Combined correction of recovery effect and motion blur for SUV quantification of solitary pulmonary nodules in FDG PET/CT

• Published in: European radiology Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 1868 - 1877
• Main Authors: Apostolova, Ivayla, Wiemker, Rafael, Paulus, Timo, Kabus, Sven, Dreilich, Thomas, van den Hoff, Jörg, Plotkin, Michail, Mester, Janos, Brenner, Winfried, Buchert, Ralph, Klutmann, Susanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.08.2010; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Algorithms; Automation; Diagnostic Radiology; Drug dosages; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Imaging; Internal Medicine; Interventional Radiology; Lung Neoplasms - diagnosis; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Morphology; Motion; Neuroradiology; Nuclear Medicine; Phantoms, Imaging; Radiology; Radiopharmaceuticals; Reproducibility of Results; Respiration; Sensitivity and Specificity; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule - diagnosis; Tomography; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Ultrasound; Germany; Motion correction; FDG; Solitary pulmonary nodule; Recovery correction; SUV
• ISSN: 0938-7994; 1432-1084
• DOI: 10.1007/s00330-010-1747-1

Objective We evaluate a fully data-driven method for the combined recovery and motion blur correction of small solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) in F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT). Methods The SPN was segmented in the low-dose CT using a variable Hounsfield threshold and morphological constraints. The combined effect of limited spatial resolution and motion blur in the SPN’s PET image was then modelled by an effective Gaussian point-spread function (psf). Both isotropic and non-isotropic psfs were used. To validate the method, PET/CT measurements of the NEMA/IEC spheres phantom were performed. The method was applied to 50 unselected SPNs ≤30 mm from routine patient care. Results Recovery of standardised uptake value (SUV) in the phantom image was significantly improved by combined recovery and motion blur correction compared with recovery-only correction, particularly with the non-isotropic model (residual average error 10%). In the patient images, automated segmentation and fit of the effective psf worked properly in all cases. Volume-equivalent diameter ranged from 4.9 to 27.8 mm. Uncorrected maximum SUV ranged from 0.9 to 13.3. Compared with recovery-only correction, combined correction with the non-isotropic model resulted in a ‘relevant’ (≥30%) SUV increase in 47 SPNs (94%). Conclusions Correction of both recovery and motion blur is mandatory for accurate SUV quantification of SPNs.