• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.44-49
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• 2012

Purpose: In the whole body PET/CT scan, it is natural to lift the patient's arm for its quality improvement. However, when the lesion is located in head and neck, the arms should be located lower. This study was designed to compare the CT effective dose for each arm position applying Automatic Exposure Control (AEC). Materials and Methods: 45 patients who had $^{18}F$-FDG whole body PET/CT scan were studied with Biograph Truepoint 40 (SIEMENS, GERMANY), Biograph Sensation 16 (SIEMENS, GERMANY), Discovery STe 8 (GE healthcare, USA). The CT effective dose of 15 patients for each equipment was measured and comparatively analyzed in both arm-lifted position and lower-arm position. ImPACT v1.0 program was used as the method of measurement for CT effective dose. For the statistics analysis, Paired t-test which paired with SPSS 18.0 statistic program was applied. Results: In the case of arm-lifted, it was measured as $6.33{\pm}0.93mSv$ for Biograph Sensation 16, $8.01{\pm}1.34mSv$ for Biograph Truepoint 40, and $9.69{\pm}2.32mSv$ for Discovery STe 8. When arms are located lower position, it was measure as $6.97{\pm}0.76mSv$, $8.95{\pm}1.85mSv$, $13.07{\pm}2.87mSv$ for each. CT effective dose according to the arm position was 9.2% for Biograph Truepoint 40, 10.5% for Biograph Sensation 16, and 25.9% for Discovery Ste 8. The statistics analysis showed the meaningful difference ($p$<0.05). Conclusion: For the whole body PET/CT case, CT effective dose applying AEC was decreased the radiation exposure of the patients when the arm was lifted for 15.2% of average value. The patient who has no lesion in head and neck would decrease the artifact occurrence in objective part and lower the CT effective dose. Also, for the patient who had lesion in head and neck, the artifact in objective part can be lower by putting the arms down, the fact that CT effective dose increases should be concerned in its whole body PET/CT scan.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.3-7
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• 2014

Purpose SPECT/CT scan to be performed attenuation correction on the basis of CT induce an overestimation of the site due to the beam hardening artifact by metal cover and reduce the images quality. Therefore, this study using a phantom that has been inserted artificial hip joint investigated that effect on the SPECT/CT image causing by metal artifact for varying the parameters of the Attenuation Map. Materials and Methods Siemens Symbia T16 SPECT/CT equipment was used. Artificial hip joint was inserted to SPECT/PET phantom, 17 mm sphere of Bright Streak area in CT image was filled with Tc-99m so that the radiation activity was 8 times compared to background. And then Hot and Background was measured in varying Wide Beam Coefficient on Attenuation Map and RBR (Region to Background Ratio) of Metal and Non-Metal was calculated and analyzed depending on the presence or absence of the hip joint. Results It tended to hot count of Non-Metal and Metal to increase as the value of the manual mode is increased, hot count ratio with the group of both manual mode 0.5 and 0.4 is the best match. Also, in automatic mode, the ratio of RBRNon-Metal and RBRMetal was 1.135, statistically significant difference was not observed in the manual mode 0.5 and 0.4. Conclusion In the automatic mode of Wide Beam Coefficient in attenuation correction map, it was found that it is over-correction by 13.52%, it was possible to minimize the over-correction by the artifact in 0.5 and 0.4 of manual mode. Further studies should be performed in order to apply to a patient with the help of this and it is considered possible to reduce the over-correction by the metal artifact of an artificial hip joint for Hip-Resurfacing Arthroplasty patients, and to improve the diagnostic performance.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.15-22
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• 2018

Purpose Respiratory motion during PET/MRI acquisition may result in image blurring and error in measurement for volume and quantification of lesion. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes of quantitative accuracy, tumor size and image quality by applying MR based respiratory motion correction technique (MBRMCT) using integrated PET/MR scanner. Materials and Methods Data of 30 patients (aged $62.5{\pm}10.2y$) underwent $^{18}F-FDG$ liver PET/MR (Biograph mMR 3.0T, Siemens) study were collected. PET listmode data for 7 minutes was simultaneously acquired with maximum average gate (MAG), minimum time gate (MTG) and non gate (NG) T1 weighted MR images. Gated PET reconstruction was performed using mu-maps generated from MAG and MTG by setting 35% of efficiency window. Maximum SUV ($SUV_{max}$), peak SUV ($SUV_{peak}$), tumor size and full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the z-axis direction of MAG, MTG and NG PET images were evaluated. Results Compared to NG, mean $SUV_{max}$ and $SUV_{peak}$ were increased in MAG 13.15%(p<0.0001), 8.66%(p<0.0001), MTG 13.27%(p<0.0001), 8.80%(p<0.0001) and mean tumor size and FWHM were decreased in MAG 14.47%(p<0.0001), 15.49%(p=0.0004), MTG 14.89%(p<0.0001), 15.79%(p=0.0003) respectively. Mean $SUV_{max}$ and $SUV_{peak}$ of MTG were increased by 0.07%(p=0.8802), 0.13%(p=0.7766). Mean tumor size and FWHM of MTG were decreased by 0.49%(p=0.2786), 0.36%(p=0.2488) compared to MAG. There was no statistically significant difference between MAG and MTG which increase total scan time for about 7 and 2 minutes. Conclusion SUV, accuracy of tumor size and spatial resolution were improved in both of MAG and MTG by applying MBRMCT without installing additional hardware in liver PET/MR study. More accurate information can be provided with the increase of 2 minutes scan time if applying MTG of MBRMCT to various abdominal PET/MR studies affected by respiratory motion.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.23-27
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• 2018

