scholarly journals Arterial Input Function Derived from Pairwise Correlations Between PET-image Voxels

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1058-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Schain ◽  
Simon Benjaminsson ◽  
Katarina Varnäs ◽  
Anton Forsberg ◽  
Christer Halldin ◽  
...  

A metabolite corrected arterial input function is a prerequisite for quantification of positron emission tomography (PET) data by compartmental analysis. This quantitative approach is also necessary for radioligands without suitable reference regions in brain. The measurement is laborious and requires cannulation of a peripheral artery, a procedure that can be associated with patient discomfort and potential adverse events. A non invasive procedure for obtaining the arterial input function is thus preferable. In this study, we present a novel method to obtain image-derived input functions (IDIFs). The method is based on calculation of the Pearson correlation coefficient between the time-activity curves of voxel pairs in the PET image to localize voxels displaying blood-like behavior. The method was evaluated using data obtained in human studies with the radioligands [ 11 C]flumazenil and [ 11 C]AZ10419369, and its performance was compared with three previously published methods. The distribution volumes ( VT) obtained using IDIFs were compared with those obtained using traditional arterial measurements. Overall, the agreement in VT was good (~3% difference) for input functions obtained using the pairwise correlation approach. This approach performed similarly or even better than the other methods, and could be considered in applied clinical studies. Applications to other radioligands are needed for further verification.

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eero Rissanen ◽  
Jouni Tuisku ◽  
Pauliina Luoto ◽  
Eveliina Arponen ◽  
Jarkko Johansson ◽  
...  

[11C]TMSX ([7- N-methyl-11C]-(E)-8-(3,4,5-trimethoxystyryl)-1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a selective adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) radioligand. In the central nervous system (CNS), A2AR are linked to dopamine D2 receptor function in striatum, but they are also important modulators of inflammation. The golden standard for kinetic modeling of brain [11C]TMSX positron emission tomography (PET) is to obtain arterial input function via arterial blood sampling. However, this method is laborious, prone to errors and unpleasant for study subjects. The aim of this work was to evaluate alternative input function acquisition methods for brain [11C]TMSX PET imaging. First, a noninvasive, automated method for the extraction of gray matter reference region using supervised clustering (SCgm) was developed. Second, a method for obtaining a population-based arterial input function (PBIF) was implemented. These methods were created using data from 28 study subjects (7 healthy controls, 12 multiple sclerosis patients, and 9 patients with Parkinson's disease). The results with PBIF correlated well with original plasma input, and the SCgm yielded similar results compared with cerebellum as a reference region. The clustering method for extracting reference region and the population-based approach for acquiring input for dynamic [11C]TMSX brain PET image analyses appear to be feasible and robust methods, that can be applied in patients with CNS pathology.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Koopman ◽  
Maqsood Yaqub ◽  
Dennis FR Heijtel ◽  
Aart J Nederveen ◽  
Bart NM van Berckel ◽  
...  

Quantification of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) using [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) requires the use of an arterial input function. Arterial sampling, however, is not always possible, for example in ill-conditioned or paediatric patients. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the use of non-invasive methods for the quantification of CBF. For validation of non-invasive methods, test–retest normal and hypercapnia data from 15 healthy volunteers were used. For each subject, the data consisted of up to five dynamic [15O]H2O brain PET studies of 10 min and including arterial sampling. A measure of CBF was estimated using several non-invasive methods earlier reported in literature. In addition, various parameters were derived from the time-activity curve (TAC). Performance of these methods was assessed by comparison with full kinetic analysis using correlation and agreement analysis. The analysis was repeated with normalization to the whole brain grey matter value, providing relative CBF distributions. A reliable, absolute quantitative estimate of CBF could not be obtained with the reported non-invasive methods. Relative (normalized) CBF was best estimated using the double integration method.


2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1986-1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Zanotti-Fregonara ◽  
Kewei Chen ◽  
Jeih-San Liow ◽  
Masahiro Fujita ◽  
Robert B Innis

Quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) brain studies often require that the input function be measured, typically via arterial cannulation. Image-derived input function (IDIF) is an elegant and attractive noninvasive alternative to arterial sampling. However, IDIF is also a very challenging technique associated with several problems that must be overcome before it can be successfully implemented in clinical practice. As a result, IDIF is rarely used as a tool to reduce invasiveness in patients. The aim of the present review was to identify the methodological problems that hinder widespread use of IDIF in PET brain studies. We conclude that IDIF can be successfully implemented only with a minority of PET tracers. Even in those cases, it only rarely translates into a less-invasive procedure for the patient. Finally, we discuss some possible alternative methods for obtaining less-invasive input function.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Sato ◽  
Kiyoshi Fukushi ◽  
Hitoshi Shinotoh ◽  
Shinichiro Nagatsuka ◽  
Noriko Tanaka ◽  
...  

