CardiArc® Images at Various Scan Durations

picture of anthropomorphic phantom

Below are images of the Data Spectrum anthropomorphic torso phantom obtained at various imaging times with the CardiArc® scanner and with a state-of-the-art, dual-detector SPECT system. The conventional system had two detectors at 90° to each other - both equiped with low-energy, high-resolution (LEHR) collimators.

The CardiArc® images were obtained on a clinical prototype system. This machine uses CZT (cadmium zinc telluride) semiconductor detectors, but the detector arc was only half-filled.  The CardiArc® scan times indicated are normalized to those of a production system with sodium-iodide detectors. All indicated times are normalized for tracer decay.

Heart chamber 450 microCuries
Background 1.3 mCi

It is useful to recall that the activity in the phantom is similar to that of a typical rest Tc99m study. A stress exam may have up to 2-3 times this activity.


Two cold "defects" were placed in the heart portion of the phantom, one at the anterior wall (orange arrows) and one at the inferobasal wall (yellow arrows).

The CardiArc® images show higher lesion contrast and better target-to-background ratios at all scan speeds studied. The improvement in image quality, compared to the standard system, becomes greater as scan time is shortened.

Scroll down to see comparison images or click these links to go directly to specific images:



Scan time = 11 minutes

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
11.3 minutes
std 11.3 min
CardiArc®
-
10.7 minutes



Scan time = 6 minutes

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
6.3 minutes
std 6.3 min
CardiArc®
-
6.1 minutes
CA 6.1 min



Scan time = 2.8 minutes

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
2.8 minutes
168 seconds
std 2.8 min
CardiArc®
-
2.8 minutes
168 seconds
CA 2.8 min



Scan time = 2.4 minutes (144 seconds)

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
2.4 minutes
144 seconds
std 2.4 mins
CardiArc®
-
2.4 minutes
144 seconds
CA 2.4 mins



Scan time = 60 seconds

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
60 seconds
No image because conventional design is mechanically incapable of rotating this rapidly while acquiring.
CardiArc®
-
60 seconds
CA 60 sec



Scan time = 30 seconds

Conventional, dual-detector w
high-resolution collimators
-
30 seconds
No image because conventional design is mechanically incapable of rotating this rapidly while acquiring.
CardiArc®
-
30 seconds
CQ 30 sec