Evaluation of 3 dimensional space and time filtering on ECG gated 201Tl myocardial images.

Stress 201Tl myocardial images were obtained using a standard ECG gated acquisition protocol for 10 min per view. These images were filtered using a three dimensional space and time filter. The effects of filtering were evaluated by sectorial analysis. Comparing raw and filtered dynamic images, quantification demonstrated that filtering did not produce artefacts. A conventional static image was also obtained as the sum of the series of unfiltered dynamic images. Comparison of raw static and filtered diastolic images indicated that the latter demonstrated myocardial abnormalities more clearly (P less than 0.01) in 33 patients. Improvement in the signal to noise ratio produced by filtering made cinematic display and visual analysis possible which was not feasible with raw gated images. Clinical evaluation is in progress.