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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
A Basic Positron Emission Tomography System Constructed to Locate a Radioactive Source in a Bi-dimensional Space
Published on: February 1, 2016
Vascular imaging with positron emission tomography
F Joshi1, D Rosenbaum, S Bordes
1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Insights
Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) can measure arterial inflammation, a key factor in atherosclerosis. This technique may help assess novel anti-atherosclerotic drugs and predict cardiovascular events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Inflammatory Disease Research
- Nuclear Medicine
Background:
- Atherosclerosis is a major cause of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.
- Current diagnostic methods like angiography primarily assess luminal narrowing, not vessel wall inflammation.
- Despite therapies, atherosclerosis remains a significant global health issue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the evidence, limitations, and applications of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in vascular imaging.
- To explore FDG-PET's potential for assessing arterial inflammation and guiding anti-atherosclerotic drug development.
- To discuss alternative PET tracers and imaging modalities for vascular inflammation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on FDG-PET for imaging arterial inflammation.
- Analysis of FDG uptake in relation to macrophage activity and glucose metabolism in atherosclerotic plaques.
- Comparison of FDG-PET with conventional imaging techniques and other emerging modalities.
Main Results:
- FDG-PET highlights areas of high glucose metabolism in atherosclerotic plaques, indicative of macrophage activity.
- FDG accumulation in the vessel wall correlates with inflammation levels and cardiovascular risk factors.
- FDG-PET shows promise for early efficacy assessment of novel anti-atherosclerotic therapies.
Conclusions:
- FDG-PET is a valuable tool for non-invasively assessing vascular inflammation in atherosclerosis.
- This imaging modality may aid in predicting cardiovascular events and monitoring treatment response.
- Further research into FDG-PET and alternative tracers is crucial for advancing vascular imaging.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease that causes most myocardial infarctions, strokes and acute coronary syndromes. Despite the identification of multiple risk factors and widespread use of drug therapies, it still remains a global health concern with associated costs. Although angiography is established as the gold standard means of detecting coronary artery stenosis, it does not image the vessel wall itself, reporting only on its consequences such as luminal narrowing and obstruction. MRI and computed tomography provide more information about the plaque structure, but recently positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using [(18) F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has been advocated as a means of measuring arterial inflammation. This results from the ability of FDG-PET to highlight areas of high glucose metabolism, a feature of macrophages within atherosclerosis, particularly in high-risk plaques. It is suggested that the degree of FDG accumulation in the vessel wall reflects underlying inflammation levels and that tracking any changes in FDG uptake over time or with drug therapy might be a way of getting an early efficacy readout for novel anti-atherosclerotic drugs. Early reports also demonstrate that FDG uptake is correlated with the number of cardiovascular risk factors and possibly even the risk of future cardiovascular events. This review will outline the evidence base, shortcomings and emerging applications for FDG-PET in vascular imaging. Alternative PET tracers and other candidate imaging modalities for measuring vascular inflammation will also be discussed.
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