Dopamine Transporter SPECT with 12-Minute Scan Duration Using Multiple-Pinhole Collimators

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiology
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT imaging is crucial for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases.
• Current scan durations can be lengthy, impacting patient comfort and throughput.
• Second-generation multiple-pinhole (MPH) collimators offer improved sensitivity and resolution for brain SPECT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of reducing scan duration for DAT SPECT using MPH collimators.
• To assess image quality and diagnostic reliability at shorter scan times.
• To compare reduced scan durations with standard 30-minute scans.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 640 clinical DAT SPECT studies using [123I]FP-CIT.
• Data acquisition on a triple-head SPECT system with MPH collimators.
• Image reconstruction and analysis at reduced scan durations (20, 15, 12, 8, 6, 4 minutes).
• Assessment via visual interpretation, specific binding ratio analysis, and deep convolutional neural network classification.

Main Results:

• Diagnostic image quality was maintained down to a 12-minute scan duration via visual assessment.
• Visual interpretation discrepancies at 12 minutes were comparable to inter-reader variability at 30 minutes.
• Agreement with 30-minute putamen specific binding ratios was achieved down to 10 minutes.
• Deep convolutional neural network classification showed relevant changes at 6 minutes or less.

Conclusions:

• Triple-head SPECT with MPH collimators enables reliable DAT SPECT with a 12-minute scan duration.
• Reduced scan times are feasible without compromising diagnostic accuracy for neurodegeneration.
• This optimization can improve efficiency in clinical DAT SPECT imaging.