Total-Body Quantitative Parametric Imaging of Early Kinetics of ¹⁸F-FDG

Abstract

Parametric imaging has been shown to provide better quantitation physiologically than SUV imaging in PET. With the increased sensitivity from a recently developed total-body PET scanner, whole-body scans with higher temporal resolution become possible for dynamic analysis and parametric imaging. In this paper, we focus on deriving the parameter <i>k</i>₁ using compartmental modeling and on developing a method to acquire whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET parametric images using only the first 90 s of the postinjection scan data with the total-body PET system. <b>Methods:</b> Dynamic projections were acquired with a time interval of 1 s for the first 30 s and a time interval of 2 s for the following minute. Image-derived input functions were acquired from the reconstructed dynamic sequences in the ascending aorta. A 1-tissue-compartment model with 4 parameters (<i>k</i>₁, <i>k</i>₂, blood fraction, and delay time) was used. A maximum-likelihood-based estimation method was developed with the 1-tissue-compartment model solution. The accuracy of the acquired parameters was compared with the ones estimated using a 2-tissue-compartment irreversible model with 1-h-long data. <b>Results:</b> All 4 parametric images were successfully calculated using data from 2 volunteers. By comparing the time-activity curves acquired from the volumes of interest, we showed that the parameters estimated using our method were able to predict the time-activity curves of the early dynamics of ¹⁸F-FDG in different organs. The delay-time effects for different organs were also clearly visible in the reconstructed delay-time image with delay variations of as large as 40 s. The estimated parameters using both 90-s data and 1-h data agreed well for <i>k</i>₁ and blood fraction, whereas a large difference in <i>k</i>₂ was found between the 90-s and 1-h data, suggesting <i>k</i>₂ cannot be reliably estimated from the 90-s scan. <b>Conclusion:</b> We have shown that with total-body PET and the increased sensitivity, it is possible to estimate parametric images based on the very early dynamics after ¹⁸F-FDG injection. The estimated <i>k</i>₁ might potentially be used clinically as an indicator for identifying abnormalities.