Articles

Inter-comparison of quantitative imaging of lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu) in European hospitals

This inter-comparison exercise was performed to demonstrate the variability of quantitative SPECT/CT imaging for lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu) in current clinical practice. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of using i...

Authors: Jill Wevrett, Andrew Fenwick, James Scuffham, Lena Johansson, Jonathan Gear, Susanne Schlögl, Marcel Segbers, Katarina Sjögreen-Gleisner, Pavel Solný, Michael Lassmann, Jill Tipping and Andrew Nisbet

Quantitative performance of ¹²⁴I PET/MR of neck lesions in thyroid cancer patients using ¹²⁴I PET/CT as reference

In patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), serial ¹²⁴I PET/CT imaging is, for instance, used to assess the absorbed (radiation) dose to lesions. Frequently, the lesions are located in the neck and they...

Authors: Walter Jentzen, Jinda Phaosricharoen, Benedikt Gomez, Philipp Hetkamp, Vanessa Stebner, Ina Binse, Sonja Kinner, Ken Herrmann, Amir Sabet and James Nagarajah

Feasibility of simplifying renal dosimetry in ¹⁷⁷Lu peptide receptor radionuclide therapy

Recently, ¹⁷⁷Lu-dotatate therapy for neuroendocrine tumours has received regulatory approval. Dosimetry can be used to optimize treatment on an individual basis, but there is no international consensus as to how ...

Authors: Anna Sundlöv, Johan Gustafsson, Gustav Brolin, Nadja Mortensen, Rebecca Hermann, Peter Bernhardt, Johanna Svensson, Michael Ljungberg, Jan Tennvall and Katarina Sjögreen Gleisner

Abstracts of the Total Body PET conference 2018

Authors:

Reducing the number of CTs performed to monitor personalized dosimetry during peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT)

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with [¹⁷⁷Lu]-DOTA-TATE is an effective treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). After each cycle of treatment, patient dosimetry evaluates the radiation dose to the ...

Authors: Alexandre Chicheportiche, Faozi Artoul, Arnon Schwartz, Simona Grozinsky-Glasberg, Amichay Meirovitz, David J. Gross and Jeremy Godefroy

Improved quantitation and reproducibility in multi-PET/CT lung studies by combining CT information

Matched attenuation maps are vital for obtaining accurate and reproducible kinetic and static parameter estimates from PET data. With increased interest in PET/CT imaging of diffuse lung diseases for assessing...

Authors: Beverley F. Holman, Vesna Cuplov, Lynn Millner, Raymond Endozo, Toby M. Maher, Ashley M. Groves, Brian F. Hutton and Kris Thielemans

Image-based SPECT calibration based on the evaluation of the Fraction of Activity in the Field of View

SPECT quantification is important for dosimetry in targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) and the calibration of SPECT images is a crucial stage for image quantification. The current standardized calibration prot...

Authors: Adrien Halty, Jean-Noël Badel, Olga Kochebina and David Sarrut

Determination of gamma camera calibration factors for quantitation of therapeutic radioisotopes

Camera calibration, which translates reconstructed count map into absolute activity map, is a prerequisite procedure for quantitative SPECT imaging. Both planar and tomographic scans using different phantom ge...

Authors: Wei Zhao, Pedro L. Esquinas, Xinchi Hou, Carlos F. Uribe, Marjorie Gonzalez, Jean-Mathieu Beauregard, Yuni K. Dewaraja and Anna Celler

Initial experience with a SiPM-based PET/CT scanner: influence of acquisition time on image quality

A newly introduced PET/CT scanner (Discovery Meaningful Insights—DMI, GE Healthcare) includes the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) with time-of-flight (TOF) technology first used in the GE SIGNA PET/MRI. In this...

Authors: Ida Sonni, Lucia Baratto, Sonya Park, Negin Hatami, Shyam Srinivas, Guido Davidzon, Sanjiv Sam Gambhir and Andrei Iagaru

Multi institutional quantitative phantom study of yttrium-90 PET in PET/MRI: the MR-QUEST study

Yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) radioembolization involves the intra-arterial delivery of radioactive microspheres to treat hepatic malignancies. Though this therapy involves careful pre-treatment planning and imaging, little i...

