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Effect of Attenuation Correction on Regional Quantification Between PET/MR and PET/CT: A Multicenter Study Using a
Jarmo Teuho1, Jarkko Johansson2, Jani Linden2
1Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland jarmo.teuho@tyks.fi.
Unlabelled:
A spatial bias in brain PET/MR exists compared with PET/CT, because of MR-based attenuation correction. We performed an evaluation among 4 institutions, 3 PET/MR systems, and 4 PET/CT systems using an anthropomorphic brain phantom, hypothesizing that the spatial bias would be minimized with CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC).
Methods:
The evaluation protocol was similar to the quantification of changes in neurologic PET studies. Regional analysis was conducted on 8 anatomic volumes of interest (VOIs) in gray matter on count-normalized, resolution-matched, coregistered data. On PET/MR systems, CTAC was applied as the reference method for attenuation correction.
Results:
With CTAC, visual and quantitative differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems were minimized. Intersystem variation between institutions was +3.42% to -3.29% in all VOIs for PET/CT and +2.15% to -4.50% in all VOIs for PET/MR. PET/MR systems differed by +2.34% to -2.21%, +2.04% to -2.08%, and -1.77% to -5.37% when compared with a PET/CT system at each institution, and these differences were not significant (P ≥ 0.05).
Conclusion:
Visual and quantitative differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems can be minimized by an accurate and standardized method of attenuation correction. If a method similar to CTAC can be implemented for brain PET/MRI, there is no reason why PET/MR should not perform as well as PET/CT.
Insights
CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) minimizes spatial bias in brain PET/MR imaging, making it comparable to PET/CT. This standardized approach ensures accurate attenuation correction for improved PET/MR performance.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Nuclear Medicine
- Radiology
Background:
- Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance (PET/MR) imaging may exhibit spatial bias compared to PET/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) due to MR-based attenuation correction.
- This study investigated methods to mitigate this bias.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate if CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) minimizes spatial bias in brain PET/MR imaging.
- To compare the performance of PET/MR and PET/CT systems using a standardized protocol.
Main Methods:
- An anthropomorphic brain phantom was used across 4 institutions with 3 PET/MR and 4 PET/CT systems.
- Regional analysis was performed on 8 gray matter volumes of interest (VOIs).
- CTAC was applied as the reference method for attenuation correction on PET/MR systems.
Main Results:
- CTAC minimized visual and quantitative differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems.
- Intersystem variation was within acceptable ranges for both PET/CT and PET/MR.
- Differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems were not statistically significant (P ≥ 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Accurate and standardized attenuation correction, such as CTAC, can minimize differences between PET/MR and PET/CT.
- PET/MR systems can achieve performance comparable to PET/CT with appropriate attenuation correction methods.
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