We are happy to introduce our latest method of 18F-NaF PET kinetics driven bone attenuation correction to enhance quantification of 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF images in clinical PET/MRI studies. 

In our recent article at the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, we present a robust method for segmenting bone tissues from dynamic PET data alone, thereby allowing for the direct attenuation correction of PET data from perfectly co-registered bone attenuation maps derived from the same PET data. This capability can be important for PET/MR studies where the gold-standard method for estimating attenuation maps from transmission data is not possible.

The bone tissue maps were segmented exclusively from parametric PET images which had been derived from robust Patlak analysis of the 18F-NaF kinetics. The remaining 4 basic tissue classes of air, lungs, fat and soft tissue can be segmented from state-of-the-art MR-based tissue segmentation methods. Finally, the 5 segmented tissue classes can be combined to build a unique 5-class hybrid PET/MR-driven attenuation map to more accurately correct for PET attenuation effects.

The novel hybrid PET/MR 5-class attenuation correction method has been designed to exploit the unique kinetic properties of 18F-NaF in standalone 18F-NaF as well as dual-tracer 18F-FDG:18F-NaF PET/MR studies to enable bone tissue segmentation exclusively from PET data. The figure below demonstrates the potential benefits of the method for improving contrast and quantification of both 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF carotid images acquired with a dynamic PET/MR acquisition protocol.  

The new approach may present a robust and adoptable solution in PET/MR clinical studies to enhance PET signal quantification with two of the most widely employed PET radiotracers in cardiovascular and oncologic molecular imaging, that of 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF.

We are excited to share with you our Nature in Biomedical Engineering article on the multi-parametric evaluation of a novel nano-immunotherapy scheme targeting atherosclerosis disease. The proposed methodology moderates CD40–CD40 ligand signalling in monocytes and macrophages of atherosclerotic plaques by blocking the interaction between CD40 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6).

The accumulation of monocytes and macrophages in atherosclerosis has been associated with destabilization and rupture of plaque which can lead to acute cardiac events. Therefore, intervening in macrophage dynamics can be an efficacious therapeutic strategy in cardiovascular diseases. Indeed, our study demonstrated that a 1-week treatment regimen achieved significant anti-inflammatory effects in mice and non-human primates, due to the impaired migration capacity of monocytes.

We are very proud to have actively participated in this wonderful journey together with more than 30 researchers in 11 departments, across three countries. If you are interested in further details, please have a look at Dr Lameijer’s news article or read our original manuscript.

Thank you!

Very proud that our early work on whole-body parametric PET imaging inspired important industry vectors to translate this technology into their clinical scanner systems. We first paved the way back in 2001 at Rahmim Lab and great collaborators joined us on the way. With the support of the industry (FlowMotion MultiParametric PET by Siemens) we are now optimistic that the clinical PET community will utilize dynamic whole-body PET acquisition and direct 4D reconstruction technology to benefit from the high quantification capabilities complementing the currently established static SUV PET imaging.

Dynamic and multi-parametric whole-body PET imaging has arrived in clinic and it is readily available NOW.

Thank you!

Finally, there is a vendor product (FlowMotion Multiparametric PET by Siemens) that enables dynamic whole-body PET including parametric imaging. This is very rewarding given that our group was the earliest to propose and work on this framework, including close collaboration with Siemens. This is clearly an enabling technology, and it remains to be seen whether […]  via Rahmim Lab