Effects of Attenuation Map Accuracy on Attenuation-corrected Micro-SPECT Images

Overview

Journal EJNMMI Res

Date 2013 Feb 2

PMID 23369630

Citations 2

Authors

Chao Wu

Hugo A Gratama van Andel

Peter Laverman

Otto C Boerman

Freek J Beekman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Unlabelled:

Background: In single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), attenuation of photon flux in tissue affects quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. Attenuation maps derived from X-ray computed tomography (CT) can be employed for attenuation correction. The attenuation coefficients as well as registration accuracy between SPECT and CT can be influenced by several factors. Here we investigate how such inaccuracies influence micro-SPECT quantification.

Methods: Effects of (1) misalignments between micro-SPECT and micro-CT through shifts and rotation, (2) globally altered attenuation coefficients and (3) combinations of these were evaluated. Tests were performed with a NEMA NU 4-2008 phantom and with rat cadavers containing sources with known activity.

Results: Changes in measured activities within volumes of interest in phantom images ranged from <1.5% (125I) and <0.6% (201Tl, 99mTc and 111In) for 1-mm shifts to <4.5% (125I) and <1.7% (201Tl, 99mTc and 111In) with large misregistration (3 mm). Changes induced by 15° rotation were smaller than those by 3-mm shifts. By significantly altering attenuation coefficients (±10%), activity changes of <5.2% for 125I and <2.7% for 201Tl, 99mTc and 111In were induced. Similar trends were seen in rat studies.

Conclusions: While getting sufficient accuracy of attenuation maps in clinical imaging is highly challenging, our results indicate that micro-SPECT quantification is quite robust to various imperfections of attenuation maps.

Citing Articles

Nonlinear dual reconstruction of SPECT activity and attenuation images.

Liu H, Guo M, Hu Z, Shi P, Hu H PLoS One. 2014; 9(9):e106951.

PMID: 25225796 PMC: 4167322. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106951.

The role of preclinical SPECT in oncological and neurological research in combination with either CT or MRI.

Bernsen M, Vaissier P, Van Holen R, Booij J, Beekman F, de Jong M Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2014; 41 Suppl 1:S36-49.

PMID: 24895751 PMC: 4003405. DOI: 10.1007/s00259-013-2685-3.

References

de Visser M, Bernard H, Erion J, Schmidt M, Srinivasan A, Waser B . Novel 111In-labelled bombesin analogues for molecular imaging of prostate tumours. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2007; 34(8):1228-38. DOI: 10.1007/s00259-006-0356-3. View

Branderhorst W, Vastenhouw B, Beekman F . Pixel-based subsets for rapid multi-pinhole SPECT reconstruction. Phys Med Biol. 2010; 55(7):2023-34. DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/55/7/015. View

Goetze S, Brown T, Lavely W, Zhang Z, Bengel F . Attenuation correction in myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT: effects of misregistration and value of reregistration. J Nucl Med. 2007; 48(7):1090-5. DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.107.040535. View

Tsui B, Kraitchman D . Recent advances in small-animal cardiovascular imaging. J Nucl Med. 2009; 50(5):667-70. PMC: 2866288. DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.108.058479. View

Tonge C, Ellul G, Pandit M, Lawson R, Shields R, Arumugam P . The value of registration correction in the attenuation correction of myocardial SPECT studies using low resolution computed tomography images. Nucl Med Commun. 2006; 27(11):843-52. DOI: 10.1097/01.mnm.0000239483.69027.23. View

Zhang J, Nie L, Razavian M, Ahmed M, Dobrucki L, Asadi A . Molecular imaging of activated matrix metalloproteinases in vascular remodeling. Circulation. 2008; 118(19):1953-60. PMC: 2637824. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.789743. View

