Quantification of myocardial blood flow with (82)Rb: Validation with (15)O-water using time-of-flight and point-spread-function modeling

• Published in: EJNMMI research Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 68
• Main Authors: Germino, Mary, Ropchan, Jim, Mulnix, Tim, Fontaine, Kathryn, Nabulsi, Nabeel, Ackah, Eric, Feringa, Herman, Sinusas, Albert J, Liu, Chi, Carson, Richard E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.12.2016
• Subjects: Rubidium-82 PET; Myocardial blood flow; Image-derived input function; TOF PET
• ISSN: 2191-219X; 2191-219X
• DOI: 10.1186/s13550-016-0215-6

We quantified myocardial blood flow with (82)Rb PET using parameters of the generalized Renkin-Crone model estimated from (82)Rb and (15)O-water images reconstructed with time-of-flight and point spread function modeling. Previous estimates of rubidium extraction have used older-generation scanners without time-of-flight or point spread function modeling. We validated image-derived input functions with continuously collected arterial samples. Nine healthy subjects were scanned at rest and under pharmacological stress on the Siemens Biograph mCT with (82)Rb and (15)O-water PET, undergoing arterial blood sampling with each scan. Image-derived input functions were estimated from the left ventricle cavity and corrected with tracer-specific population-based scale factors determined from arterial data. Kinetic parametric images were generated from the dynamic PET images by fitting the one-tissue compartment model to each voxel's time activity curve. Mean myocardial blood flow was determined from each subject's (15)O-water k 2 images. The parameters of the generalized Renkin-Crone model were estimated from these water-based flows and mean myocardial (82)Rb K 1 estimates. Image-derived input functions showed improved agreement with arterial measurements after a scale correction. The Renkin-Crone model fit (a = 0.77, b = 0.39) was similar to those previously published, though b was lower. We have presented parameter estimates for the generalized Renkin-Crone model of extraction for (82)Rb PET using human (82)Rb and (15)O-water PET from high-resolution images using a state-of-the-art time-of-flight-capable scanner. These results provide a state-of-the-art methodology for myocardial blood flow measurement with (82)Rb PET.