[Improvement of Standardized Uptake Value Accuracy in the ^99mTc Body SPECT and SPECT/CT: Optimization of the Phantom...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the best phantom for calculating the becquerel calibration factor (BCF) and correction method to obtain the improvement of standardized uptake value (SUV) accuracy in both single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and SPECT/CT.

A SPECT/CT scanner was used in this study. BCFs were calculated using four phantoms with different cross sections including National Electrical Manufacturers Association International Electrotechnical Commission body phantom (NEMA IEC body phantom) filled with ^99mTcO₄^-, and five correction methods were used for reconstruction. SUVs were calculated by the NEMA IEC body phantom and pediatric phantom in house with these BCFs. We then measured SUV_mean in the background region of the NEMA IEC body phantom, SUV_max and SUV_peak of the 37-mm-diameter sphere.

In the SPECT scanner, SUV_mean and SUV_max measured 1.04 and 4.02, respectively, in the case of BCF calculation and SUV measurement using NEMA IEC body phantoms without corrections. In the SPECT/CT scanner, SUV_mean with CT attenuation correction (AC) was in agreement with the theoretical values using each phantom. SUV_max showed the same trend.

In the SPECT scanner, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate SUV by using a phantom that matches the size of the subject for BCF calculation and without correction. In the SPECT/CT scanner, highly accurate SUVs can be obtained by using CT-based attenuation correction, and these values do not depend on the size of the BCF calculation phantom.