Recent technologic advances in nuclear cardiology

The changes in hardware and software introduced recently may provide an opportunity for improvement in the accuracy of SPECT MPI while at the same time allowing for shorter, more comfortable imaging for the patient. With the increasing use of coronary computed tomography angiography, greater attention is being focused on the amount of radiation received by the patient with SPECT MPI as well as the coronary computed tomography angiography procedures. Given this concern, the improvements in hardware and software could allow for a dramatic reduction in radiation dose if scan times are kept close to those used currently. These new developments are a welcome development for this now mature imaging field.