This paper provides the current state of nuclear cardiology in China and contrasts it with the state of nuclear cardiology in the United States (US). The West China Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) were used as representative hospitals to contrast nuclear cardiology in China and the US, respectively. In 2015, there were 101 medical cyclotrons, 774 SPECT or SPECT/CT, 240 PET/CT, and 6 PET/MR cameras in China. Most (~90%) of the nuclear cardiology studies are gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), and ~10% are other types of studies including MUGA, PET/CT MPI, and viability studies. There are differences in nuclear cardiology between the West China Hospital and NYPH and these include those in cardiac stress tests, SPECT/CT acquisition protocols, PET/CT blood flow and viability studies, reimbursement, and fellowship training. In this paper, we aim to present status of nuclear cardiology in China and provide potential solutions.
Keywords: MPI; PET; SPECT; nuclear cardiac imaging.