Purpose The introduction of bone scan has been reported as a useful tool in the diagnosis, treatment, and treatment response of skeletal disease. The purpose of this study is to improve the anatomical information and tolerance of the bone by combining bone scan and pelvic X-ray without additional radiation exposure. Materials and Methods From November 2015 to August 2016, 236 patients(64 men and 172 women, average age $50.96{\pm}15.39years$) take Bone scan and Pelvis AP(Anteroposterior) X-ray scan at the National Cancer Center. The scan equipment was a gamma camera, Symbia Ecam (SIEMENS, Germany), and a digital x-ray, DRS-800 (Listem, Korea). Osirix version 3.8.1 (Osirix, USA) and Stata/SE version 14.0 (StataCorp, USA) were used for image combination and analysis. The patient was intravenously injected with $^{99m}Tc-DPD$ (740 MBq), and the scan was performed 2 to 4 hours later. Gamma camera image acquisition were Matrix size $256{\times}1024$, Zoom 1.00, and scan speed 17 cm/min. The digital X-ray was made with a collimator size of $14^{{\prime}{\prime}}{\times}17^{{\prime}{\prime}}$, 77 kVp (60 to 97 kVp) and an average of 30 mAs (20 to 48). ASIS and pubic symphysis Select virtual points then Combine three virtual points and pelvic contour lines. The acquired images were evaluated by three radiologists who worked for more than 5 years in the nuclear medicine department. Results Of the total 236 patients, 216 (91.53%) were matched. The median and range (min~max) of the age were 67 (46~81) years old in the unmatched group and 52 (22~87) years old in the matched group, The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was performed to determine whether age was different between the two groups. As a result, the age difference between the two groups was statistically significant at p < 0.0001. Of the 64 men, 60 (93.75%) were match and of the 172 women, 156 (93.75%) were match. There was no statistically significant difference according to gender(p = 0.4542). Of the 54 patients without pelvic lesions, 54 (100.00%) were match, and 162 (89.01%) of 182 patients with pelvic lesions were match. There was a statistically significant difference according to the presence of pelvic lesions. Conclusion There are many variables in the combination of bone scan and pelvic X-ray imaging, and the patient's age and pelvic lesion may have some effect on the image combination. This study is expected to be useful for the diagnosis of pelvic osteosarcoma of children without radiation exposure. It is expected that this combination of images will help to develop the nuclear medicine image.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.98-102
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• 2018

Purpose When examining patients with digestive system Leakage, it is not easy to distinguish between bile leakage and bleeding only with Planar images. I would like to evaluate the utility of leakage of bile, confirmation of gastrointestinal bleeding and location discrimination using SPECT-CT. Materials and Methods SPECT-CT was performed according to the request of the reading room after acquiring Planar image for a total of 13 patients, including 8 patients suspected of bile leakage and 5 patients suspected of gastrointestinal bleeding, among patients visiting this specification went. We used Symbia T16 from SIEMENS and Discovery 670 from GE. Planar and SPECT-CT images were evaluated with a score of 1 to 10 by 4 experienced nuclear medicine doctors. Using the sensitivity and the specificity, the evaluation of the inspection by the ROC curve was carried out. The final diagnosis was confirmed by follow-up observation as a result of reoperative surgery. Results The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SPECT-CT were 91.7%, 100% and 94.2%, respectively. Planar images were 83.3%, 68.8% and 78.8%, respectively. Planar images showed lower diagnostic accuracy compared to SPECT-CT (78.8%, 94.2%, p<0.05). Moreover, the reliability of the diagnosis of SPECT-CT by ROC curve analysis showed a more useful result than the Planar image (p<0.05). Conclusion SPECT-CT had high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of biliary leakage and gastrointestinal bleeding and location discrimination. When SPECT-CT is additionally performed together with Planar images, it may be considered to improve bile leakage and diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding patients and position discrimination evaluation. There is usefulness depending on the patient's age and position, but consideration of additional CT exposure may be done sufficiently.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.86-91
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• 2009

