Impact of Point Spread Function Correction in Standardized Uptake Value Quantitation for Positron Emission Tomography Images: A Study Based on Phantom Experiments and Clinical Images

Partial volume effects in positron emission tomography (PET) lead to quantitative under- and over-estimations of the regional concentrations of radioactivity in reconstructed images and corresponding errors in derived functional or parametric images. The limited resolution of PET leads to “tissue-fraction” effects, reflecting underlying tissue heterogeneity, and “spillover” effects between regions. Addressing the former problem in general requires supplementary data, for example, coregistered high-resolution magnetic resonance images, whereas the latter effect can be corrected for with PET data alone if the point-spread function of the tomograph has been characterized. Analysis of otherwise homogeneous region-of-interest data ideally requires a combination of tissue classification and correction for the point-spread function. The formulation of appropriate algorithms for partial volume correction (PVC) is dependent on both the distribution of the signal and the distribution of the underlying noise. A mathematical framework has therefore been developed to accommodate both of these factors and to facilitate the development of new PVC algorithms based on the description of the problem. Several methodologies and algorithms have been proposed and implemented in the literature in order to address these problems. These methods do not, however, explicitly consider the noise model while differing in their underlying assumptions. The general theory for estimation of regional concentrations, associated error estimation, and inhomogeneity tests are presented in a weighted least squares framework. The analysis has been validated using both simulated and real PET data sets. The relations between the current algorithms and those published previously are formulated and compared. The incorporation of tensors into the formulation of the problem has led to the construction of computationally rapid algorithms taking into account both tissue-fraction and spillover effects. The suitability of their application to dynamic and static images is discussed.

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Effects of point spread function-based image reconstruction on neuroreceptor binding in positron emission tomography study with [11C]FLB 457

Radiological Physics and Technology ◽

10.1007/s12194-015-0343-0 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 127-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Thonnapong Thongpraparn ◽

Yoko Ikoma ◽

Takahiro Shiraishi ◽

Taiga Yamaya ◽

Hiroshi Ito

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

Image Reconstruction ◽

Point Spread Function ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

Positron Emission Tomography Study ◽

Point Spread ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Spread Function

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Fast point spread function computation from aperture functions in high-resolution positron emission tomography

IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging ◽

10.1109/42.3923 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 2-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

D. Schmitt ◽

B. Karuta ◽

C. Carrier ◽

R. Lecomte

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

High Resolution ◽

Point Spread Function ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

Function Computation ◽

Point Spread ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Spread Function

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Characterization of point-spread function specification error on Geometric Transfer Matrix partial volume correction in [11C]PiB amyloid imaging

EJNMMI Physics ◽

10.1186/s40658-021-00403-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Charles M. Laymon ◽

Davneet S. Minhas ◽

Sarah K. Royse ◽

Howard J. Aizenstein ◽

Ann D. Cohen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transfer Matrix ◽

Point Spread Function ◽

Standardized Uptake Value ◽

Amyloid Imaging ◽

Partial Volume Correction ◽

Partial Volume ◽

Volume Correction ◽

Point Spread ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Spread Function

Abstract Purpose Partial-volume correction (PVC) using the Geometric Transfer Matrix (GTM) method is used in positron emission tomography (PET) to compensate for the effects of spatial resolution on quantitation. We evaluate the effect of misspecification of scanner point-spread function (PSF) on GTM results in amyloid imaging, including the effect on amyloid status classification (positive or negative). Methods Twenty-nine subjects with Pittsburgh Compound B ([11C]PiB) PET and structural T1 MR imaging were analyzed. FreeSurfer 5.3 (FS) was used to parcellate MR images into regions-of-interest (ROIs) that were used to extract radioactivity concentration values from the PET images. GTM PVC was performed using our “standard” PSF parameterization [3D Gaussian, full-width at half-maximum (w) of approximately 5 mm]. Additional GTM PVC was performed with “incorrect” parameterizations, taken around the correct value. The result is a set of regional activity values for each of the GTM applications. For each case, activity values from various ROIs were combined and normalized to produce standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) for nine standard [11C]PiB quantitation ROIs and a global region. GTM operating-point characteristics were determined from the slope of apparent SUVR versus w curves. Results Errors in specification of w on the order of 1 mm (3D) mainly produce only modest errors of up to a few percent. An exception was the anterior ventral striatum in which fractional errors of up to 0.29 per millimeter (3D) of error in w were observed. Conclusion While this study does not address all the issues regarding the quantitative strengths and weakness of GTM PVC, we find that with reasonable caution, the unavoidable inaccuracies associated with PSF specification do not preclude its use in amyloid quantitation.

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Usefulness of positron emission tomography for differentiating gliomas according to the 2016 World Health Organization classification of tumors of the central nervous system

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/2019.5.jns19780 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 133 (4) ◽

pp. 1010-1019 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hiroaki Takei ◽

Jun Shinoda ◽

Soko Ikuta ◽

Takashi Maruyama ◽

Yoshihiro Muragaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

Pet Imaging ◽

Who Classification ◽

Standardized Uptake Value ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

World Health ◽

Pet Tracers ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Mean

OBJECTIVEPositron emission tomography (PET) is important in the noninvasive diagnostic imaging of gliomas. There are many PET studies on glioma diagnosis based on the 2007 WHO classification; however, there are no studies on glioma diagnosis using the new classification (the 2016 WHO classification). Here, the authors investigated the relationship between uptake of 11C-methionine (MET), 11C-choline (CHO), and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on PET imaging and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status (wild-type [IDH-wt] or mutant [IDH-mut]) in astrocytic and oligodendroglial tumors according to the 2016 WHO classification.METHODSIn total, 105 patients with newly diagnosed cerebral gliomas (6 diffuse astrocytomas [DAs] with IDH-wt, 6 DAs with IDH-mut, 7 anaplastic astrocytomas [AAs] with IDH-wt, 24 AAs with IDH-mut, 26 glioblastomas [GBMs] with IDH-wt, 5 GBMs with IDH-mut, 19 oligodendrogliomas [ODs], and 12 anaplastic oligodendrogliomas [AOs]) were included. All OD and AO patients had both IDH-mut and 1p/19q codeletion. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of the tumor/mean SUV of normal cortex (T/N) ratios for MET, CHO, and FDG were calculated, and the mean T/N ratios of DA, AA, and GBM with IDH-wt and IDH-mut were compared. The diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing gliomas with IDH-wt from those with IDH-mut was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of the mean T/N ratios for the 3 PET tracers.RESULTSThere were significant differences in the mean T/N ratios for all 3 PET tracers between the IDH-wt and IDH-mut groups of all histological classifications (p < 0.001). Among the 27 gliomas with mean T/N ratios higher than the cutoff values for all 3 PET tracers, 23 (85.2%) were classified into the IDH-wt group using ROC analysis. In DA, there were no significant differences in the T/N ratios for MET, CHO, and FDG between the IDH-wt and IDH-mut groups. In AA, the mean T/N ratios of all 3 PET tracers in the IDH-wt group were significantly higher than those in the IDH-mut group (p < 0.01). In GBM, the mean T/N ratio in the IDH-wt group was significantly higher than that in the IDH-mut group for both MET (p = 0.034) and CHO (p = 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the ratio for FDG.CONCLUSIONSPET imaging using MET, CHO, and FDG was suggested to be informative for preoperatively differentiating gliomas according to the 2016 WHO classification, particularly for differentiating IDH-wt and IDH-mut tumors.

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