Authors: Nichole M. Maughan, Mootaz Eldib, David Faul, Maurizio Conti, Mattijs Elschot, Karin Knešaurek, Francesca Leek, David Townsend, Frank P. DiFilippo, Kimberly Jackson, Stephan G. Nekolla, Mathias Lukas, Michael Tapner, Parag J. Parikh and Richard Laforest

Feasibility study of a novel general purpose CZT-based digital SPECT camera: initial clinical results

The performance of a prototype novel digital single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) camera with multiple pixelated CZT detectors and high sensitivity collimators (Digital SPECT; Valiance X12 protot...

Authors: Elinor Goshen, Leonid Beilin, Eli Stern, Tal Kenig, Ronen Goldkorn and Simona Ben-Haim

Performance evaluation of a novel brain-dedicated SPECT system

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging is an important diagnostic tool for the early detection of the loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and similar neur...

Authors: M. K. Stam, E. E. Verwer, J. Booij, S. M. Adriaanse, C. M. de Bruin and T. C. de Wit

Quantitative analysis of phantom studies of ¹¹¹In and ⁶⁸Ga imaging of neuroendocrine tumours

Nuclear medicine imaging of neuroendocrine tumours is performed either by SPECT/CT imaging, using ¹¹¹In-octreotide or by PET/CT imaging using ⁶⁸Ga-radiolabelled somatostatin analogs. These imaging techniques will...

Authors: L. Jönsson, A. Stenvall, E. Mattsson, E. Larsson, A. Sundlöv, T. Ohlsson and C. Hindorf

MR-based motion correction for cardiac PET parametric imaging: a simulation study

Both cardiac and respiratory motions bias the kinetic parameters measured by dynamic PET. The aim of this study was to perform a realistic positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET-MR) simulation st...

Authors: Rong Guo, Yoann Petibon, Yixin Ma, Georges El Fakhri, Kui Ying and Jinsong Ouyang

Deadtime effects in quantification of ¹⁷⁷Lu activity for radionuclide therapy

The aim of this study was to investigate the deadtime (DT) effects that are present in ¹⁷⁷Lu images acquired after radionuclide therapy injection, assess differences in DT based on the full spectrum and the photo...

Authors: Carlos F. Uribe, Pedro L. Esquinas, Marjorie Gonzalez, Wei Zhao, Jesse Tanguay and Anna Celler

Fast GPU-based Monte Carlo code for SPECT/CT reconstructions generates improved ¹⁷⁷Lu images

Full Monte Carlo (MC)-based SPECT reconstructions have a strong potential for correcting for image degrading factors, but the reconstruction times are long. The objective of this study was to develop a highly ...

Authors: T. Rydén, J. Heydorn Lagerlöf, J. Hemmingsson, I. Marin, J. Svensson, M. Båth, P. Gjertsson and P. Bernhardt

Monte Carlo-based quantitative pinhole SPECT reconstruction using a ray-tracing back-projector

Monte Carlo simulations provide accurate models of nuclear medicine imaging systems as they can properly account for the full physics of photon transport. The accuracy of the model included in the maximum-like...

Authors: Mikael Peterson, Johan Gustafsson and Michael Ljungberg

The effect of high count rates on cardiac perfusion quantification in a simultaneous PET-MR system using a cardiac perfusion phantom

PET-MRI is under investigation as a new strategy for quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging. Consideration is required as to the maximum scanner count rate in order to limit dead-time losses resulting from ...

Authors: Jim O’ Doherty, Zacharias Chalampalakis, Paul Schleyer, Muhummad Sohaib Nazir, Amedeo Chiribiri and Paul K. Marsden

Model selection criteria for dynamic brain PET studies

 Several criteria exist to identify the optimal model for quantification of tracer kinetics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correspondence in kinetic model preference identification for brain PE...

Authors: Sandeep S. V. Golla, Sofie M. Adriaanse, Maqsood Yaqub, Albert D. Windhorst, Adriaan A. Lammertsma, Bart N. M. van Berckel and Ronald Boellaard

Variations in the practice of molecular radiotherapy and implementation of dosimetry: results from a European survey

Currently, the implementation of dosimetry in molecular radiotherapy (MRT) is not well investigated, and in view of the Council Directive (2013/59/Euratom), there is a need to understand the current availabili...

Authors: Katarina Sjögreen Gleisner, Emiliano Spezi, Pavel Solny, Pablo Minguez Gabina, Francesco Cicone, Caroline Stokke, Carlo Chiesa, Maria Paphiti, Boudewijn Brans, Mattias Sandström, Jill Tipping, Mark Konijnenberg and Glenn Flux

Comparison of machine learning and semi-quantification algorithms for (I123)FP-CIT classification: the beginning of the end for semi-quantification?

