Enhancing PET/CT target assessment with porous 3D printed grids: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Materials Science

Background:

• Positron emission tomography (PET) standardization relies on phantom experiments.
• Current PET phantom methods have limitations in clinical realism and repeatability.
• 3D printing offers potential to overcome these limitations through optimized phantom design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate 3D-printed porous grids as an alternative for emulating contrast targets in PET.
• To assess the reliability and reproducibility of 3D-printed grids for PET/CT assessment.

Main Methods:

• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) cubic grids with varying designs were 3D-printed.
• Grids were immersed in a [18F]FDG solution within a conventional phantom.
• PET/CT scans were acquired over multiple days, and quantitative metrics (TRI, DC) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• PET images clearly demarcated contrast regions created by the 3D-printed grids.
• Quantitative metrics demonstrated consistent and reproducible results across multiple acquisitions and days.
• Achieved dilution coefficients were within a 10% threshold of theoretical values, and target representation index showed strong correlation across days.

Conclusions:

• 3D-printed porous grids provide a reliable and reproducible alternative for PET/CT standardization.
• This method simplifies phantom preparation and allows for the creation of multiple contrast targets with a single tracer administration.
• The stability of metrics across acquisitions confirms the robustness of 3D-printed grids for PET assessment.