PET/MRI in paediatric disease

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Nuclear medicine
• Paediatric diagnostics

Background:

• Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging are increasingly used in paediatric and neonatal care.
• Combined PET/MRI has become a key hybrid imaging technique in paediatrics.
• It offers diagnostic benefits and reduced radiation exposure compared to other methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the applications of PET/MRI in paediatric and neonatal imaging.
• To discuss its current role, advantages, and disadvantages compared to techniques like PET/CT.
• To explore future applications of PET/MRI in children's diagnostics.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on PET/MRI applications in paediatric medicine.
• Comparison of PET/MRI with other hybrid imaging modalities (e.g., PET/CT) and conventional techniques.
• Analysis of clinical use cases across various paediatric subspecialties.

Main Results:

• PET/MRI demonstrates broad clinical utility in paediatric oncology, neurology, cardiovascular, infection, inflammatory, and renal-urological disorders.
• Higher soft tissue contrast and lower radiation dose are key advantages over PET/CT and scintigraphy.
• MRI-based attenuation correction remains a significant technical challenge, though improvements are ongoing.

Conclusions:

• PET/MRI is a potent imaging technology for diagnosing paediatric and neonatal diseases.
• Its superior soft tissue contrast and reduced radiation dose make it a valuable alternative to conventional imaging.
• Further development in areas like attenuation correction will enhance its clinical impact.