Quantitative accuracy in total-body imaging using the uEXPLORER PET/CT scanner

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (20) ◽  
pp. 205008
Author(s):  
Edwin K Leung ◽  
Eric Berg ◽  
Negar Omidvari ◽  
Benjamin A Spencer ◽  
Elizabeth Li ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Fanchon ◽  
Brad Beattie ◽  
Keith Pentlow ◽  
Steven Larson ◽  
John Laurence Humm

Abstract Purpose To determine the accuracy of quantitative 124I PET imaging in the presence of therapeutic levels of 131I.Material and Methods Multiple PET images were acquired using a NEMA IEC phantom with spheres containing 0.4 MBq/cc of 124I and increasing amount of 131I activity in the phantom background (0 to 3.76 GBq). Acquisitions were performed on a GE Discovery 710 PET/CT scanner. At each 131I activity level two scans were acquired, one with the phantom at the center of the field of view (FOV) and one 11 cm off-center. Images were reconstructed with an ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm using between 1 and 25 iterations of 16 subsets. Results were evaluated visually and by comparing the 124I activity relative to the baseline PET performed in the absence of 131I.Results The presence of 131I within the PET FOV added to the random coincidence rate, to dead-time and to pile-up within the PET detectors. Using our standard clinical reconstruction parameters, the image quality and quantitative accuracy suffered at 131I background activities above 1.4 GBq. However, increasing the number of iterations resulted in dramatic improvements in image quality and quantitative accuracy. Projection space measurements suggest that the dead time corrections implemented on the scanner perform well even at the highest singles count rate tested (52 Mcps).Conclusion This study shows that 124I quantitative PET is feasible in the presence of large amounts of 131I on a GE D710. The high random coincidence fraction slows the reconstruction convergence rate, therefore iterations equivalent to at least 8x16 are recommended.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M. Fanchon ◽  
Bradley J. Beattie ◽  
Keith Pentlow ◽  
Steven M. Larson ◽  
John L. Humm

Abstract Background The goal of this work was to determine the quantitative accuracy and optimal reconstruction parameters for 124I-PET imaging in the presence of therapeutic levels of 131I. In this effort, images were acquired on a GE D710 PET/CT scanner using a NEMA IEC phantom with spheres containing 124I and increasing amounts of 131I activity in the background. At each activity level, two scans were acquired, one with the phantom centered in the field of view (FOV) and one 11.2 cm off-center. Reconstructions used an ordered subset expectation maximization algorithm with up to 100 iterations of 16 subsets, with and without time-of-flight (TOF) information. Results were evaluated visually and by comparing the 124I activity relative to the scan performed in the absence of 131I. Results 131I within the FOV added to the randoms rate, to dead time, and to pile-up within the detectors. Using our standard clinical reconstruction parameters, the image quality and quantitative accuracy suffered at 131I activities above 1.4 GBq. Convergence rates slowed progressively in the presence of increasing amounts of 131I for both TOF and nonTOF reconstructions. TOF reconstructions converged more quickly than nonTOF but often towards erroneous concentrations. Iterating nonTOF reconstructions to convergence produced quantitatively accurate images except for the off-center phantom at the very highest level of background 131I tested. Conclusions This study shows that quantitative PET is feasible in the presence of large amounts of 131I. The high randoms fractions resulted in slow reconstruction convergence and negatively impacted TOF corrections and/or the accuracy of TOF information. Therefore, increased iterations and nonTOF reconstructions are recommended.


2021 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 09004
Author(s):  
A. Ros ◽  
L. Barrientos ◽  
M. Borja-Lloret ◽  
J.V. Casaña ◽  
E. Muñoz ◽  
...  

