Qualitative and quantitative analysis of reduced bed position acquisition time on FDG PET image quality

The study aim was to evaluate whether reducing bed position acquisition time would result in significant detriment to image quality. Secondary aims were to compare effect of time of flight (TOF) and Q.Clear reconstructions and patient BMI on image quality. Fluorodeoxyglucose PET-CT performed in 30 patients on a new scanner at our institution between March and May 2024 was retrospectively evaluated. Four PET reconstructions were performed: (a) 1 min 45 s TOF, (b) 2 min TOF, (c) 1 min 45 s Q.Clear, and (d) 2 min Q.Clear. For qualitative analysis, four maximum intensity projection images were evaluated side-by-side using a five-point visual score (1 = non-diagnostic, 5 = excellent). For quantitative analysis, liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated. A statistically significant reduction in visual score occurred when reducing bed position time from 2 min to 1 min 45 s (mean TOF scores 0.24 reduction, P = 0.0002; mean Q.Clear scores 0.04 reduction, P  = 0.02. There was also a statistically significant difference in liver SNR when reducing bed position time. Deterioration in image quality was minimised when bed position acquisition time was reduced if Q.Clear construction was utilized. This could facilitate increased scanning capacity without clinical detriment.