Quantifying Bias and Precision of Kinetic Parameter Estimation on the PennPET Explorer, a Long Axial Field-of-View Scanner
Varsha Viswanath, Austin R. Pantel, Margaret E. Daube-Witherspoon, Robert K. Doot, Mark Muzi, David A. Mankoff, Joel S. Karp
Abstract
Long axial field-of-view (AFOV) PET scanners allow for full-body dynamic imaging in a single bed-position at very high sensitivity. However, the benefits for kinetic parameter estimation have yet to be studied. This work uses 1) a dynamic Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation of [ <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">18</sup> F]-fluorothymidine (FLT) in a modified NEMA IQ phantom and 2) a lesion embedding study of spheres in a dynamic [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) human subject imaged on the PennPET Explorer. Both studies were designed using published kinetic data of lung and liver cancers and modeled using two tissue compartments. Data were reconstructed at various emulated doses. Sphere time-activity curves (TACs) were measured on resulting dynamic images, and TACs were fit using a two-tissue-compartment model (k <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> ≠ 0) for the FLT study and both a two-tissue-compartment model (k <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> = 0) and Patlak graphical analysis for the FDG study to estimate flux (Ki) and delivery (K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> ) parameters. Quantification of flux and K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> shows lower bias and better precision for both radiotracers on the long AFOV scanner, especially at low doses. Dynamic imaging on a long AFOV system can be achieved for a greater range of injected doses, as low as 0.5-2 mCi depending on the sphere size and flux, compared to a standard AFOV scanner, while maintaining good kinetic parameter estimation.