Simulated Reduced-Count Whole-Body FDG PET: Evaluation in Children and Young Adults Imaged on a Digital PET Scanner

A low-dose protocol in pediatric 18F-FDG scans using 30-cm axis field of view PET/CT

OBJECTIVE

To explore the feasibility of a low-dose 18F-FDG protocol for the 30-cm standard axial field of view (SAFOV) PET/CT imaging in pediatric patients.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 112 pediatric patients who underwent a full-dose (3.7 MBq/kg) 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging, and a prospective analysis was performed on 55 patients who received a low-dose (2.5 MBq/kg) imaging. PET images were reconstructed at 1.0-min/bed intervals, and labeled as G1.0, G2.0, G3.0 for the full-dose imaging and G1.0', G2.0', G3.0' for the low-dose imaging. Patients were categorized into three age groups, and the image quality was assessed using the Likert scale and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); Lesion detectability was evaluated using lesion detection rates and the target-to-liver ratio (TLR).

RESULTS

In G2.0 and G3.0, all cases (112/112) achieved an image score of ≥ 3 and a lesion detection rate of 100% (98/98). There were no significant differences in SNR between G2.0 and G3.0 (11.09 ± 2.31 vs. 11.88 ± 2.58, p = 0.39), nor between age groups ≤ 5 years and 6-10 years groups (9.52 ± 3.16 vs. 9.53 ± 3.19, p = 0.99). In G3.0', 98.2% of cases (54/55) had an image score ≥ 3 and a lesion detection rate of 100% (43/43). The SNR of every age group for G3.0' was comparable to that of G2.0, and no significant differences between ≤ 5 years and 6-10 years groups (9.32 ± 1.94 vs. 9.99 ± 2.28, p = 0.82).

CONCLUSIONS

A 2.5 MBq/kg dose with a 3.0 min/bed acquisition protocol is feasible for 18F-FDG 30-cm SAFOV PET/CT imaging in pediatric patients, and SNR and TLR demonstrated age-dependent discrepancies.

Patient factors affecting 18F FDG uptake in children

PURPOSE

To characterize physiologic uptake of 18F FDG in children undergoing PET/CT as a step to informing efforts to optimize FDG PET image quality in children.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 193 clinically indicated 18F FDG PET/CT examinations from 139 patients. 3D spherical regions of interest (ROIs) in the liver and in the thigh muscle (an area of uniform low-level uptake) were used to measure counts and mean standardized uptake value by body weight (SUVmean-bw). Counts, SUVs, and liver signal to noise ratio (SNR) were assessed for associations with patient-specific predictor variables using Pearson correlation and multivariable linear regression.

RESULTS

Mean patient age was 11.0 ± 5.4 (SD) years, mean liver SUVmean-bw was 1.77 ± 0.60 and mean liver counts was 5387 ± 1875 Bq/mL. On univariable analysis liver SUVmean-bw and liver counts were strongly correlated with weight (r = 0.87, p < 0.0001), age (r = 0.75, p < 0.0001) and total injected activity (r = 0.85, p < 0.0001). Mean thigh counts were significantly associated only with injected activity/kilogram (r = 0.37, p < 0.0001). On multivariable analysis, body weight and age (which is collinear with body weight) were the only significant independent predictors (p < 0.0001). Liver SNR was moderately associated with all predictors apart from injected activity per kilogram (r = 0.09, p = 0.23).

CONCLUSION

Liver counts on 18F FDG PET/CT have a significant positive association with age and body weight. However, liver SNR has no significant association with injected activity per kilogram suggesting that increasing dose per kilogram may not improve image quality in young children.

Reduced count pediatric whole-body 18F-FDG PET imaging reconstruction with a Bayesian penalized likelihood algorithm

BACKGROUND

Advanced positron emission tomography (PET) image reconstruction methods promise to allow optimized PET/CT protocols with improved image quality, decreased administered activity and/or acquisition times.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of reducing counts (simulating reduced acquisition time) in block sequential regularized expectation maximization (BSREM) reconstructed pediatric whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET images, and to compare BSERM with ordered-subset expectation maximization (OSEM) reconstructed reduced-count images.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty children (16 male) underwent clinical whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT examinations using a 25-cm axial field-of-view (FOV) digital PET/CT system at 90 s per bed (s/bed) with BSREM reconstruction (β=700). Reduced count simulations with varied BSREM β levels were generated from list-mode data: 60 s/bed, β=800; 50 s/bed, β=900; 40 s/bed, β=1000; and 30 s/bed, β=1300. In addition, a single OSEM reconstruction was created at 60 s/bed based on prior literature. Qualitative (Likert scores) and quantitative (standardized uptake value [SUV]) analyses were performed to evaluate image quality and quantitation across simulated reconstructions.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was 9.0 ± 5.5 (SD) years, mean weight was 38.5 ± 24.5 kg, and mean administered 18F-FDG activity was 4.5 ± 0.7 (SD) MBq/kg. Between BSREM reconstructions, no qualitative measure showed a significant difference versus the 90 s/bed β=700 standard (all P>0.05). SUVmax values for lesions were significantly lower from 90 s/bed, β=700 only at a simulated acquisition time of 30 s/bed, β=1300 (P=0.001). In a side-by-side comparison of BSREM versus OSEM reconstructions, 40 s/bed, β=1000 images were generally preferred over 60 s/bed TOF OSEM images.

