Gavriilidis Prodromos, Mottaghy Felix M, Koole Michel, van de Weijer Tineke, Mitea Cristina, van der Pol Jochem A J, van Nijnatten Thiemo J A, Jansen Floris P, Wierts Roel
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction (GROW), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025 Jun;52(7):2538-2548. doi: 10.1007/s00259-024-07061-6. Epub 2025 Jan 29.
The positron range effect can impair PET image quality of Gallium-68 (Ga). A positron range correction (PRC) can be applied to reduce this effect. In this study, the effect of a tissue-independent PRC for Ga was investigated on patient data.
PET/CT data (40 patients: [Ga]Ga-DOTATOC or [Ga]Ga-PSMA) were reconstructed using Q.Clear reconstruction algorithm. Two reconstructions were performed per patient, Q.Clear with and without PRC. SUV and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values per lesion were compared between PRC and non-PRC images. Five experienced nuclear medicine physicians reviewed the images and chose the preferred reconstruction based on the image quality, lesion detectability, and diagnostic confidence.
A total of 155 lesions were identified. The PRC resulted in statistically significant increase of the SUV and CNR for soft tissue lesions (6.4%, p < 0.001; 8.6%, p < 0.001), bone lesions (14.6%, p < 0.001; 12.5%, p < 0.001), and lung lesions (3.6%, p = 0.010; 6.3%, p = 0.001). This effect was most prominent in small lesions (SUV: 12.0%, p < 0.001, and CNR: 13.0%, p < 0.001). Similar or better image quality, lesion detectability, and diagnostic confidence was achieved in PRC images compared to the non-PRC images as those assessed by the expert readers.
A tissue-independent PRC increased the SUV and CNR in soft tissue, bone, and lung lesions with a larger effect for the small lesions. Visual assessment demonstrated similar or better image quality, lesion detectability, and diagnostic confidence in PRC images compared to the non-PRC images.
正电子射程效应会损害镓-68（Ga）的PET图像质量。可应用正电子射程校正（PRC）来减少这种效应。在本研究中，在患者数据上研究了一种与组织无关的Ga的PRC的效果。
使用Q.Clear重建算法重建PET/CT数据（40例患者：[Ga]Ga-DOTATOC或[Ga]Ga-PSMA）。每位患者进行两次重建，分别是有PRC和无PRC的Q.Clear重建。比较PRC图像和非PRC图像中每个病变的SUV和对比噪声比（CNR）值。五位经验丰富的核医学医师对图像进行评估，并根据图像质量、病变可检测性和诊断置信度选择更优的重建图像。
共识别出155个病变。PRC导致软组织病变的SUV和CNR在统计学上显著增加（分别为6.4%，p < 0.001；8.6%，p < 0.001），骨病变（分别为14.6%，p < 0.001；12.5%，p < 0.001），以及肺病变（分别为3.6%，p = 0.010；6.3%，p = 0.001）。这种效应在小病变中最为显著（SUV：12.0%，p < 0.001，CNR：13.0%，p < 0.001）。与专家读者评估的非PRC图像相比，PRC图像在图像质量、病变可检测性和诊断置信度方面达到了相似或更好的水平。
一种与组织无关的PRC增加了软组织、骨和肺病变中的SUV和CNR，对小病变的影响更大。视觉评估表明，与非PRC图像相比，PRC图像在图像质量、病变可检测性和诊断置信度方面相似或更优。