The applicability of two reference tissue-based analyses without arterial blood sampling for the measurement of brain regional acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity using N-[11C]methylpiperidin-4-yl propionate ([11C]MP4P) was evaluated in 12 healthy subjects. One was a linear least squares analysis derived from Blomqvist's equation, and the other was the analysis of the ratio of target-tissue radioactivity relative to reference-tissue radioactivity proposed by Herholz and coworkers. The standard compartment analysis using arterial input function provided reliable quantification of k3 (an index of AChE activity) estimates in regions with low (neocortex and hippocampus), moderate (thalamus), and high (cerebellum) AChE activity with a coefficient of variation (COV) of 12% to 19%. However, the precise k3 value in the striatum, where AChE activity is the highest, was not obtained. The striatum was used as a reference because its time-radioactivity curve was proportional to the time integral of the arterial input function. Reliable k3 estimates were also obtained in regions with low-to-moderate AChE activity with a COV of less than 21% by striatal reference analyses, though not obtained in the cerebellum. Shape analysis, the previous method of direct k3 estimation from the shape of time-radioactivity data, gave k3 estimates in the cortex and thalamus with a somewhat larger COV. In comparison with the standard analysis, a moderate overestimation of k3 by 9% to 18% in the linear analysis and a moderate underestimation by 2% to 13% in the Herholz method were observed, which were appropriately explained by the results of computer simulation. In conclusion, simplified kinetic analyses are practical and useful for the routine analysis of clinical [11C]MP4P studies and are nearly as effective as the standard analysis for detecting regions with abnormal AChE activity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1273-1287
Author(s):  
Ondřej Tichý ◽  
Václav Smídl

Selection of regions of interest in an image sequence is a typical prerequisite step for estimation of time-activity curves in dynamic positron emission tomography (PET). This procedure is done manually by a human operator and therefore suffers from subjective errors. Another such problem is to estimate the input function. It can be measured from arterial blood or it can be searched for a vascular structure on the images which is hard to be done, unreliable, and often impossible. In this study, we focus on blind source separation methods with no needs of manual interaction. Recently, we developed sparse blind source separation and deconvolution (S-BSS-vecDC) method for separation of original sources from dynamic medical data based on probability modeling and Variational Bayes approximation methodology. In this paper, we extend this method and we apply the methods on dynamic brain PET data and application and comparison of derived algorithms with those of similar assumptions are given. The S-BSS-vecDC algorithm is publicly available for download.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1546-1558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin W Wooten ◽  
Ansel T Hillmer ◽  
Jeffrey M Moirano ◽  
Elizabeth O Ahlers ◽  
Maxim Slesarev ◽  
...  

The goal of this work was to characterize the in-vivo behavior of [18F]mefway as a suitable positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer for the assay of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor density ( Bmax). Six rhesus monkeys were studied using a multiple-injection (M-I) protocol consisting of three sequential bolus injections of [18F]mefway. Injection times and amounts of unlabeled mefway were optimized for the precise measurement of Bmax and specific binding parameters koff and kon for estimation of apparent KD. The PET time series were acquired for 180 minutes with arterial sampling performed throughout. Compartmental analysis using the arterial input function was performed to obtain estimates for K1, k2, koff, Bmax, and KDapp in the cerebral cortex and raphe nuclei (RN) using a model that accounted for nontracer doses of mefway. Averaged over subjects, highest binding was seen in the mesial temporal and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices with Bmax values of 42±8 and 36±8 pmol/mL, respectively, and lower values in the superior temporal cortex, RN, and parietal cortex of 24±4, 19±4, and 13±2 pmol/mL, respectively. The KDapp of mefway for the 5-HT1A receptor sites was 4.3±1.3 nmol/L. In conclusion, these results show that M-I [18F]mefway PET experiments can be used for the in-vivo measurement of 5-HT1A receptor density.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S31-S37 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Lear

The cerebral uptake of [99mTc]– d,l-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime complex (HM-PAO) was compared to LCBF determined simultaneously with [14C]iodoantipyrine (IAP) using double radionuclide quantitative digital autoradiography. Awake male rats were given intravenous injections of a mixture of 50 μCi IAP and 15 mCi of HM-PAO and killed 20 s after tracer activity had first reached the brain. Two separate autoradiograms were produced from each 20 μm brain section. The autoradiograms were digitized, corrected for cross-contamination, and then converted into images of individual tracer concentration. The diffusible tracer model was used to convert the IAP concentration images into LCBF images. Regional HM-PAO concentration was found not to be linearly related to LCBF as determined with the IAP, and therefore a simple microsphere type model was inadequate in relating HM-PAO uptake to LCBF. A better HM-PAO uptake–LCBF correlation was obtained when the HM-PAO arterial input function was corrected for very rapidly produced, non-cerebrally extracted, metabolites and a kinetic model was used that considered the rate of intracerebral metabolism of HM-PAO to a retained metabolite. Even using this model, however, some differences between HM-PAO uptake and LCBF occurred in certain brain regions. Because these differences were small and the HM-PAO uptake pattern has been shown to be constant for many minutes, HM-PAO can probably be used to estimate LCBF in patients with single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging.


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