PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chi-Cheng Huang
AU  - Chun-Hu Wu
AU  - Ya-Yao Huang
AU  - Kai-Yuan Tzen
AU  - Szu-Fu Chen
AU  - Miao-Ling Tsai
AU  - Hsiao-Ming Wu
TI  - Performing Repeated Quantitative Small-Animal PET with an Arterial Input Function Is Routinely Feasible in Rats
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.116.182402
DP  - 2017 Apr 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 611--616
VI  - 58
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/4/611.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/4/611.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2017 Apr 01; 58
AB  - Performing quantitative small-animal PET with an arterial input function has been considered technically challenging. Here, we introduce a catheterization procedure that keeps a rat physiologically stable for 1.5 mo. We demonstrated the feasibility of quantitative small-animal 18F-FDG PET in rats by performing it repeatedly to monitor the time course of variations in the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc). Methods: Aseptic surgery was performed on 2 rats. Each rat underwent catheterization of the right femoral artery and left femoral vein. The catheters were sealed with microinjection ports and then implanted subcutaneously. Over the next 3 wk, each rat underwent 18F-FDG quantitative small-animal PET 6 times. The CMRglc of each brain region was calculated using a 3-compartment model and an operational equation that included a k*4. Results: On 6 mornings, we completed 12 18F-FDG quantitative small-animal PET studies on 2 rats. The rats grew steadily before and after the 6 quantitative small-animal PET studies. The CMRglc of the conscious brain (e.g., right parietal region, 99.6 ± 10.2 μmol/100 g/min; n = 6) was comparable to that for 14C-deoxyglucose autoradiographic methods. Conclusion: Maintaining good blood patency in catheterized rats is not difficult. Longitudinal quantitative small-animal PET imaging with an arterial input function can be performed routinely.