TABLE 1

AQARA Requirements for Radionuclide-Based Images in Medical Journals

Feature	Specific requirement
Intensity-scale bar	Show for each figure
	Indicate unit and upper and lower window settings
	Prefer absolute units:
	Use biologic parameters if available (e.g., rate constants, metabolic rates, binding potential)
	If not, use activity concentration (e.g., SUV, Bq/mL, %IA/cm³)
	Minimally, include relative units (e.g., percentage of maximum)
Background subtraction	Avoid
	If unavoidable, clearly indicate in scale bar:
	Keep bottom of scale bar at “0”
	Set subtracted fraction of scale bar to background color
Image display	Use same window settings for all figures
	Accompany fusion images (SPECT/CT, PET/CT, PET/MR) by corresponding stand-alone SPECT or PET images
	Limit cropping
	If cropping is applied, show corresponding uncropped, full-field-of-view image