Semi-quantification methods are well established in the clinic for assisted reporting of (I123) Ioflupane images. Arguably, these are limited diagnostic tools. Recent research has demonstrated the potential fo...

Authors: Jonathan Christopher Taylor and John Wesley Fenner

Dosimetry-based treatment planning for molecular radiotherapy: a summary of the 2017 report from the Internal Dosimetry Task Force

The European directive on basic safety standards (Council directive 2013/59 Euratom) mandates dosimetry-based treatment planning for radiopharmaceutical therapies. The directive comes into operation February 2...

Authors: Caroline Stokke, Pablo Minguez Gabiña, Pavel Solný, Francesco Cicone, Mattias Sandström, Katarina Sjögreen Gleisner, Carlo Chiesa, Emiliano Spezi, Maria Paphiti, Mark Konijnenberg, Matt Aldridge, Jill Tipping, Michael Wissmeyer, Boudewijn Brans, Klaus Bacher, Carsten Kobe…

Calculation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction from dynamic cardiac-gated ¹⁵O-water PET/CT: 5D-PET

Quantitative measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) is of increasing interest in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). ¹⁵O-water positron emission tomography (PET) ...

Authors: Jonny Nordström, Tanja Kero, Hendrik Johannes Harms, Charles Widström, Frank A. Flachskampf, Jens Sörensen and Mark Lubberink

Predictive SIRT dosimetry based on a territorial model

In the planning of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) for liver cancer treatment, one major aspect is to determine the prescribed activity and to estimate the resulting absorbed dose inside normal liv...

Authors: Nadine Spahr, Philipp Schilling, Smita Thoduka, Nasreddin Abolmaali and Andrea Schenk

Patient-specific dosimetry of ^99mTc-HYNIC-Tyr³-Octreotide in children

Technetium-99m-hydrazinonicotinamide-Tyr³-octreotide (^99mTc-HYNIC-TOC) is recognized as a promising radiopharmaceutical for diagnosing neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). However, ^99mTc-HYNIC-TOC dosimetry has been inv...

Authors: Xinchi Hou, Bozena Birkenfeld, Hanna Piwowarska-Bilska and Anna Celler

Guidelines for quality control of PET/CT scans in a multicenter clinical study

To date, there is no published detailed checklist with parameters referencing the DICOM tag information with respect to the quality control (QC) of PET/CT scans. The aims of these guidelines are to provide the...

Authors: Ivalina Hristova, Ronald Boellaard, Paul Galette, Lalitha K. Shankar, Yan Liu, Sigrid Stroobants, Otto S. Hoekstra and Wim J.G. Oyen

Comparison of novel multi-level Otsu (MO-PET) and conventional PET segmentation methods for measuring FDG metabolic tumor volume in patients with soft tissue sarcoma

We have previously developed a novel and highly consistent PET segmentation algorithm using a multi-level Otsu method (MO-PET). The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of MO-PET compared to conve...

Authors: Inki Lee, Hyung-Jun Im, Meiyappan Solaiyappan and Steve Y. Cho

Comparison of PET/CT and whole-mount histopathology sections of the human prostate: a new strategy for voxel-wise evaluation

Implementation of PET/CT in diagnosis of primary prostate cancer (PCa) requires a profound knowledge about the tracer, preferably from a quantitative evaluation. Direct visual comparison of PET/CT slices to wh...

Authors: F. Schiller, T. Fechter, C. Zamboglou, A. Chirindel, N. Salman, C.A. Jilg, V. Drendel, M. Werner, P.T. Meyer, A.-L. Grosu and M. Mix

Ejection fraction in myocardial perfusion imaging assessed with a dynamic phantom: comparison between IQ-SPECT and LEHR

Developments in single photon emission tomography instrumentation and reconstruction methods present a potential for decreasing acquisition times. One of such recent options for myocardial perfusion imaging (M...

Authors: Eero Hippeläinen, Teemu Mäkelä, Touko Kaasalainen and Erna Kaleva

Design and implementation of a prototype head and neck phantom for the performance evaluation of gamma imaging systems

A prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed to simulate the adult head and neck anatomy including some internal organs and tissues of interest, such as thyroid gland and sentinel lymph ...

Authors: Mohammed S. Alqahtani, John E. Lees, Sarah L. Bugby, Piyal Samara-Ratna, Aik H. Ng and Alan C. Perkins

A CZT-based blood counter for quantitative molecular imaging

Robust quantitative analysis in positron emission tomography (PET) and in single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) typically requires the time-activity curve as an input function for the pharmacokine...