Purpose: The whole body scan in Nuclear Medicine is a widely accepted examination and procedure. Especially, it is mainly used in bone, I-131, MIBI, and HMPAO WBC scans. The diverse uses of the whole body scan range from the HMPAO WBC scan with a speed of 13cm/min, to a whole body bone scan using the Onco. Flash technique with a speed of 30cm/min. The accuracy of table movement has a strong correlation with the image quality, and inaccuracy of speed could negatively affect the image quality. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the table movement while considering the influence of the age of the equipment and the variability in the weight of the patients. Material and Methods: The study was conducted using two of Seoul Asan Medical Center's SIEMENS gamma cameras which are commonly used in our whole body study. The first one is the oldest gamma camera, an ECAM plus (installed in 2000), and the last is brand new one, a SYMBIA T2 (installed in 2008). Three trials were conducted with the tables moving at a different speed each time; 10, 15 and 30 cm/min. The tables' speeds were measured by checking how long it took for the table to move 10cm, and this was repeated every 10cm until the table reached 100 cm. With an average body weight of the patients of about 60~70 kg, the table speed was measured with weights of 0 kg, 66 kg and 110 kg placed on the table, then compared among conditions. Results: The coefficient of variance (CV) of the ECAM plus showed 1.23, 1.42, 2.02 respectively when the table movement speeds were set at 10, 15, and 30 centimeters per minute. Under the same conditions, the SYMBIA T2 showed 1.23, 1.83 and 2.28 respectively. As table movement speed more, the variance of CV as the speed increases. When the patient body weight was set to 0, 66 and 110kg, the CV values of both cameras showed 0.96, 1.45, 2.08 (0 Kg), 1.32, 1.72, 2.27 (66 Kg) and 1.37, 1.73, 2.14 (110 Kg). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in 95 percent of confidence intervals and measured CV values were acceptable. However, the CV value of the SYMBIA T2 was relatively larger than the ECAM plus. Conclusion: The scan speed of the whole body scan is predetermined based on which examination is being performed. It is possible for the accuracy of the speed to be affected, such as the age of the equipment, the state of the bearings or the weight of a patient. These factors can have a negative impact on the diagnostic consistency and the image quality. Therefore, periodic quality control should be needed on the gamma cameras currently being used, focusing on the table movement speed in order to maintain accuracy and reproducibility.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.313-318
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• 2013

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) have been used as a powerful fusion modality in nuclear medicine not only for detecting cancer but also for staging and therapy monitoring. Nevertheless, there are various causes of FDG uptake in normal and/or benign tissues. The purpose of present study was to investigate whether additional delayed imaging can improve the diagnosis to differentiate the rates of FDG uptake at axillary lymph nodes (ALN) between malignant and benign in breast cancer patients. 180 PET/CT images were obtained for 27 patients with ALN uptake. The patients who had radiotherapy and chemotherapy were excluded from the study. $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT scan at 50 min (early phase) and 90 min (delayed phase) after $^{18}F$-FDG injection were included in this retrospective study. The staging of cancers was confirmed by final clinical according to radiologic follow-up and pathologic findings. The standardized uptake value (SUV) of ALN was measured at the Syngo Acquisition Workplace by Siemens. The 27 patients included 18 malignant and 9 ALN benign groups and the 18 malignant groups were classified into the 3 groups according to number of metastatic ALN in each patient. ALNs were categorized less than or equal 3 as N1, between 4 to 9 as N2 and more than 10 as N3 group. Results are expressed as the mean${\pm}$standard deviation (S.D.) and statistically analyzed by SPSS. As a result, Retention index (RI-SUV max) in metastasis was significantly higher than that in non-metastasis about 5 fold increased. On the other hand, RI-SUV max in N group tended to decrease gradually from N1 to N3. However, we could not prove significance statistically in malignant group with ANOVA. As a consequence, RI-SUV max was good indicator for differentiating ALN positive group from node negative group in breast cancer patients. These results show that dual-time-point scan appears to be useful in distinguishing malignant from benign.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.155-162
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• 1998

