploading of images that is faster than on-site networks and other cloud-based systems regardless of the network radiologists are using.
ECR Study Finds Mixed Results with AI on Breast Ultrasound
March 6th 2024While adjunctive use of AI led to significantly higher specificity and accuracy rates in detecting cancer on breast ultrasound exams in comparison to unassisted reading by breast radiologists, researchers noted that 12 of 13 BI-RADS 3 lesions upgraded by AI were ultimately benign, according to research presented at the European Congress of Radiology.