In recent decades, PET scanners have been widely used for diagnosis and treatment monitoring in nuclear medicine. The continuous effort of the scientific community has led to improvements in scanner performance. Total-body PET is one of the latest upgrades in PET scanners. These kinds of scanners are able to scan the whole body of the patient with a single bed position, since the scanner tube is long enough for the patient to fit inside. While these scanners show unprecedented efficiency and extended field-of-view, a drawback is their low spatial resolution compared to dedicated scanners. In order to improve the spatial resolution of specific areas when measuring with a total-body PET scanner, the IRIS group at IFIC-Valencia is developing a probe. The proposed setup of the probe contains a monolithic scintillation crystal and a SiPM. The signal of the probe is read out by a TOFPET2 ASIC from PETsys, which has shown good performance for PET in terms of spatial and time resolutions. Furthermore, the PETsys technology generates a trigger signal that will be used to time synchronise the probe and the scanner. The proof-of-concept of the probe will be tested in a Preclinical Super Argus PET/CT scanner for small animals located at IFIC. Preliminary simulations of the scanner and the probe under ideal conditions show a slight improvement in the position reconstruction compared to the data obtained with the scanner, therefore we expect a considerable improvement when using the probe in a total-body PET scanner. Characterisation tests of the probe have been performed with a 22Na point-like source, obtaining an energy resolution of 9.09% for the 511 keV energy peak and a temporal resolution of 619 ps after time walk correction. The next step of the project is to test the probe measuring in temporal coincidence with the scanner.


2020 ◽  
pp. jnumed.120.250597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Spencer ◽  
Eric Berg ◽  
Jeffrey P. Schmall ◽  
Negar Omidvari ◽  
Edwin K. Leung ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Molinos ◽  
Todd Sasser ◽  
Phil Salmon ◽  
Willy Gsell ◽  
David Viertl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Dose ◽  
Pet Ct ◽  

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tokiya Yoshii ◽  
Kenta Miwa ◽  
Masashi Yamaguchi ◽  
Kai Shimada ◽  
Kei Wagatsuma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Bayesian penalized likelihood (BPL) algorithm Q.Clear (GE Healthcare) allows fully convergent iterative reconstruction that results in better image quality and quantitative accuracy, while limiting image noise. The present study aimed to optimize BPL reconstruction parameters for 18F-NaF PET/CT images and to determine the feasibility of 18F-NaF PET/CT image acquisition over shorter durations in clinical practice. Methods A custom-designed thoracic spine phantom consisting of several inserts, soft tissue, normal spine, and metastatic bone tumor, was scanned using a Discovery MI PET/CT scanner (GE Healthcare). The phantom allows optional adjustment of activity distribution, tumor size, and attenuation. We reconstructed PET images using OSEM + PSF + TOF (2 iterations, 17 subsets, and a 4-mm Gaussian filter), BPL + TOF (β = 200 to 700), and scan durations of 30–120 s. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), contrast, and coefficients of variance (CV) as image quality indicators were calculated, whereas the quantitative measures were recovery coefficients (RC) and RC linearity over a range of activity. We retrospectively analyzed images from five persons without bone metastases (male, n = 1; female, n = 4), then standardized uptake values (SUV), CV, and SNR at the 4th, 5th, and 6th thoracic vertebra were calculated in BPL + TOF (β = 400) images. Results The optimal reconstruction parameter of the BPL was β = 400 when images were acquired at 120 s/bed. At 90 s/bed, the BPL with a β value of 400 yielded 24% and 18% higher SNR and contrast, respectively, than OSEM (2 iterations; 120 s acquisitions). The BPL was superior to OSEM in terms of RC and the RC linearity over a range of activity, regardless of scan duration. The SUVmax were lower in BPL, than in OSEM. The CV and vertebral SNR in BPL were superior to those in OSEM. Conclusions The optimal reconstruction parameters of 18F-NaF PET/CT images acquired over different durations were determined. The BPL can reduce PET acquisition to 90 s/bed in 18F-NaF PET/CT imaging. Our results suggest that BPL (β = 400) on SiPM-based TOF PET/CT scanner maintained high image quality and quantitative accuracy even for shorter acquisition durations.