Ho-l66 was produced by neutron reaction in a reactor at the Korea Atomic Energy Institute (Taejon, Korea). Ho-l66 emits a high energy beta particles with a maximum energy of 1.85 MeV and small proportion of gamma rays (80 keV). Therefore, the radiation absorbed dose estimation could be based on the in-vivo quantification of the activity in tumors from the gamma camera images. Approximately 1 mCi of Ho-l66 in solution was mixed into the flood phantom and planar scintigraphic images were acquired with and without patient interposed between the phantom and scintillation camera. Transmission factor over an area of interest was calculated from the ratio of counts in selected regions of the two images described above. A dual-head gamma camera(Multispect2, Siemens, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA) equipped with medium energy collimators was utilized for imaging(80 keV${\pm}$10%). Fifty-nine year old female patient with hepatoma was enrolled into the therapeutic protocol after the informed consent obtained. Thirty millicuries(110MBq) of Ho-166-CHICO was injected into the right hepatic arterial branch supplying hepatoma. When the injection was completed, anterior and posterior scintigraphic views of the chest and pelvic regions were obtained for 3 successive days. Regions of interest (ROIs) were drawn over the organs in both the anterior and posterior views. The activity in those ROIs was estimated from geometric mean, calibration factor and transmission factors. Absorbed dose was calculated using the Marinelli formula and Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) schema. Tumor dose of the patient treated with 1110 MBq(30 mCi) Ho-l66 was calculated to be 179.7 Gy. Dose distribution to normal liver, spleen, lung and bone was 9.1, 10.3, 3.9, 5.0 % of the tumor dose respectively. In conclusion, tumor dose and absorbed dose to surrounding structures were calculated by daily external imaging after the Ho-l66 therapy for hepatoma. In order to limit the thresholding dose to each surrounding organ, absorbed dose calculation provides useful information.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.94-102
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• 1997

Purpose: There have been some efforts to diagnose intracranial aneurysm through a non-invasive method using MRA, although the process may be difficult when the lesion is less than 3mm. The present study prospectively compares the results of high resolution, fast speed slice interpolation MRA and DSA thereby examing the potentiality of primary non-invasive screening test. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 cerebral aneurysm lesions from 14 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage from ruptured aneurysm (RA) and 5 patients with unruptured aneurysm(UA). In all subjects, MRA was taken to confirm the vessel of origin, definition of aneurysm neck and the relationship of the aneurysm to nearby small vessels, and the results were compared with the results of DSA. The images were obtained with 1.5T superconductive machine (Vision, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) on 4 slabs of MRA using slice interpolation. The settings include TR/TE/FA=30/6.4/25, matrix $160{\times}512$, FOV $150{\times}200$, 7minutes 42 seconds of scan time, effective thickness of 0.7 mm and an entire thickness of 102. 2mm. The images included structures from foramen magnum to A3 portion of anterior cerebral artery. MIP was used for the image analysis, and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) technique was used in cases of intracranial aneurysm. Results: A total of 26 intracranial aneurysm lesions from 19 patients with 2 patients having 3 lesion, 3 patients having 2 lesions and the rest of 14 patients having 1 lesion each were examined. Among those, 14 were RA and 12 were UA. Eight lesions were less than 2mm in size, 9 lesions were 3-5mm, 7 were 6-9mm and 2 were larger than IOmm. On initial exams, 25 out of 26 aneurysm lesions were detected in either MRA or DSA showing 96% sensitivity. Specificity cannot be estimated since there was no true negative of false positive findings. When MRA and MPR were used concurrently for the confirmation of size and shape, the results were equivalent to those of DSA, while in the confirmation of aneurysm neck and parent vessels, the concurrent use of MRA and MPR was far superior to the sole use of either MRA or DSA. Conclusion: High resolution MRA using slice interpolation technique showed equal results as those of DSA for the detection of intracranial aneurysm, and may be used as a primary non-invasive screening test in the future.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.103-107
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• 1997

Purpose: To investigate the localization and functional lateralization of the supplementary motor area (SMA) in motor activation tests in comparison to that of the primary motor area. Materials and Methods: Seven healthy volunteers obtained echoplanar imaging blood oxygen level dependent technique. This study was carried on 1.5T Siemens Magnetom Vision system with the standard head coil. Parameters of EPI were followed as; TR/TE : 1.0/66.0msec, flip angle: $90^{\circ}$, field of view: $22cm{\times}22cm,{\;}matrix:{\;}128{\times}128$, slice number/slice thickness/gap: 1O/4mm/0.8mm with fat suppression technique. Motor task as finger opposition in each hand consisted of 3 sets of alternative rest and activation periods. Postprocessing were done on Stimulate 5.0 by using cross-correlation statistics. To compare the functional lateralization of the SMA in the right and left hand tests, each examination was evaluated for the percent change of signal intensity and the number of activated voxels both in the SMA and in the pri¬mary motor area. Hemispheric asymmetry was defined as difference of summation of the activted voxels between each hemisphere. Results: Percent change of signal intensity in the SMA (2.49 -3.06%) is lower than that of primary motor area(4.4 -7.23%). Percent change of signal intensity including activated voxels were observed almost equally in the right and left SMA. As for summation of activated voxels, primary motor area had significant difference between each hemisphere but not did the SMA. Conclusion: Preferred contralateral dominant hemisphere and hemispheric asymmetry were detected in the primary motor area but not in the SMA.