CONCLUSION

In children who undergo whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT on a 25-cm FOV digital PET/CT scanner, reductions in acquisition time or, by corollary, administered radiopharmaceutical activity of >50% from a clinical standard of 90 s/bed may be possible while maintaining diagnostic quality when a BSREM reconstruction algorithm is used.

Quantitative MRI of chronic pancreatitis: results from a multi-institutional prospective study, magnetic resonance imaging as a non-invasive method for assessment of pancreatic fibrosis (MINIMAP)

PURPOSE

To determine if quantitative MRI techniques can be helpful to evaluate chronic pancreatitis (CP) in a setting of multi-institutional study.

METHODS

This study included a subgroup of participants (n = 101) enrolled in the Prospective Evaluation of Chronic Pancreatitis for Epidemiologic and Translational Studies (PROCEED) study (NCT03099850) from February 2019 to May 2021. MRI was performed on 1.5 T using Siemens and GE scanners at seven clinical centers across the USA. Quantitative MRI parameters of the pancreas included T1 relaxation time, extracellular volume (ECV) fraction, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and fat signal fraction. We report the diagnostic performance and mean values within the control (n = 50) and CP (n = 51) groups. The T1, ECV and fat signal fraction were combined to generate the quantitative MRI score (Q-MRI).

RESULTS

There was significantly higher T1 relaxation time; mean 669 ms (± 171) vs. 593 ms (± 82) (p = 0.006), ECV fraction; 40.2% (± 14.7) vs. 30.3% (± 11.9) (p < 0.001), and pancreatic fat signal fraction; 12.2% (± 5.5) vs. 8.2% (± 4.4) (p < 0.001) in the CP group compared to controls. The ADC was similar between groups (p = 0.45). The AUCs for the T1, ECV, and pancreatic fat signal fraction were 0.62, 0.72, and 0.73, respectively. The composite Q-MRI score improved the diagnostic performance (cross-validated AUC: 0.76).

CONCLUSION

Quantitative MR parameters evaluating the pancreatic parenchyma (T1, ECV fraction, and fat signal fraction) are helpful in the diagnosis of CP. A Q-MRI score that combines these three MR parameters improves diagnostic performance. Further studies are warranted with larger study populations including patients with acute and recurrent acute pancreatitis and longitudinal follow-ups.

T1 signal intensity ratio of the pancreas as an imaging biomarker for the staging of chronic pancreatitis

PURPOSE

Our purpose was to validate the T1 SIR (T1 score) as an imaging biomarker for the staging of CP in a large, multi-institutional, prospective study.

METHODS

The prospective study population included 820 participants enrolled in the PROCEED study from nine clinical centers between June 2017 and December 2021. A radiologist at each institution used a standardized method to measure the T1 signal intensity of the pancreas and the reference organs (spleen, paraspinal muscle, liver), which was used to derive respective T1 scores. Participants were stratified according to the seven mechanistic stages of chronic pancreatitis (MSCP 0-6) based on their clinical history, MRCP, and CT findings.

RESULTS

The mean pancreas-to-spleen T1 score was 1.30 in participants with chronic abdominal pain, 1.22 in those with acute or recurrent acute pancreatitis, and 1.03 in definite CP. After adjusting for covariates, we observed a linear, progressive decline in the pancreas-to-spleen T1 score with increasing MSCP from 0 to 6. The mean pancreas-to-spleen T1 scores were 1.34 (MSCP 0), 1.27 (MSCP 1), 1.21 (MSCP 2), 1.16 (MSCP 3), 1.18 (MSCP 4), 1.12 (MSCP 5), and 1.05 (MSCP 6) (p < 0.0001). The pancreas-to-liver and pancreas-to-muscle T1 scores showed less linear trends and wider confidence intervals.

CONCLUSION

The T1 score calculated by SIR of the pancreas-to-spleen shows a negative linear correlation with the progression of chronic pancreatitis. It holds promise as a practical imaging biomarker in evaluating disease severity in clinical research and practice.