RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Initial Characterization of a Dedicated Breast PET/CT Scanner During Human Imaging
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 1401
OP 1408
DO 10.2967/jnumed.109.064428
VO 50
IS 9
A1 Spencer L. Bowen
A1 Yibao Wu
A1 Abhijit J. Chaudhari
A1 Lin Fu
A1 Nathan J. Packard
A1 George W. Burkett
A1 Kai Yang
A1 Karen K. Lindfors
A1 David K. Shelton
A1 Rosalie Hagge
A1 Alexander D. Borowsky
A1 Steve R. Martinez
A1 Jinyi Qi
A1 John M. Boone
A1 Simon R. Cherry
A1 Ramsey D. Badawi
YR 2009
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/50/9/1401.abstract
AB We have constructed a dedicated breast PET/CT scanner capable of high-resolution functional and anatomic imaging. Here, we present an initial characterization of scanner performance during patient imaging. Methods: The system consisted of a lutetium oxyorthosilicate–based dual–planar head PET camera (crystal size, 3 × 3 × 20 mm) and 768-slice cone-beam CT. The position of the PET heads (separation and height) could be adjusted for varying breast dimensions. For scanning, the patient lay prone on a specialized bed and inserted a single pendent breast through an aperture in the table top. Compression of the breast as used in mammography is not required. PET and CT systems rotate in the coronal plane underneath the patient sequentially to collect fully tomographic datasets. PET images were reconstructed with the fully 3-dimensional maximum a posteriori method, and CT images were reconstructed with the Feldkamp algorithm, then spatially registered and fused for display. Phantom scans were obtained to assess the registration accuracy between PET and CT images and the influence of PET electronics and activity on CT image quality. We imaged 4 women with mammographic findings highly suggestive of breast cancer (breast imaging reporting and data system, category 5) in an ongoing clinical trial. Patients were injected with 18F-FDG and imaged for 12.5 min per breast. From patient data, noise-equivalent counting rates and the singles-to-trues ratio (a surrogate for the randoms fraction) were calculated. Results: The average registration error between PET and CT images was 0.18 mm. PET electronics and activity did not significantly affect CT image quality. For the patient trial, biopsy-confirmed cancers were visualized on dedicated breast PET/CT on all patient scans, including the detection of ductal carcinoma in situ in 1 case. The singles-to-trues ratio was found to be inversely correlated with breast volume in the field of view, suggesting that larger breasts trend toward increased noise-equivalent counting rates for all other things equal. Conclusion: Scanning of the uncompressed breast with dedicated breast PET/CT can accurately visualize suspected lesions in 3 dimensions.