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Combined Near-infrared Fluorescent Imaging and Micro-computed Tomography for Directly Visualizing Cerebral Thromboemboli
Published on: September 25, 2016
Bimodal thrombus imaging: simultaneous PET/MR imaging with a fibrin-targeted dual PET/MR probe--feasibility study in
Ritika Uppal1, Ciprian Catana, Ilknur Ay
1Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 Thirteenth Street, Suite 2301, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Purpose:
To image thrombus by using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) simultaneously in a rat arterial thrombus model with a dual PET/MR probe.
Materials And Methods:
Animal studies were approved by the institutional animal use committee. A dual PET/MR probe was synthesized by means of partial exchange of gadolinium for copper 64 ((64)Cu) in the fibrin-targeted MR probe EP-2104R. A preformed 25-mm thrombus was injected into the right internal carotid artery of a rat. Imaging was performed with a clinical 3.0-T MR imager with an MR-compatible human PET imager. Rats (n = 5) were imaged prior to and after systemic administration of the dual probe by using simultaneous PET/MR. The organ distribution of (64)Cu and gadolinium was determined ex vivo (n = 8), 2 hours after injection by using well counting and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. Signal intensity ratios (SIRs) between the thrombus-containing and contralateral vessel were computed from PET images and MR data before and after probe administration.
Results:
The dual probe was synthesized with greater than 98% radiochemical purity. Thrombus enhancement was observed in all five animals at both MR (SIR([postprobe])/SIR([preprobe]) = 1.71 ± 0.35, P = .0053) and PET (SIR = 1.85 ± 0.48, P = .0087) after injection of the dual PET/MR probe. Ex vivo analysis at 2 hours after injection showed the highest (64)Cu and gadolinium concentrations, after the excretory organs (kidney and liver), to be in the thrombus.
Conclusion:
A fibrin-targeted dual PET/MR probe enables simultaneous, direct MR and PET imaging of thrombus.
