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Biomedical subjects

G H Isaacs

Publications and source records attributed to G H Isaacs.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Non-interventional background corrections for scintigrams.

A method is presented for the interpolation of optimally 'smooth' background correction matrices within arbitrarily shaped boundaries. Practical means of implementing this technique are discussed, along with series expansions for the special cases of square and round boundaries. This class of interpolation methods has the advantages over previous techniques of providing a unique mathematical solution, connecting exactly to count rates on the boundary, and containing no singularities. Clinical scintigraphic images and mathematically generated surfaces are used to test the different cases of the method, and it is shown that confining the boundary to a circle produces the most rapid convergence with the minimum deviation from ideal surfaces. Under common clinical conditions, these techniques lend themselves well to automated, non-interventional computer processing.

Humans↗

Hematogenous pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis: diagnostic value of radionuclide bone imaging.

Hematogenous pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (HPVO) continues to be a diagnostic problem for clinicians due to nonspecific presentation of the disease (1,2). We reviewed our experience of the last 10 years to determine the diagnostic usefulness of radionuclide bone studies in this disease. We found 15 patients whose primary diagnosis was HPVO. Of the 15 patients, 12 had [99mTc]MDP bone scans which were all positive. Five of the 12 patients had positive [67Ga]citrate scans and one patient with chronic active HPVO had negative 67Ga and [111In]WBC bone images. At the same time, three patients' spine x-rays and one patient's CT scan of the vertebra were normal. Additionally, in three patients spine x-rays were interpreted as consistent with degenerative joint disease that contributed to the delay of the diagnosis. We conclude that when HPVO is suspected an abnormal [99mTc]MDP bone image increases the probability of the disease, even if the x-rays and CT scans of the spine are normal. An abnormal 67Ga image following an abnormal 99mTc bone image increases the specificity of the diagnosis. Normal [99mTc]MDP and [67Ga]citrate bone images of the vertebra virtually exclude the diagnosis of HPVO.

Adolescent↗

Effect of narcotic premedication on scintigraphic evaluation of gallbladder perforation.

A case of gallbladder perforation is presented in which a small bile leak was demonstrated by cholescintigraphy while the patient was receiving meperidine, but not after meperidine was discontinued. The scintigrams obtained during meperidine therapy also showed a pattern of bile-duct obstruction. It is suggested that increased biliary pressure secondary to meperidine administration permitted visualization of the leak. Use of narcotic drugs may be a useful pharmacologic intervention in cases of peritonitis due to small or obscure bile leaks.

Adult↗

A new scintigraphic method for determining left ventricular volumes.

A new scintigraphic count-based method for measuring absolute left ventricular volumes is presented. It is a fast and simple technique that allows geometrical assumptions to be avoided and is free of radiation attenuation corrections. This method requires the acquisition of an image of the left ventricle in the right anterior oblique projection and the collection of gated blood pool images in the left anterior oblique projection. To assess the accuracy of the method scintigraphic stroke volumes were compared with those derived from thermodilution measurements during cardiac catheterization in 20 subjects, and to assess its precision the technique was applied to phantom data of known radionuclide volumes. Excellent correlations were found between the scintigraphic and both the thermodilution (r = .98) and phantom data (r = .99). The reproducibility (r = .97) of results was investigated by repeating data acquisition and analysis for 15 subjects on two different days, and the interobserver variability (r = .97) of the method was studied by having two computer operators calculate volumes for the same patient data for 20 randomly selected studies.

Adult↗