Application of reconstruction techniques to correctly identify the myocardium in the presence of overlying organs

It is widely accepted that iterative reconstructions with attenuation and collimator blurring corrections produce quality images and should therefore be a preferred technique for clinical use. In this study, we test the performance of such algorithms on myocardial perfusion studies in the presence of high activity in subdiaphragmatic organs. Monte Carlo simulations, phantom experiments, and clinical patient studies are used to investigate the effect of advanced reconstruction techniques on the quantitative accuracy of images. We conclude that reconstruction with correction for attenuation and collimator blurring in three dimensions significantly improves image resolution and contrast between areas of different activity.