Influences of 3D PET scanner components on increased scatter evaluated by a Monte Carlo simulation

Evaluation of [18F]F-DPA PET for Detecting Microglial Activation in the Spinal Cord of a Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain

Purpose

Recent studies have linked activated spinal glia to neuropathic pain. Here, using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner with high spatial resolution and sensitivity, we evaluated the feasibility and sensitivity of N,N-diethyl-2-(2-(4-([¹⁸F]fluoro)phenyl)-5,7-dimethylpyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidin-3-yl)acetamide ([¹⁸F]F-DPA) imaging for detecting spinal cord microglial activation after partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) in rats.

Procedures

Neuropathic pain was induced in rats (n = 20) by PSNL, and pain sensation tests were conducted before surgery and 3 and 7 days post-injury. On day 7, in vivo PET imaging and ex vivo autoradiography were performed using [¹⁸F]F-DPA or [¹¹C]PK11195. Ex vivo biodistribution and PET imaging of the removed spinal cord were carried out with [¹⁸F]F-DPA. Sham-operated and PK11195-pretreated animals were also examined.

Results

Mechanical allodynia was confirmed in the PSNL rats from day 3 through day 7. Ex vivo autoradiography showed a higher lesion-to-background uptake with [¹⁸F]F-DPA compared with [¹¹C]PK11195. Ex vivo PET imaging of the removed spinal cord showed [¹⁸F]F-DPA accumulation in the inflammation site, which was immunohistochemically confirmed to coincide with microglia activation. Pretreatment with PK11195 eliminated the uptake. The SUV values of in vivo [¹⁸F]F-DPA and [¹¹C]PK11195 PET were not significantly increased in the lesion compared with the reference region, and were fivefold higher than the values obtained from the ex vivo data. Ex vivo biodistribution revealed a twofold higher [¹⁸F]F-DPA uptake in the vertebral body compared to that seen in the bone from the skull.

Conclusions

[¹⁸F]F-DPA aided visualization of the spinal cord inflammation site in PSNL rats on ex vivo autoradiography and was superior to [¹¹C]PK11195. In vivo [¹⁸F]F-DPA PET did not allow for visualization of tracer accumulation even using a high-spatial-resolution PET scanner. The main reason for this result was due to insufficient SUVs in the spinal cord region as compared with the background noise, in addition to a spillover from the vertebral body.

Applications of artificial intelligence in nuclear medicine image generation

Recently, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical imaging (including nuclear medicine imaging) has rapidly developed. Most AI applications in nuclear medicine imaging have focused on the diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and correlation analyses with pathology or specific gene mutation. It can also be used for image generation to shorten the time of image acquisition, reduce the dose of injected tracer, and enhance image quality. This work provides an overview of the application of AI in image generation for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) either without or with anatomical information [CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)]. This review focused on four aspects, including imaging physics, image reconstruction, image postprocessing, and internal dosimetry. AI application in generating attenuation map, estimating scatter events, boosting image quality, and predicting internal dose map is summarized and discussed.

Improved PET/MRI accuracy by use of static transmission source in empirically derived hardware attenuation correction

Background

Accurate quantification of radioactivity, measured by an integrated positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, is still a challenge. One aspect of such a challenge is to correct for the hardware attenuation, such as the patient table and radio frequency (RF) resonators. For PET/MRI systems, computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to produce hardware attenuation correction (AC) maps, by converting Hounsfield units (HU) to a linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) map at the PET energy level 511 keV, using a bilinear model. The model does not address beam hardening, nor higher density materials, which can lead to inaccurate corrections.

Purpose

In this study, we introduce a transmission-based (TX-based) AC technique with a static Germanium-68 (Ge-68) transmission source to generate hardware AC maps using the PET/MRI system itself, without the need for PET or medical CT scanners. The AC TX-based maps were generated for a homogeneous cylinder, made of acrylic as a validator. The technique thereafter was applied to the patient table and posterior part of an RF-phased array used in cardiovascular PET/MRI imaging. The proposed TX-based, and the CT-based, hardware maps were used in reconstructing PET images of one cardiac patient, and the results were analysed and compared.

Results

The LAC derived by the TX-based method for the acrylic cylinder is estimated to be 0.10851 ± 0.00380 cm⁻¹ compared to the 0.10698 ± 0.00321 cm⁻¹ theoretical value reported in the literature. The PET photon counts were reduced by 8.7 ± 1.1% with the patient table, at the region used in cardiac scans, while the CT-based map, used for correction, over-estimated counts by 4.3 ± 1.3%. Reconstructed in vivo images using TX-based AC hardware maps have shown 4.1 ± 0.9% mean difference compared to those reconstructed images using CT-based AC.

Conclusions

The LAC of the acrylic cylinder measurements using the TX-based technique was in agreement with those in the literature confirming the validity of the technique. The over-estimation of photon counts caused by the CT-based model used for the patient table was improved by the TX-based technique. Therefore, TX-based AC of hardware using the PET/MRI system itself is possible and can produce more accurate images when compared to the CT-based hardware AC in cardiac PET images.

A Monte Carlo simulation study of scatter fraction and the impact of patient BMI on scatter in long axial field-of-view PET scanners

The NEMA NU-2 standard describes a protocol for measurement of scatter fraction (SF) using an axially-aligned line source, offset at 45mm from the central axis, in a cylindrical polyethylene phantom. In this work, which is an extension of our preliminary results previuosly published in the Proceedings of IEEE NSS/MIC 2018 [1], we aim to evaluate the performance of the NEMA NU-2 SF protocol in a Siemens Biograph mCT PET/CT whole-body scanner and a long axial field-of-view (LAFOV) total-body PET scanner to determine whether modifications to the NEMA NU-2 SF protocol are needed for the characterisation of scatter in such scanners. In addition, we evaluate the impact of patient body mass index (BMI) on SF in a LAFOV scanner. The Siemens Biograph mCT and a typical LAFOV PET scanner were modelled in GATE. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to validate the mCT scanner model against published experimental results. SF was estimated using a modified NEMA NU-2 protocol with variable radial offsets on both scanners and compared to ground truth SF measurements obtained with a uniform-activity cylindrical phantom. Correlation between BMI and SF in the LAFOV scanner was evaluated by simulating anthropomorphic phantoms with different BMIs and realistic ¹⁸F-FDG distributions, together with uniformly-filled 200cm long cylindrical phantoms with equivalent effective diameters. The optimal offset was found to be either 60mm or 80mm, depending on the chosen optimality metric. We conclude that modifications to NEMA NU-2 are required for accurate SF characterisation in whole-body and LAFOV scanners. Finally, SF in anthropomorphic phantoms with realistic tissue concentrations of ¹⁸F-FDG was found to be strongly correlated with SF in an equivalent-volume cylindrical phantom for the LAFOV PET scanner; BMI was also found to strongly positively correlate with the SF.