Total-Body Perfusion Imaging with [¹¹C]-Butanol

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Physiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Tissue perfusion is crucial for organ function and can be altered by physiological states or diseases.
• Total-body Positron Emission Tomography (PET) enables comprehensive quantitative perfusion measurements.
• [11C]-butanol offers a superior extraction fraction for perfusion imaging compared to [15O]-water and [13N]-ammonia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate total-body perfusion imaging methodology using [11C]-butanol.
• To assess the reproducibility and sensitivity of [11C]-butanol perfusion imaging in a pilot study.

Main Methods:

• Eight participants (6 healthy, 2 PVD) underwent dynamic [11C]-butanol PET/CT scans.
• Test-retest reproducibility was assessed in healthy volunteers.
• Physiological stress (cold pressor test) and disease (PVD) effects on perfusion were investigated.

Main Results:

• Baseline perfusion values varied across organs (0.02–1.95 mL·min⁻¹·cm⁻³).
• High test-retest correlation (r=0.96) confirmed measurement reproducibility.
• Significant perfusion increases were observed in skeletal muscle and myocardium during CPT; PVD patients showed altered perfusion patterns.

Conclusions:

• [11C]-butanol enables reproducible total-body perfusion measurements using PET/CT.
• The developed methodology is sensitive to physiological stressors and disease-related perfusion changes.