Author(s):  
Jonny Nordström ◽  
Hendrik J. Harms ◽  
Tanja Kero ◽  
Jens Sörensen ◽  
Mark Lubberink

Abstract Background Patient motion is a common problem during cardiac PET. The purpose of the present study was to investigate to what extent motions influence the quantitative accuracy of cardiac 15O-water PET/CT and to develop a method for automated motion detection. Method Frequency and magnitude of motion was assessed visually using data from 50 clinical 15O-water PET/CT scans. Simulations of 4 types of motions with amplitude of 5 to 20 mm were performed based on data from 10 scans. An automated motion detection algorithm was evaluated on clinical and simulated motion data. MBF and PTF of all simulated scans were compared to the original scan used as reference. Results Patient motion was detected in 68% of clinical cases by visual inspection. All observed motions were small with amplitudes less than half the LV wall thickness. A clear pattern of motion influence was seen in the simulations with a decrease of myocardial blood flow (MBF) in the region of myocardium to where the motion was directed. The perfusable tissue fraction (PTF) trended in the opposite direction. Global absolute average deviation of MBF was 3.1% ± 1.8% and 7.3% ± 6.3% for motions with maximum amplitudes of 5 and 20 mm, respectively. Automated motion detection showed a sensitivity of 90% for simulated motions ≥ 10 mm but struggled with the smaller (≤ 5 mm) simulated (sensitivity 45%) and clinical motions (accuracy 48%). Conclusion Patient motion can impair the quantitative accuracy of MBF. However, at typically occurring levels of patient motion, effects are similar to or only slightly larger than inter-observer variability, and downstream clinical effects are likely negligible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengcheng Hu ◽  
Xin Lin ◽  
Weihai Zhuo ◽  
Hui Tan ◽  
Tianwu Xie ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose A 2-m axial field-of-view, total-body PET/CT scanner (uEXPLORER) has been recently developed to provide total-body coverage and ultra-high sensitivity, which together, enables opportunities for in vivo time-activity curve (TAC) measurement of all investigated organs simultaneously with high temporal resolution. This study aims at quantifying the cumulated activity and patient dose of 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-18 FDG ) imaging by using delayed time-activity curves (TACs), measured out to 8-h post-injection, for different organs so that the comparison between quantifying approaches using short-time method (up to 75 min post-injection) or long-time method (up to 8 h post-injection) could be performed. Methods Organ TACs of 10 healthy volunteers were collected using total-body PET/CT in 4 periods after the intravenous injection of F-18 FDG. The 8-h post-injection TACs of 6 source organs were fitted using a spline method (based on Origin (version 8.1)). To compare with cumulated activity estimated from spline-fitted curves, the cumulated activity estimated from multi-exponential curve was also calculated. Exponential curve was fitted with shorter series of data consistent with clinical procedure and previous dosimetry works. An 8-h dynamic bladder wall dose model considering 2 voiding were employed to illustrate the differences in bladder wall dose caused by the different measurement durations. Organ absorbed doses were further estimated using Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) method and voxel phantoms. Results A short-time measurement could lead to significant bias in estimated cumulated activity for liver compared with long-time-measured spline fitted method, and the differences of cumulated activity were 18.38% on average. For the myocardium, the estimated cumulated activity difference was not statistically significant due to large variation in metabolism among individuals. The average residence time differences of brain, heart, kidney, liver, and lungs were 8.38%, 15.13%, 25.02%, 23.94%, and 16.50% between short-time and long-time methods. Regarding effective dose, the maximum differences of residence time between long-time-measured spline fitted curve and short-time-measured multi-exponential fitted curve was 9.93%. When using spline method, the bladder revealed the most difference in the effective dose among all the investigated organs with a bias up to 21.18%. The bladder wall dose calculated using a long-time dynamic model was 13.79% larger than the two-voiding dynamic model, and at least 50.17% lower than previous studies based on fixed bladder content volume. Conclusions Long-time measurement of multi-organ TACs with high temporal resolution enabled by a total-body PET/CT demonstrated that the clinical procedure with 20 min PET scan at 1 h after injection could be used for retrospective dosimetry analysis in most organs. As the bladder content contributed the most to the effective dose, a long-time dynamic model was recommended for the bladder wall dose estimation.


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