A new method for measuring myocardial thickening from gated positron emission tomography or single photon emission computed tomography scans is being developed. This method combines the best features of the """"""""geometric"""""""" methods with those of the """"""""counts-based"""""""" methods. The method has been tested with theoretical models, gated cardiac magnetic resonance-based simulated images, and phantom measurements. The method is found to be more linear and more immune to noise than previously reported methods. Preliminary patient studies indicate a statistically significant improvement in categorizing subjects with wall-thickening abnormalities. Further work will center on clinical applications of the technique. A description and validation of the technique was presented orally and in abstract form. A full article describing the technique and its preliminary validation has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. As of January 1, 1996 the Fogarty Fellow has returned to Orsay, France. The work will be continued by a predoctoral IRTA fellow at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, under the direction of S. Bacharach of the Nuclear Medicine Department.
