STRATEGIES FOR CLINICAL ONCOLOGY IMAGING WITH 3D PET

描述（改编自申请人摘要）：申请人提出， 开发，实施和评估算法，将显着提高 用于临床PET肿瘤学成像图像质量， 双PET/CT扫描仪正在开发中。 的动机 因为这项工作源于正电子发射的独特敏感性 断层扫描（PET），以检测与异常 CT或MRI显示结构异常前的肿瘤代谢 变得明显。 这种能力越来越多地用于 通过进行远离原发肿瘤部位的疾病的鉴定， 全身扫描，其中患者床步进通过扫描仪。 然而，PET肿瘤学成像的诊断效用通常受限于 低示踪剂吸收和低数据收集率的做法，导致 具有高水平统计噪声的图像。 全身扫描，在 特别地，在本发明的实施例中， 为了维持患者可接受的总扫描持续时间 患有严重疾病，导致统计噪音增加， 进一步降低诊断效用。 申请人建议， 这些对图像质量的限制可以通过利用 两个因素：使用更高灵敏度的体积成像（3-D成像）， 提高扫描仪的固有灵敏度，并使用真正的三维统计 减少噪声传播并包括先验信息的重建方法 图像平滑度信息。 此外，申请人须具备 有机会纳入新的准确配准CT信息 PET/CT扫描仪控制局部平滑信息进一步提高 图像质量 三维技术的发展面临着诸多挑战 统计重建方法和CT数据的结合。 的 在这项工作中提出的解决方案，最初将评估与模拟 和体模研究，以及随后的临床数据， PET肿瘤学计划，使用观察者研究和活检结果。 这 降低图像噪声以提高 体内的良性和恶性病变是需要实现充分的 PET肿瘤成像的潜力，并最大限度地发挥其对患者的影响 管理

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): The applicants proposed to develop, implement, and evaluate algorithms that will significantly improve image quality for clinical PET oncology imaging, an din particular for a dual PET/CT scanner under development at our institution. The motivation for this work arises from the unique sensitivity of positron emission tomography (PET) to detect increased tracer uptake associated with abnormal tumor metabolism before structural abnormalities demonstrated by CT or MRI become apparent. This ability is being increasingly used in the identification of disease remote from the primary tumor site by performing whole body scanning, where the patient bed is stepped through the scanner. The diagnostic utility of PET oncology imaging, however, is often limited in practice by low tracer uptake and low data collection rates, resulting in images with high levels of statistical noise. Whole body scanning, in particular, is constrained to short imaging times at each bed position in order to maintain a total scan duration that is acceptable to patients suffering from serious disease, leading to increased statistical noise and further degradation in diagnostic utility. The applicants suggest that these limitations on image quality can be overcome by taking advantage of two factors: the use of higher sensitivity volume-imaging (3-D imaging) to increase intrinsic scanner sensitivity, and the use of true 3-D statistical reconstruction methods that reduce noise propagation and include a priori information on image smoothness. In addition, the applicants have the opportunity to include accurately registered CT information from the new PET/CT scanner to control the local smoothing information to further improve image quality. There are challenging problems in the development of 3-D statistical reconstruction methods and in the incorporation of CT data. The solutions proposed in this work will initially be evaluated with simulation and phantom studies, and subsequently with clinical data from the current PET oncology program, using observer studies and biopsy results. This overall approach of reducing image noise to improve the discrimination of benign and malignant lesions within the body is needed to realize the full potential of PET oncology imaging and maximized its impact on patient management.