Reed Murray Bruce, Godbersen Godber Mathis, Vraka Chrysoula, Rausch Ivo, Ponce de León Magdalena, Popper Valentin, Geist Barbara, Nics Lukas, Komorowski Arkadiusz, Karanikas Georgios, Beyer Thomas, Traub-Weidinger Tatjana, Hahn Andreas, Langsteger Werner, Hacker Marcus, Lanzenberger Rupert
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Front Physiol. 2023 Mar 22;14:1074052. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1074052. eCollection 2023.
Dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) and the application of kinetic models can provide important quantitative information based on its temporal information. This however requires arterial blood sampling, which can be challenging to acquire. Nowadays, state-of-the-art PET/CT systems offer fully automated, whole-body (WB) kinetic modelling protocols using image-derived input functions (IDIF) to replace arterial blood sampling. Here, we compared the validity of an automatic WB kinetic model protocol to the reference standard arterial input function (AIF) for both clinical and research settings. Sixteen healthy participants underwent dynamic WB [F]FDG scans using a continuous bed motion PET/CT system with simultaneous arterial blood sampling. Multiple processing pipelines that included automatic and manually generated IDIFs derived from the aorta and left ventricle, with and without motion correction were compared to the AIF. Subsequently generated quantitative images of glucose metabolism were compared to evaluate performance of the different input functions. We observed moderate to high correlations between IDIFs and the AIF regarding area under the curve (r = 0.49-0.89) as well as for the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRGlu) (r = 0.68-0.95). Manual placing of IDIFs and motion correction further improved their similarity to the AIF. In general, the automatic vendor protocol is a feasible approach for the quantification of CMRGlu for both, clinical and research settings where expertise or time is not available. However, we advise on a rigorous inspection of the placement of the volume of interest, the resulting IDIF, and the quantitative values to ensure valid interpretations. In protocols requiring longer scan times or where cohorts are prone to involuntary movement, manual IDIF definition with additional motion correction is recommended, as this has greater accuracy and reliability.
动态正电子发射断层扫描（PET）以及动力学模型的应用能够基于其时间信息提供重要的定量信息。然而，这需要采集动脉血样，而这可能具有挑战性。如今，先进的PET/CT系统提供了使用图像衍生输入函数（IDIF）来替代动脉血样采集的全自动全身（WB）动力学建模方案。在此，我们针对临床和研究场景，比较了自动WB动力学模型方案与参考标准动脉输入函数（AIF）的有效性。16名健康参与者使用具有同步动脉血样采集功能的连续床位移动PET/CT系统进行了动态WB [F]FDG扫描。将多个处理流程进行了比较，这些流程包括从主动脉和左心室衍生的自动和手动生成的IDIF，有和没有运动校正的情况均与AIF进行了比较。随后比较了生成的葡萄糖代谢定量图像，以评估不同输入函数的性能。我们观察到IDIF与AIF在曲线下面积（r = 0.49 - 0.89）以及脑葡萄糖代谢率（CMRGlu）（r = 0.68 - 0.95）方面存在中度至高相关性。手动放置IDIF和运动校正进一步提高了它们与AIF的相似性。总体而言，自动厂商方案对于临床和研究场景中葡萄糖代谢率的定量分析是一种可行的方法，特别是在缺乏专业知识或时间的情况下。然而，我们建议对感兴趣体积的放置、所得的IDIF以及定量值进行严格检查，以确保有效解读。在需要更长扫描时间的方案中或队列容易出现不自主运动的情况下，建议采用带有额外运动校正的手动IDIF定义，因为这样具有更高的准确性和可靠性。
