PET/MR in children. Initial clinical experience in paediatric oncology using an integrated PET/MR scanner

Pediatr Radiol. 2013 Jul;43(7):860-75. doi: 10.1007/s00247-012-2570-4. Epub 2013 Jan 11.

Abstract

Use of PET/MR in children has not previously been reported, to the best of our knowledge. Children with systemic malignancies may benefit from the reduced radiation exposure offered by PET/MR. We report our initial experience with PET/MR hybrid imaging and our current established sequence protocol after 21 PET/MR studies in 15 children with multifocal malignant diseases. The effective dose of a PET/MR scan was only about 20% that of the equivalent PET/CT examination. Simultaneous acquisition of PET and MR data combines the advantages of the two previously separate modalities. Furthermore, the technique also enables whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and statements to be made about the biological cellularity and nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio of tumours. Combined PET/MR saves time and resources. One disadvantage of PET/MR is that in order to have an effect, a significantly longer examination time is needed than with PET/CT. In our initial experience, PET/MR has turned out to be an unexpectedly stable and reliable hybrid imaging modality, which generates a complementary diagnostic study of great additional value.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / instrumentation*
  • Male
  • Multimodal Imaging / instrumentation*
  • Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / instrumentation*
  • Radiation Dosage*
  • Radiation Protection / instrumentation*
  • Radiometry*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity