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Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Multi-Tracer Studies of Brain Oxygen and Glucose Metabolism Using a Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Scanner
Published on: June 7, 2024
A Clinical and Experimental Comparison of Time of Flight PET/MRI and PET/CT Systems
Daniela E Oprea-Lager1, Maqsood Yaqub2, Indra C Pieters2
1Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007, MB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.oprea-lager@vumc.nl.
Purpose:
The purpose of the study was to compare image quality and quantitative accuracy of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) systems with time of flight PET gantries, using phantom and clinical studies.
Procedures:
Identical phantom experiments were performed on both systems. Calibration, uniformity, and standardized uptake value (SUV) recovery were measured. A clinical PET/CT versus PET/MRI comparison was performed using [(18)F]fluoromethylcholine ([(18)F]FCH).
Results:
Calibration accuracy and image uniformity were comparable between systems. SUV recovery met EANM/EARL requirements on both scanners. Thirty-four lesions with comparable PET image quality were identified. Lesional SUVmax differences of 4 ± 26% between PET/MRI and PET/CT data were observed (R (2) = 0.79, slope = 1.02). In healthy tissues, PET/MRI-derived SUVs were 16 ± 11% lower than on PET/CT (R (2) = 0.98, slope = 0.86).
Conclusion:
PET/MRI and PET/CT showed comparable performance with respect to calibration accuracy, image uniformity, and SUV recovery. [(18)F]FCH uptake values for both healthy tissues and lesions corresponded reasonably well between MR- and CT-based systems, but only in regions free of MR-based attenuation artifacts.
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