Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Functional Imaging of Brown Fat in Mice with 18F-FDG micro-PET/CT
Published on: November 23, 2012
Ultra-low-dose CT reconstructed with the artificial intelligence iterative reconstruction algorithm (AIIR) in 18F-FDG
Yan Hu1,2,3, Zhe Zheng1,2,3, Haojun Yu1,2,3
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Purpose:
To investigate the feasibility of ultra-low-dose CT (ULDCT) reconstructed with the artificial intelligence iterative reconstruction (AIIR) algorithm in total-body PET/CT imaging.
Methods:
The study included both the phantom and clinical parts. An anthropomorphic phantom underwent CT imaging with ULDCT (10mAs) and standard-dose CT (SDCT) (120mAs), respectively. ULDCT was reconstructed with AIIR and hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) (expressed as ULDCT-AIIRphantom and ULDCT-HIRphantom), respectively, and SDCT was reconstructed with HIR (SDCT-HIRphantom) as control. In the clinical part, 52 patients with malignant tumors underwent the total-body PET/CT scan. ULDCT with AIIR (ULDCT-AIIR) and HIR (ULDCT-HIR), respectively, was reconstructed for PET attenuation correction, followed by the SDCT reconstructed with HIR (SDCT-HIR) for anatomical location. PET/CT images' quality was qualitatively assessed by two readers. The CTmean, as well as the CT standard deviation (CTsd), SUVmax, SUVmean, and the SUV standard deviation (SUVsd), was recorded. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated and compared.
Results:
The image quality of ULDCT-HIRphantom was inferior to the SDCT-HIRphantom, but no significant difference was found between the ULDCT-AIIRphantom and SDCT-HIRphantom. The subjective score of ULDCT-AIIR in the neck, chest and lower limb was equivalent to that of SDCT-HIR. Besides the brain and lower limb, the change rates of CTmean in thyroid, neck muscle, lung, mediastinum, back muscle, liver, lumbar muscle, first lumbar spine and sigmoid colon were -2.15, -1.52, 0.66, 2.97, 0.23, 8.91, 0.06, -4.29 and 8.78%, respectively, while all CTsd of ULDCT-AIIR was lower than that of SDCT-HIR. Except for the brain, the CNR of ULDCT-AIIR was the same as the SDCT-HIR, but the SNR was higher. The change rates of SUVmax, SUVmean and SUVsd were within [Formula: see text] 3% in all ROIs. For the lesions, the SUVmax, SUVsd and TBR showed no significant difference between PET-AIIR and PET-HIR.
Conclusion:
The SDCT-HIR could not be replaced by the ULDCT-AIIR at date, but the AIIR algorithm decreased the image noise and increased the SNR, which can be implemented under special circumstances in PET/CT examination.
More Related Videos
11:09High-Resolution Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Small Animals
Published on: December 16, 2022
10:02Quantification of Atherosclerotic Plaque Activity and Vascular Inflammation using [18-F] Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography FDG-PET/CT
Published on: May 2, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Radiological Investigation III: Pulmonary Angiogram and PET Scan
Pulmonary Angiogram
A Pulmonary Angiogram is an invasive procedure involving injecting a contrast medium through a catheter threaded into the pulmonary artery or the right side of the heart to visualize the pulmonary vasculature. Computed Tomography (CT) scans have mainly replaced this...
Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
Positron Emission Tomography
One of the main requirements of a PET scan is a positron-emitting radioisotope, which is produced in a cyclotron and then attached to a substance used by the part of the body...
Imaging Studies II: Positron Emission Tomography and Scintigraphy
Fundamental Principles of PET