Motion Artifacts in Oncological and Cardiac PET Imaging

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine

Background:

• Image quality in positron emission tomography (PET) examinations is critical for accurate diagnosis.
• Patient motion during data acquisition is a significant challenge, leading to artifacts.
• These artifacts can compromise both visual and quantitative image analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the artifacts specifically caused by patient motion during PET examinations.
• To highlight the impact of patient motion on image quality and diagnostic accuracy.
• To discuss the challenges patient motion introduces in hybrid imaging modalities.

Main Methods:

• Review of common artifacts encountered in PET imaging.
• Analysis of the effects of patient movement on image data.
• Discussion of the implications for hybrid imaging (PET/CT, PET/MR).

Main Results:

• Patient motion results in smearing artifacts in PET images.
• These artifacts degrade the resolution and quantitative accuracy of PET scans.
• Movement between PET and CT/MR acquisitions causes misalignment, introducing further errors.

Conclusions:

• Patient motion is a substantial source of artifacts in PET imaging.
• Artifacts from motion reduce diagnostic accuracy and complicate hybrid imaging interpretation.
• Strategies to mitigate patient motion are essential for reliable PET examinations.