Musculoskeletal Applications of PET/MR

Abstract

To overcome each limitation of morphological and functional imaging procedures, hybrid imaging systems have been developed and introduced into clinical routine. It has been increasingly discussed whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) might be an appropriate alternative for computed tomography (CT). The major advantage of positron emission tomography (PET)/MR consists of combined metabolic and anatomical information in a single imaging session that provides superior soft tissue characterization of MRI over CT. Until now, fusion image has been effectively utilized in oncologic indications. Because biopsy cannot be replaced by images for definite diagnosis, fusion imaging may be more efficient for staging based on nodal spread or metastases rather than the diagnosis of primary tumor, and it can be proficient for treatment response or postoperative assessment. This review describes mainly oncologic and nontumorous conditions among the musculoskeletal applications of PET/MR.

Daily Workflow and Protocol Optimization in Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging Use

“…Ayrıca özellikle yumuşak doku sarkomlarında tedaviye yanıtın değerlendirilmesi için FDG PET/ MR görüntülemeden yararlanılabilir (29). Sklerotik kemik lezyonları BT ile daha kolay saptanabilirken, özellikle osteopenik hastalarda ve kortikal kemiğin etkilenmediği durumlarda litik kemik lezyonları BT'de fark edilemeyebilir.…”

Workflow in Simultaneous PET/MRI

“…Another usefulness clinical application is therapeutic response assessment, especially in soft tissue sarcomas. 80 For malignant bone lesions, it is expected that PET/MRI is more robust and would provide a better anatomical delineation when compared with PET/CT. However, for this, additional dedicated sequences rather than only two basic sequences might be needed.…”

“…Despite the known FDG avidity for inflammatory activity, there are no data to support PET/MRI as a possible imaging method, for example, in arthropathies (psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis). 80 …”

“…One special potential benefit in oncologic patients is the differentiation between highly cellular hematopoietic and neoplastic marrow that could be assessed by the chemical shift information given by T1 Dixon sequences. 80 …”

Performance characterization of high quantum efficiency metal package photomultiplier tubes for time‐of‐flight and high‐resolution PET applications

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Time-of-flight (TOF) measurement capability is an important feature of modern whole-body PET systems because the reconstruction of PET images using a TOF kernel results in a significant improvement in image quality. [6][7][8] Recent studies also have shown that the TOF information leads to improved accuracy in the joint estimation of the radioactivity distribution and attenuation coefficient map. 9,10 Also, a high spatial resolution is required in PET scanners, which are designed for scanning specific human organs, such as the brain and breast, and small animals.…”