A Standardized [18F]-FDG-PET Template for Spatial Normalization in Statistical Parametric Mapping of Dementia

• Published in: Neuroinformatics (Totowa, N.J.) Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 575 - 593
• Main Authors: Della Rosa, Pasquale Anthony, Cerami, Chiara, Gallivanone, Francesca, Prestia, Annapaola, Caroli, Anna, Castiglioni, Isabella, Gilardi, Maria Carla, Frisoni, Giovanni, Friston, Karl, Ashburner, John, Perani, Daniela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.10.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Applied sciences; Artificial intelligence; Bioinformatics; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain Mapping - methods; Case-Control Studies; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnostic imaging; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology; Computational Biology/Bioinformatics; Computer Appl. in Life Sciences; Computer science; control theory; systems; Dementia; Dementia - diagnostic imaging; Dementia - physiopathology; Dementia - psychology; Exact sciences and technology; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Geriatrics; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neurosciences; Original Article; Pattern recognition. Digital image processing. Computational geometry; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Sensitivity and Specificity; F-FDG PET; Spatial normalization; SPM (RRID:nif-0000-00343); Template; Dementia; F-FDGPET; Brain; 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglucose; Statistical analysis; Probabilistic approach; Pathophysiology; Alzheimer disease; Ageing; Normal form; Central nervous system; Glucose; Scintigraphy; Metabolism; Statistical method; Positron computed tomography; Morphology; Voxel; Tridimensional image; Diagnosis; Positron emission tomography
• DOI: 10.1007/s12021-014-9235-4
• ISSN: 1539-2791

[ 18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a widely used diagnostic tool that can detect and quantify pathophysiology, as assessed through changes in cerebral glucose metabolism. [ 18 F]-FDG PET scans can be analyzed using voxel-based statistical methods such as Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) that provide statistical maps of brain abnormalities in single patients. In order to perform SPM, a “spatial normalization” of an individual’s PET scan is required to match a reference PET template. The PET template currently used for SPM normalization is based on [ 15 O]-H 2 O images and does not resemble either the specific metabolic features of [ 18 F]-FDG brain scans or the specific morphological characteristics of individual brains affected by neurodegeneration. Thus, our aim was to create a new [ 18 F]-FDG PET aging and dementia-specific template for spatial normalization, based on images derived from both age-matched controls and patients. We hypothesized that this template would increase spatial normalization accuracy and thereby preserve crucial information for research and diagnostic purposes. We investigated the statistical sensitivity and registration accuracy of normalization procedures based on the standard and new template—at the single-subject and group level—independently for subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), probable Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We found a significant statistical effect of the population-specific FDG template-based normalisation in key anatomical regions for each dementia subtype, suggesting that spatial normalization with the new template provides more accurate estimates of metabolic abnormalities for single-subject and group analysis, and therefore, a more effective diagnostic measure.