Office of Public Relations
P. O. Box 3354
Duke U niversity Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina 27710
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Durham, N. C.
Permit No. 676
CATHEUNC Di4M->Research Technologist Bryce Bates mans the gamma camera
console where heart images are recorded and then refined by computerized
enhancement to reveal abnormal functions. A retrieval system makes it possible to
recall any image in the memory bank for further study. (Photos by Thad Sparks)
--- New Gamma Camera
a camera
non-in vasive
not require
(Continued from page 1)
of a patient’s heart over a relatively
short period of time.
Little Discomfort
“That’s one of the principal
advantages of the gamma camera.
We can put a patient on the table time
and again and he suffers very little
discomfort. We can study him as he
gels belter. We can watch it as it
happens.”
The more common method of
studying heart behavior is
catheterization, which involves
insertion of a hollow cylinder
through a vein to the heart. Dyes are
then forced into the heart and x-rays
are used to detect abnormalities.
The g a m m
method—termed
because it does
catheterization—has the additional
benefit that it greatly reduces patient
risk, Jones said.
Low Risk
“Cardiac catheterization risk
approaches that of many common
surgical procedures,” he said. “With
the use of the catheter, the risk is
about whaT it would be if you had
your gallbladder taken out, or an
appendectomy. With the gamma
camera it’s about the same as having a
blood sample taken.”
He pointed out that non-invasive
method is not likely to do away with
the use of catheters, however.
“Catheterization is a valuable
technique,” he said, “and it gives us
essential information.”
The hardware that goes to make
up the gamma camera consists of a
large barrel-shaped radiation
detector and a console which houses
a computer core, tape recorder,
multi-data storage bin, and all the
electronics necessary to collect,
refine, store and retrieve functional
information on a patient’s
cardiovascular system.
Color Television
The color television set is an extra.
It serves the added function of giving
an investigator an immediate look at
what is going on in the patient's
heart. And although the television
in age is an unrefined piece of data, it
still is enough to give a definite idea
about the heart’s general behavior.
Specifically, the gamma camera
gathers data which reflect the pattern
of blood flow with each beat of the
heart. Up to 400,000 counu per
second can be recorded. The more
radioactivity picked up by the
detector in a particular area of the
heart, the higher the count.
By use of this information an
investigator is able to determine with
an extremely close degree of accuracy
the time it takes for blood to pass
through each chamber of the heart, a
critical piece of data in diagnosing
abnormality. It is the kind of
information that is not available
through other techniques.
Many Applications
Jones sees a number of applications
for the nuclear method, ranging
from diseases affecting coronary
arteries and cardiac valves to
congenital defects in children and
left-to-right shunts, when blood in
the heart is diverted from its normal
channels.
One use of the gamma camera
which Jones stresses as having great
potential benefit is in the area of
surgery involving replacement or
repair of heart valves.
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March 26-April 2,1976
The Intercom Calendar lists lectures, symposia and other activities at the medical
center. For information on regularly held meetings, please contact the department in
charge. Special departmental notices will be accepted for the Calendar no later than
one week prior to publication. Notices may be sent to Box 3354, Hospital.
Friday, March 26
1 p.m.
4 p.m.
Network for Continuing Medical Education, programs on “Head
Trauma: Evaluation for the Non-Neurosurgeon,” “Office
Gynecologic Cancer Screening” and “A Shoulder Examination.”
View in Rms M-405, M-410, 2031 and the Medical Student
Lounge (Channel 7 or 9) at Duke and Rms A3002 (by
appointment only), C9013, D3008, CCU and the classrooms and
media learning lab of the Allied Health BIdg. at the VA Hospital.
Joint Department of Microbiology and Immunology and
Department of Surgery Seminar. Dr. Thomas Graf of the Max
Planck Institute in Tubingen, West Germany, will speak on
“Recent Studies with Avian Leukemia Viruses.”
Monday, March 29
Noon
American Medical Student Association, programs on “Legal
Problems in the Wards,” ‘The Naranjate Body” and “Legal
Problems in the Emergency Room.” View in the Medical Student
Lounge (Channel 7 or 9).
Tuesday, March 30
Noon
1 p.m.
AMSA. See Monday, March 29 for program listing and viewing
area.
Network for Continuing Medical Education. See Friday, March
26, for program listing. View in the School of Nursing
Auditorium, Rm 1017.
Wednesday, March 31
1 p.m. Network for Continuing Medical Education! See Friday, March
26, for program listing and viewing areas.
Thursday, April 1
Noon
1 p.m.
Friday, April 2
12:30 p.m.
AMSA. See Monday, March 29, for program listing. View in the
’ School of Nursing Auditorium, Rm 1017.
Network for Continuing Medical Elducation. See Friday, March
26, for program listing and viewing areas.
Biochemistry Seminar. Dr. Allan D. Roses of the Division of
Neurology here will speak ori "Erythrocyte Membrane
Phosphorylauon in Myotonic Muscular l^strophy. (A Testable
Hypothesis for the Molecular Defect in a Human Genetic
Disease.)" in Rm 147, Nanaline H. Duke BIdg. Coffee will be
served at 12:15 p.m. in the lobby.
“In these cases,” he said, “it’s
important to be able to check heart
valve function before and after the
operation. It’s easier, faster and
there’s less risk if the procedure is
non-invasive.”
Routine Pump Checks
Another important use, he said,
would be in cases where it is beneficial
to be able to run routine checks on
the left ventricle, which is the heart’s
principal pump.
The most recent development in
gamma camera application, and one
which Jones sees as holding great
potential, focuses on measurement of
changes in a patient’s heart activity
while he is undergoing exercise.
Traditionally, all studies are done
while the patient is at rest.
As for comparative costs of the
invasive and non-invasive methods,
Jones pointed to the difficulty in
coming up with exact figures due
mainly to the fact that it is impossible
to say how often the gamma camera
would be used once it goes into
regular service.
Costs and Savings
Basic costs, however, do give a
general idea of potential savings. A
good catheterization laboratory costs
about $1 million, he said, while a
gamma camera runs about $125,000
to $150,000, depending on what
specific components are desired.
A further indication of the
difference in cost, he said, is that
catheterization takes about two hours
to complete and requires the services
of two technicians and a doctor
whereas the gamma camera
procedure lasts no more than 15
minutes and can be handled by just
one technician.
“But it’s not just a matter of cost,”
Jones said. “Patient comfort and
reduced risk are probably more
important considerations.
More Comfortable
“What I’m saying is that with the
gamma camera we can do heart
studies with less discomfort to the
patient, and we can do them cheaper
and faster. It doesn’t give us all the
same data—the catheter is better for
some things—but what it does do is
furnish the kind of informadon in a
lot of cases that could make
catheterization unnecessary.
“It's impossible to say what
percentage of cases might be
affected," he said, “but there would
be a great number, there’s no doubt
of that.”