First comparison between artificial intelligence-guided coronary computed tomography angiography versus single-photon emission computed tomography testing for ischemia in clinical practice

Abstract

Background Noninvasive cardiac testing with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are becoming alternatives to invasive angiography for the evaluation of obstructive coronary artery disease. We aimed to evaluate whether a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted CCTA program is comparable to SPECT imaging for ischemic testing. Methods CCTA images were analyzed using an artificial intelligence convolutional neural network machine-learning-based model, atherosclerosis imaging-quantitative computed tomography (AI-QCT)ISCHEMIA. A total of 183 patients (75 females and 108 males, with an average age of 60.8 years ± 12.3 years) were selected. All patients underwent AI-QCTISCHEMIA-augmented CCTA, with 60 undergoing concurrent SPECT and 16 having invasive coronary angiograms. Eight studies were excluded from analysis due to incomplete data or coronary anomalies. Results A total of 175 patients (95%) had CCTA performed, deemed acceptable for AI-QCTISCHEMIA interpretation. Compared to invasive angiography, AI-QCTISCHEMIA-driven CCTA showed a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 70% for predicting coronary ischemia, versus 70% and 53%, respectively for SPECT. The negative predictive value was high for female patients when using AI-QCTISCHEMIA compared to SPECT (91% vs. 68%, P = 0.042). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were similar between both modalities (0.81 for AI-CCTA, 0.75 for SPECT, P = 0.526). When comparing both modalities, the correlation coefficient was r = 0.71 (P < 0.04). Conclusion AI-powered CCTA is a viable alternative to SPECT for detecting myocardial ischemia in patients with low- to intermediate-risk coronary artery disease, with significant positive and negative correlation in results. For patients who underwent confirmatory invasive angiography, the results of AI-CCTA and SPECT imaging were comparable. Future research focusing on prospective studies involving larger and more diverse patient populations is warranted to further investigate the benefits offered by AI-driven CCTA.