Experimental study of new diagnostic system for coronary artery disease using coronary transit index

Objectives Noninvasive cardiac imaging techniques have had an increasing role in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. However, these techniques are not widely available as a tool in the office setting. The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate assessment of coronary artery disease for screening purposes using Coronary Transit Index (CTI) assessment with small, high-resolution gamma cameras. Methods Total coronary blood flow was measured with ultrasonic flow probes placed around the left anterior descending coronary artery, left circumflex coronary artery, and right coronary artery in a total of 33 conditions in 5 healthy mongrel dogs. The coronary blood flow was reduced stepwise with vascular occluders placed around the coronary arteries. The procedure for obtaining CTI included 4 parts: 1) The animal was injected intravenously with a bolus of a radioactive tracer (2.5–5.0 mCi of 99mTc-DTPA); 2) Dedicated gamma sensors monitored the passage of the injected bolus; 3) Time–activity curves were measured at the left ventricle with and without its wall; 4) The ratio of the washout rates of the 2 curves determined the CTI. Results Coronary Transit Index was successfully obtained from the left ventricle. The coronary blood flows measured by flow probes were well correlated with the regional myocardial blood flow. The percentage of the baseline value of the total coronary blood flow had the highest correlation (R = 0.807, p < 0.0001) with the Coronary Transit Index. Conclusions These data indicated that a new diagnostic system using CTI successfully identified reduced coronary blood flow.