Society of Nuclear Medicine, Reston, VA, 2003, $55 for SNM members; $80 for non-members
Crawford and Husain have written an extremely useful monograph on nuclear cardiac imaging that will be of interest to anybody involved in performing or interpreting these studies. Many texts written to capture such a broad audience -- technologists, nurses, physicians -- tend to provide an oversimplified review of a topic, but that’s not the case with this book.
The authors appeal to a range of readers by presenting their material in logical, incremental, easily digestible bits so that information flows naturally. This is no small achievement.
The book is divided into five sections on myocardial perfusion imaging, infarct imaging, dynamic imaging, cardiac PET, and a review of the principles of electrocardiography. Myocardial perfusion and dynamic cardiac imaging receive the most extensive treatment. Relevant radiopharmaceuticals and stress agents are concisely and informatively discussed, as are the techniques of exercise and pharmacologic stress.
Technical details of image acquisition and processing are thoroughly reviewed and illustrated. The authors offer a variety of protocols that are useful for perfusion and gated studies, discussing the pros and cons of each. Examples of informed consent forms are included.
Most chapters are three to five pages long, which makes this a useful on-the-spot reference. Illustrations and tables, keyed to the text, abound. The quality of image reproduction is superb with many color examples. Each chapter concludes with a short list of references, guiding the interested reader to relevant sources in current medical literature.
The absence of an index, which I would ordinarily cite as a shortcoming, does not significantly compromise the utility of the text, in large part because the table of contents is so complete.
Well organized, informative, and brief, Nuclear Cardiac Imaging: Terminology and Technical Aspects will not be found abandoned on the bookshelf, but more likely found lying open in the technologist suite, thumbed through by the interpreting physician, or in the book bags of residents and fellows alike.
Dr. Raymond H. ThorntonAuntMinnie.com contributing writer
September 16, 2003
Dr. Thornton is a fellow in vascular and interventional radiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
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