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Journal of Nuclear Medicine

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OtherClinical Investigations (Human)

Thermal imaging is a non-invasive alternative to PET-CT for measurement of brown adipose tissue activity in humans

James Matthew Law, David Edward Morris, Chioma Izzi Engbeaya, Victoria Salem, Christopher Coello, Lindsay Robinson, Maduka Jayasinghe, Rebecca Scott, Roger Gunn, Eugenii Rabiner, Tricia Tan, Waljit Dhillo, Stephen Bloom, Helen Budge and Michael Symonds
Journal of Nuclear Medicine September 2017, jnumed.117.190546; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.117.190546
James Matthew Law
1 University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
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David Edward Morris
1 University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
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Chioma Izzi Engbeaya
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Victoria Salem
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Christopher Coello
3 Imanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, United Kingdom
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Lindsay Robinson
1 University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
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Maduka Jayasinghe
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Rebecca Scott
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Roger Gunn
3 Imanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, United Kingdom
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Eugenii Rabiner
3 Imanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, United Kingdom
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Tricia Tan
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Waljit Dhillo
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Stephen Bloom
2 Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
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Helen Budge
1 University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
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Michael Symonds
1 University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
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Abstract

Background: Obesity and its metabolic consequences are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) utilises glucose and free fatty acids to produce heat, thereby increasing energy expenditure. Effective evaluation of human BAT stimulators is constrained by current standard BAT assessment methods as positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) requires exposure to high doses of ionising radiation. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a potential non-invasive, safe alternative, although direct corroboration with PET-CT has not previously been established. Methods: IRT and 18F-FDG PET-CT data from 8 healthy male participants subjected to water jacket cooling were directly compared. Thermal images (TIs) were geometrically transformed to overlay PET-CT-derived maximum intensity projection (MIP) images from each subject and the areas of greatest intensity of temperature and glucose-uptake within the supraclavicular regions compared. Relationships between supraclavicular temperatures from IRT (TSCR) and the maximum rate of glucose uptake (MR(gluc)) from PET-CT were determined. Results: Glucose uptake on MR(gluc)MIP was positively correlated with change in TSCR relative to a reference region (r2 = 0.721; P = 0.008). Spatial overlap between areas of maximal MR(gluc)MIP and maximal TSCR was 29.5±5.1%. Prolonged cooling to 60 minutes was associated with further TSCR rise compared with cooling to 10 minutes. Conclusion: The supraclavicular hotspot identified on IRT closely corresponds to the area of maximal uptake on PET-CT-derived MR(gluc)MIP images. Greater increases in relative TSCR were associated with raised glucose uptake. IRT should now be considered a suitable method for measuring BAT activation, especially in populations where PET-CT is not feasible, practical or repeatable.

  • Correlative Imaging
  • PET/CT
  • Other
  • Brown adipose tissue
  • Human
  • Infrared thermography
  • PET-CT
  • Copyright © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.
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Journal of Nuclear Medicine: 66 (5)
Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Vol. 66, Issue 5
May 1, 2025
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Thermal imaging is a non-invasive alternative to PET-CT for measurement of brown adipose tissue activity in humans
James Matthew Law, David Edward Morris, Chioma Izzi Engbeaya, Victoria Salem, Christopher Coello, Lindsay Robinson, Maduka Jayasinghe, Rebecca Scott, Roger Gunn, Eugenii Rabiner, Tricia Tan, Waljit Dhillo, Stephen Bloom, Helen Budge, Michael Symonds
Journal of Nuclear Medicine Sep 2017, jnumed.117.190546; DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.117.190546

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Thermal imaging is a non-invasive alternative to PET-CT for measurement of brown adipose tissue activity in humans
James Matthew Law, David Edward Morris, Chioma Izzi Engbeaya, Victoria Salem, Christopher Coello, Lindsay Robinson, Maduka Jayasinghe, Rebecca Scott, Roger Gunn, Eugenii Rabiner, Tricia Tan, Waljit Dhillo, Stephen Bloom, Helen Budge, Michael Symonds
Journal of Nuclear Medicine Sep 2017, jnumed.117.190546; DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.117.190546
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Keywords

  • Correlative Imaging
  • PET/CT
  • Other
  • Brown adipose tissue
  • human
  • Infrared thermography
  • PET-CT
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