3D-printed dual holder system for simultaneous rat PET scanning: design and influence on quantification

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Preclinical Research

Background:

• Low throughput of small animal positron emission tomography (PET) imaging limits research.
• Developing methods to increase efficiency in PET scanning is crucial for preclinical studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a low-cost support for simultaneous dynamic PET scanning of two rats.
• To evaluate the impact of this dual-rat scanning system on brain image quantification accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Phantom studies were conducted to assess concentration measurement accuracy and ratio errors for single and dual phantom setups.
• In vivo studies involved comparing "solo" (single rat) and "duo" (dual rat) uptake profiles and brain quantification.
• Test-retest bias and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) were calculated for both solo and duo scanning configurations.

Main Results:

• Phantom studies showed high accuracy (5.5-5.7%) for concentration measurements, with minimal errors (6.6-6.7%) in simultaneous dual phantom scans.
• In vivo studies revealed no significant difference in distribution profiles between solo and duo uptakes.
• Region of Interest quantification in the whole brain showed low variability (4.4% solo, 3.5% duo), with improved test-retest bias (5% duo vs. 8% solo) and comparable ICCs (0.969 solo vs. 0.966 duo).

Conclusions:

• Simultaneous scanning of two rats using the developed dual support in the INVEON system does not compromise brain image quantification.
• The dual support system effectively reduces protocol costs and duration for small animal PET imaging.