Authors: Romain Espagnet, Andrea Frezza, Jean-Pierre Martin, Louis-André Hamel, Laëtitia Lechippey, Jean-Mathieu Beauregard and Philippe Després

EORTC PET response criteria are more influenced by reconstruction inconsistencies than PERCIST but both benefit from the EARL harmonization program

This study evaluates the consistency of PET evaluation response criteria in solid tumours (PERCIST) and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) classification across different recons...

Authors: Charline Lasnon, Elske Quak, Pierre-Yves Le Roux, Philippe Robin, Michael S. Hofman, David Bourhis, Jason Callahan, David S. Binns, Cédric Desmonts, Pierre-Yves Salaun, Rodney J. Hicks and Nicolas Aide

Using ³¹P-MRI of hydroxyapatite for bone attenuation correction in PET-MRI: proof of concept in the rodent brain

The correction of γ-photon attenuation in PET-MRI remains a critical issue, especially for bone attenuation. This problem is of great importance for brain studies due to the density of the skull. Current techn...

Authors: Vincent Lebon, Sébastien Jan, Yoann Fontyn, Brice Tiret, Géraldine Pottier, Emilie Jaumain and Julien Valette

Saul Hertz, MD, and the birth of radionuclide therapy

The year, 2016, marked the 75th anniversary of Dr. Saul Hertz first using radioiodine to treat a patient with thyroid disease. In November of 1936, a luncheon was held of the faculty of Harvard Medical School ...

Authors: Frederic H. Fahey, Frederick D. Grant and James H. Thrall

Cerenkov luminescence imaging: physics principles and potential applications in biomedical sciences

Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is a novel imaging modality to study charged particles with optical methods by detecting the Cerenkov luminescence produced in tissue. This paper first describes the physica...

Authors: Esther Ciarrocchi and Nicola Belcari

Minimum lesion detectability as a measure of PET system performance

A phantom in combination with an imaging protocol was developed to measure the limit of small lesion detection on different PET systems. Seven small spheres with inner diameters ranging from 3.95 up to 15.43 m...

Authors: Stephen Adler, Jurgen Seidel, Peter Choyke, Michael V. Knopp, Katherine Binzel, Jun Zhang, Craig Barker, Shielah Conant and Roberto Maass-Moreno

MLAA-based attenuation correction of flexible hardware components in hybrid PET/MR imaging

Accurate PET quantification demands attenuation correction (AC) for both patient and hardware attenuation of the 511 keV annihilation photons. In hybrid PET/MR imaging, AC for stationary hardware components su...

Authors: Thorsten Heußer, Christopher M. Rank, Yannick Berker, Martin T. Freitag and Marc Kachelrieß

Depth of interaction determination in monolithic scintillator with double side SiPM readout

Monolithic scintillators read out by arrays of photodetectors represent a promising solution to obtain high spatial resolution and the depth of interaction (DOI) of the annihilation photon. We have recently in...

Authors: Matteo Morrocchi, Giovanni Ambrosi, Maria Giuseppina Bisogni, Filippo Bosi, Marco Boretto, Piergiorgio Cerello, Maria Ionica, Ben Liu, Francesco Pennazio, Maria Antonietta Piliero, Giovanni Pirrone, Vasile Postolache, Richard Wheadon and Alberto Del Guerra

Cardiac PET/CT with Rb-82: optimization of image acquisition and reconstruction parameters

Our aim was to characterize the influence of time-of-flight (TOF) and point spread function (PSF) recovery corrections, as well as ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) reconstruction parameters, in ⁸²Rb...

Authors: P. Chilra, S. Gnesin, G. Allenbach, M. Monteiro, J. O. Prior, L. Vieira and J. A. Pires Jorge

Digital PET compliance to EARL accreditation specifications

Our aim was to evaluate if a recently introduced TOF PET system with digital photon counting technology (Philips Healthcare), potentially providing an improved image quality over analogue systems, can fulfil E...

Authors: Daniëlle Koopman, Maureen Groot Koerkamp, Pieter L. Jager, Hester Arkies, Siert Knollema, Cornelis H. Slump, Pedro G. Sanches and Jorn A. van Dalen

[¹²³I]FP-CIT ENC-DAT normal database: the impact of the reconstruction and quantification methods

[¹²³I]FP-CIT is a well-established radiotracer for the diagnosis of dopaminergic degenerative disorders. The European Normal Control Database of DaTSCAN (ENC-DAT) of healthy controls has provided age and gender-s...

