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High-Resolution Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Small Animals
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First-Pass Angiography in Mice Using FDG-PET: A Simple Method of Deriving the Cardiovascular Transit Time Without the
Hsiao-Ming Wu1, Michael C Kreissl2, Heinrich R Schelbert3
1Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA, ( cwu@mednet.ucla.edu ).
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
|October 20, 2015
Summary
A new semi-automatic method accurately measures right ventricle to left ventricle (RV-to-LV) transit time (TT) in mice using FDG-PET imaging. This robust technique is valuable for cardiovascular disease research in small animal models.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Medicine
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Preclinical Research
Background:
- Accurate measurement of cardiac transit times is crucial for understanding cardiovascular physiology and disease.
- Existing methods for measuring right ventricle to left ventricle (RV-to-LV) transit time (TT) can be time-consuming and operator-dependent.
- Positron emission tomography (PET) offers high sensitivity for dynamic imaging in preclinical models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a simple, robust, and semi-automatic method for measuring RV-to-LV transit time (TT) in mice.
- To assess the accuracy of the novel method using a 4-D digital mouse phantom.
- To compare the performance of the new method against a conventional region-of-interest (ROI) drawing technique.
Main Methods:
- Development of a semi-automatic algorithm for RV-to-LV TT measurement using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) PET data.
- Validation of the method with a 4-D digital dynamic mouse phantom.
- Application of the method to 29 mouse studies and comparison with conventional ROI-based measurements.
Main Results:
- The semi-automatic method successfully segmented cardiac structures (RV, LV) and generated time-activity curves (TACs).
- RV-to-LV TT measurements from the new method showed no statistical difference compared to the conventional ROI method (P = 0.20, r = 0.76).
- The method demonstrated robustness and accuracy in dynamic PET imaging of mouse hearts.
Conclusions:
- A fast, simple, and robust semi-automatic method for RV-to-LV TT measurement using FDG-PET has been established.
- This validated method is suitable for preclinical cardiovascular research in mouse models.
- The technique holds potential for investigating cardiovascular disease pathophysiology in small animals like rats and mice.
