Introduction: SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is an imaging procedure in nuclear medicine that illustrates the function of the heart muscle or myocardium. When capturing SPECT/CT data, several reasons may cause artifacts. The most common cause of artifacts is respiratory motion. Purpose: The purpose of this diploma work was to determine how respiratory artifacts in SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion scintigraphy affect image quality and how these artifacts can be avoided or prevented. Methods: In the diploma work we undertook a descriptive method with a systematic review of the literature. We searched for different studies and other information from professional databases available on the Internet. We selected the literature using inclusion and exclusion criteria. A review of the literature took place from October 2020 to April 2021. Results: The results of the selection of articles for systematic review of the literature are presented. We analysed the articles regarding the properties of the sample and purpose, and we compared the imaging protocols. The analysis of the articles showed that movement artifacts are most often affected by respiratory intensity, patient movements, and the consequent mismatch between the SPECT and CT field of view. The imaging time also plays an important role, namely, the shorter the scan time, the less chance of movement or movement artifact. Discussion and conclusion: We have found that respiratory artifacts in SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion can disguise diagnostically important information and as such need to be identified and prevented by radiological engineers. They can be prevented by using fast CT imaging and if the patient is breathing shallow during the examination. In case the patient is breathing more intensively, it is necessary to use respiratory motion correction and attenuation correction. The combination of these two is important for a better diagnosis. We found that the effectiveness of the IACT method is comparable to CACT. We also established that the method for obtaining attenuation maps using »cine« CT is as good as breath hold method. For effective elimination of respiratory motion blur in SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion, the respiration movement is limited to less than 2 mm. Respiratory motion artifacts are most effectively eliminated if CBCT is used to obtain attenuation maps compared to HCT and SLS. However, if HCT is used, it is best for the patient to hold his breath at the end of exhalation.
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