Authors: Livia Tossici-Bolt, John C. Dickson, Terez Sera, Jan Booij, Susanne Asenbaun-Nan, Maria C. Bagnara, Thierry Vander Borght, Cathrine Jonsson, Robin de Nijs, Swen Hesse, Pierre M. Koulibaly, Umit O. Akdemir, Michel Koole, Klaus Tatsch and Andrea Varrone

Accuracy and precision assessment for activity quantification in individualized dosimetry of ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE therapy

In order to obtain a reliable ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE therapy dosimetry, it is crucial to acquire accurate and precise activity measurements with the radionuclide calibrator, the SPECT/CT camera, and the NaI(Tl) well coun...

Authors: Gwennaëlle Marin, Bruno Vanderlinden, Ioannis Karfis, Thomas Guiot, Zena Wimana, Patrick Flamen and Stefaan Vandenberghe

3D absorbed dose distribution estimated by Monte Carlo simulation in radionuclide therapy with a monoclonal antibody targeting synovial sarcoma

Radiolabeled OTSA101, a monoclonal antibody targeting synovial sarcoma (SS) developed by OncoTherapy Science, was used to treat relapsing SS metastases following a theranostic procedure: in case of significant ^11...

Authors: David Sarrut, Jean-Noël Badel, Adrien Halty, Gwenaelle Garin, David Perol, Philippe Cassier, Jean-Yves Blay, David Kryza and Anne-Laure Giraudet

Point-spread function reconstructed PET images of sub-centimeter lesions are not quantitative

PET image reconstruction methods include modeling of resolution degrading phenomena, often referred to as point-spread function (PSF) reconstruction. The aim of this study was to develop a clinically relevant ...

Authors: O. L. Munk, L. P. Tolbod, S. B. Hansen and T. V. Bogsrud

An experimental phantom study of the effect of gadolinium-based MR contrast agents on PET attenuation coefficients and PET quantification in PET-MR imaging: application to cardiac studies

Simultaneous cardiac perfusion studies are an increasing trend in PET-MR imaging. During dynamic PET imaging, the introduction of gadolinium-based MR contrast agents (GBCA) at high concentrations during a dual...

Authors: Jim O’ Doherty and Paul Schleyer

Evaluation of two intraoperative gamma detectors for assessment of ¹⁷⁷Lu activity concentration in vivo

Patients with somatostatin receptor-expressing neuroendocrine tumours can be treated with intravenously administered ¹⁷⁷Lu-octreotate. Few patients are cured with the present protocol due to the current dose limi...

Authors: Viktor Sandblom, Ingun Ståhl, Roger Olofsson Bagge and Eva Forssell-Aronsson

Accuracy of ¹⁷⁷Lu activity quantification in SPECT imaging: a phantom study

The aim of the study is to assess accuracy of activity quantification of ¹⁷⁷Lu studies performed according to recommendations provided by the committee on Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) pamphlets 23 and 2...

Authors: Carlos F. Uribe, Pedro L. Esquinas, Jesse Tanguay, Marjorie Gonzalez, Emilie Gaudin, Jean-Mathieu Beauregard and Anna Celler

Quantitative myocardial blood flow imaging with integrated time-of-flight PET-MR

The use of integrated PET-MR offers new opportunities for comprehensive assessment of cardiac morphology and function. However, little is known on the quantitative accuracy of cardiac PET imaging with integrat...

Authors: Tanja Kero, Jonny Nordström, Hendrik J. Harms, Jens Sörensen, Håkan Ahlström and Mark Lubberink

A gamma-distribution convolution model of ^99mTc-MIBI thyroid time-activity curves

The convolution approach to thyroid time-activity curve (TAC) data fitting with a gamma distribution convolution (GDC) TAC model following bolus intravenous injection is presented and applied to ^99mTc-MIBI data. ...

Authors: Carl A. Wesolowski, Surajith N. Wanasundara, Michal J. Wesolowski, Belkis Erbas and Paul S. Babyn

Pharmacokinetic modeling of a novel hypoxia PET tracer [¹⁸F]HX4 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

[¹⁸F]HX4 is a promising new PET tracer developed to identify hypoxic areas in tumor tissue. This study analyzes [¹⁸F]HX4 kinetics and assesses the performance of simplified methods for quantification of [¹⁸F]HX4 ...

Authors: E. E. Verwer, C. M. L. Zegers, W. van Elmpt, R. Wierts, A. D. Windhorst, F. M. Mottaghy, P. Lambin and R. Boellaard