Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S E Lennon.
A hinged anoscope for insertion of rectal catheters is presented. Catheters attached to or integrally part of an external monitoring device or collecting system can be inserted through this endoscope. The endoscope can be removed without disconnecting the catheter from the external device.
Whole-body thallium scintigraphy was used to study leg muscle perfusion in 12 healthy individuals and 31 patients with peripheral vascular disease. Subjects were scanned immediately after exercise and 4 hr later. Buttock, thigh and calf perfusion were measured in terms of fractional uptake relative to whole-body activity, percent change in fractional uptake over 4 hr and interextremity symmetry ratios. The results were compared to contrast arteriography on a region by region basis. The overall sensitivity and specificity of thallium scintigraphy were 80% and 73%, respectively. The results suggest that thallium scintigraphy may provide useful information about the hemodynamic significance of noncritical anatomic lesions.
Whole-body thallium scintigraphy can be used to diagnose and evaluate occlusive arterial disease in patients with leg claudication. We performed exercise and redistribution scans in 36 healthy individuals and 17 patients with claudication. Regions of interest were drawn around the whole body, as well as each buttock, thigh, and calf. Counts in each region were expressed as a percentage of whole-body activity, as well as an interextremity activity ratio for each level. Significant differences due to gender and age were found. The sensitivity and specificity of the test in men was 94% and 71%, respectively, using the criterion of percentage regional uptake and 81% and 90%, respectively, using interextremity comparison. We conclude that exercise whole-body thallium imaging is a simple and accurate test for the evaluation of suspected occlusive arterial disease in the legs.