A study on the artifacts generated by dental materials in PET/CT image.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiology

Background:

• Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) systems offer reduced scan times and anatomical imaging via CT-based attenuation correction.
• Dental materials in CT scans can generate artifacts, potentially compromising the accuracy of attenuation-corrected PET images.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and quantify the impact of dental materials (metal prostheses and implants) on PET/CT imaging artifacts.
• To assess the resulting changes in Standard Uptake Value (SUV) in artifact-affected regions.
• To provide data for improving diagnostic accuracy in oral and maxillofacial oncology.

Main Methods:

• Clinical experiments involving 40 patients (20 with metal prostheses, 20 with dental implants).
• Phantom experiments using dental casts with inserted metal prostheses and dental implants.
• Analysis of Standard Uptake Value (SUV) changes in dark and bright streak artifact regions compared to artifact-free regions.

Main Results:

• Metal prostheses in patients led to ~19.6% SUV decrease and ~90.1% SUV increase in artifact regions.
• Metal prostheses in phantoms showed ~18.1% SUV decrease and ~18.0% SUV increase in artifact regions.
• Dental implants in patients resulted in ~19.1% SUV decrease and ~96.6% SUV increase in artifact regions.
• Dental implants in phantoms demonstrated ~14.4% SUV decrease and ~7.0% SUV increase in artifact regions.

Conclusions:

• Dental materials significantly alter SUV values in PET/CT imaging, creating both under- and over-estimations.
• Understanding these artifact-induced SUV changes is crucial for accurate interpretation of PET/CT scans in patients with dental work.
• The findings can guide strategies to enhance diagnostic precision for oral and maxillofacial cancers.