Validation and Evaluation of a Vendor-Provided Head Motion Correction Algorithm on the uMI Panorama PET/CT System

Brain PET imaging often faces challenges from head motion (HM), which can introduce artifacts and reduce image resolution, crucial in clinical settings for accurate treatment planning, diagnosis, and monitoring. United Imaging Healthcare has developed NeuroFocus, an HM correction (HMC) algorithm for the uMI Panorama PET/CT system, using a data-driven, statistics-based approach. The HMC algorithm automatically detects HM using a centroid-of-distribution technique, requiring no parameter adjustments. This study aimed to validate NeuroFocus and assess the prevalence of HM in clinical short-duration ¹⁸F-FDG scans. Methods: The study involved 317 patients undergoing brain PET scans, divided into 2 groups: 15 for HMC validation and 302 for evaluation. Validation involved patients undergoing 2 consecutive 3-min single-bed-position brain ¹⁸F-FDG scans-one with instructions to remain still and another with instructions to move substantially. The evaluation examined 302 clinical single-bed-position brain scans for patients with various neurologic diagnoses. Motion was categorized as small or large on the basis of a 5% SUV change in the frontal lobe after HMC. Percentage differences in SUV_mean were reported across 11 brain regions. Results: The validation group displayed a large negative difference (-10.1%), with variation of 5.2% between no-HM and HM scans. After HMC, this difference decreased dramatically (-0.8%), with less variation (3.2%), indicating effective HMC application. In the evaluation group, 38 of 302 patients experienced large HM, showing a 10.9% ± 8.9% SUV increase after HMC, whereas most exhibited minimal uptake changes (0.1% ± 1.3%). The HMC algorithm not only enhanced the image resolution and contrast but also aided in disease identification and reduced the need for repeat scans, potentially optimizing clinical workflows. Conclusion: The study confirmed the effectiveness of NeuroFocus in managing HM in short clinical ¹⁸F-FDG studies on the uMI Panorama PET/CT system. It found that approximately 12% of scans required HMC, establishing HMC as a reliable tool for clinical brain ¹⁸F-FDG studies.