Vaneycken I, Devoogdt N, Van Gassen N, Vincke C, Xavier C, Wernery U . Preclinical screening of anti-HER2 nanobodies for molecular imaging of breast cancer. FASEB J. 2011; 25(7):2433-46. DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-180331. View

van der Have F, Vastenhouw B, Rentmeester M, Beekman F . System calibration and statistical image reconstruction for ultra-high resolution stationary pinhole SPECT. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2008; 27(7):960-71. DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2008.924644. View

Ji C, van der Have F, Gratama van Andel H, Ramakers R, Beekman F . Accurate Coregistration between Ultra-High-Resolution Micro-SPECT and Circular Cone-Beam Micro-CT Scanners. Int J Biomed Imaging. 2010; 2010:654506. PMC: 2952907. DOI: 10.1155/2010/654506. View

10.

Wu C, de Jong J, Gratama van Andel H, van der Have F, Vastenhouw B, Laverman P . Quantitative multi-pinhole small-animal SPECT: uniform versus non-uniform Chang attenuation correction. Phys Med Biol. 2011; 56(18):N183-93. DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/56/18/N01. View

11.

Ay M, Shirmohammad M, Sarkar S, Rahmim A, Zaidi H . Comparative assessment of energy-mapping approaches in CT-based attenuation correction for PET. Mol Imaging Biol. 2010; 13(1):187-98. DOI: 10.1007/s11307-010-0303-3. View

12.

Chantler C . Detailed tabulation of atomic form factors, photoelectric absorption and scattering cross section, and mass attenuation coefficients in the vicinity of absorption edges in the soft X-ray (Z = 30-36, Z = 60-89, E = 0.1-10 keV)--addressing convergence.... J Synchrotron Radiat. 2001; 8(4):1124. DOI: 10.1107/s0909049501008305. View

13.

Umeda I, Tani K, Tsuda K, Kobayashi M, Ogata M, Kimura S . High resolution SPECT imaging for visualization of intratumoral heterogeneity using a SPECT/CT scanner dedicated for small animal imaging. Ann Nucl Med. 2011; 26(1):67-76. DOI: 10.1007/s12149-011-0542-7. View

14.

Wyckhuys T, Staelens S, Van Nieuwenhuyse B, Deleye S, Hallez H, Vonck K . Hippocampal deep brain stimulation induces decreased rCBF in the hippocampal formation of the rat. Neuroimage. 2010; 52(1):55-61. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.017. View

15.

Wu C, van der Have F, Vastenhouw B, Dierckx R, Paans A, Beekman F . Absolute quantitative total-body small-animal SPECT with focusing pinholes. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2010; 37(11):2127-35. PMC: 2948163. DOI: 10.1007/s00259-010-1519-9. View

16.

Miao Y, Benwell K, Quinn T . 99mTc- and 111In-labeled alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptides as imaging probes for primary and pulmonary metastatic melanoma detection. J Nucl Med. 2007; 48(1):73-80. View

17.

Hoang B, Lee H, Reilly R, Allen C . Noninvasive monitoring of the fate of 111In-labeled block copolymer micelles by high resolution and high sensitivity microSPECT/CT imaging. Mol Pharm. 2009; 6(2):581-92. DOI: 10.1021/mp8002418. View

18.

Ogawa K, Harata Y, Ichihara T, Kubo A, Hashimoto S . A practical method for position-dependent Compton-scatter correction in single photon emission CT. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 1991; 10(3):408-12. DOI: 10.1109/42.97591. View

19.

Vanhove C, Defrise M, Bossuyt A, Lahoutte T . Improved quantification in single-pinhole and multiple-pinhole SPECT using micro-CT information. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2009; 36(7):1049-63. DOI: 10.1007/s00259-009-1062-8. View

20.

van der Have F, Vastenhouw B, Ramakers R, Branderhorst W, Krah J, Ji C . U-SPECT-II: An Ultra-High-Resolution Device for Molecular Small-Animal Imaging. J Nucl Med. 2009; 50(4):599-605. DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.108.056606. View