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Published on: December 28, 2013
HRRT versus HR+ human brain PET studies: an interscanner test-retest study
Floris H P van Velden1, Reina W Kloet, Bart N M van Berckel
1Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET Research, VU University medical center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. f.vvelden@vumc.nl
Summary
The high-resolution research tomograph (HRRT) PET scanner offers improved quantification over the clinical HR+ scanner, mainly by reducing partial-volume effects. This enhances the accuracy of brain PET imaging studies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Medical Physics
Background:
- The high-resolution research tomograph (HRRT) is a specialized human brain PET scanner.
- Clinical Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners like the HR+ have different spatial resolutions compared to research scanners.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the quantitative accuracy of the HRRT with the clinical HR+ PET scanner.
- To assess the impact of spatial resolution differences on quantitative PET measurements.
Main Methods:
- Paired (11)C-flumazenil PET scans were acquired from 7 healthy volunteers on both HRRT and HR+ scanners.
- Dynamic scans with arterial sampling were used for Logan plot analysis with plasma input, alongside other kinetic modeling methods.
Main Results:
- Logan analysis showed higher volume-of-distribution values with HRRT compared to HR+.
- Smoothing HRRT data reduced this difference, maintaining high correlation (r ≈ 0.98) between scanners.
- Reference tissue models indicated lower HRRT kinetic parameters after reference matching.
Conclusions:
- The HRRT PET scanner demonstrates improved quantification compared to the HR+ scanner.
- This improvement is primarily attributed to the HRRT's reduced partial-volume effects, leading to more accurate pharmacokinetic parameter values.
