Software Respiratory Gating of Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography Improves Pulmonary Nodule Detection

ObjectiveRespiratory motion can degrade PET image quality and lead to inaccurate quantification of lesion uptake. Such motion can be mitigated via respiratory gating. Our objective was to evaluate a data-driven gating (DDG) technique that is being developed commercially for clinical PET/CT.MethodsA data-driven respiratory gating algorithm based on principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to phantom and FDG patient data. An anthropomorphic phantom and a NEMA IEC Body phantom were filled with 18F, placed on a respiratory motion platform, and imaged using a PET/CT scanner. Motion waveforms were measured using an infrared camera [the Real-time Position Management™ system (RPM)] and also extracted from the PET data using the DDG algorithm. The waveforms were compared via calculation of Pearson’s correlation coefficients. PET data were reconstructed using quiescent period gating (QPG) and compared via measurement of recovery percentage and background variability.ResultsData-driven gating had similar performance to the external gating system, with correlation coefficients in excess of 0.97. Phantom and patient images were visually clearer with improved contrast when QPG was applied as compared to no motion compensation. Recovery coefficients in the phantoms were not significantly different between DDG- and RPM-based QPG, but were significantly higher than those found for no motion compensation (p < 0.05).ConclusionA PCA-based DDG algorithm was evaluated and found to provide a reliable respiratory gating signal in anthropomorphic phantom studies and in example patients.Advances in knowledgeThe prototype commercial DDG algorithm may enable reliable respiratory gating in routine clinical PET-CT.

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“…Images were then reconstructed in the same manner as that used for phantom studies. Another example has been presented by Morley et al33.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Evaluation of principal component analysis-based data-driven respiratory gating for positron emission tomography

Walker

Bradley

McGowan

2018

BJR

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“…The variation of the weighting factor for this component over time provides a respiratory waveform similar to that provided by the external respiratory gating equipment. The method has been recently validated in phantom studies, and several patient examples have been presented [11, 12]. The commercial implementation is built on the work of Thielmans et al [7, 13, 14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of data-driven respiratory gating waveforms for clinical PET imaging

et al. 2019

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BackgroundWe aimed to evaluate the clinical robustness of a commercially developed data-driven respiratory gating algorithm based on principal component analysis, for use in routine PET imaging.MethodsOne hundred fifty-seven adult FDG PET examinations comprising a total of 1149 acquired bed positions were used for the assessment. These data are representative of FDG scans currently performed at our institution. Data were acquired for 4 min/bed position (3 min/bed for legs). The data-driven gating (DDG) algorithm was applied to each bed position, including those where minimal respiratory motion was expected. The algorithm provided a signal-to-noise measure of respiratory-like frequencies within the data, denoted as R. Qualitative evaluation was performed by visual examination of the waveforms, with each waveform scored on a 3-point scale by two readers and then averaged (score S of 0 = no respiratory signal, 1 = some respiratory-like signal but indeterminate, 2 = acceptable signal considered to be respiratory). Images were reconstructed using quiescent period gating and compared with non-gated images reconstructed with a matched number of coincidences. If present, the SUVmax of a well-defined lesion in the thorax or abdomen was measured and compared between the two reconstructions.ResultsThere was a strong (r = 0.86) and significant correlation between R and scores S. Eighty-six percent of waveforms with R ≥ 15 were scored as acceptable for respiratory gating. On average, there were 1.2 bed positions per patient examination with R ≥ 15. Waveforms with high R and S were found to originate from bed positions corresponding to the thorax and abdomen: 90% of waveforms with R ≥ 15 had bed centres in the range 5.6 cm superior to 27 cm inferior from the dome of the liver. For regions where respiratory motion was expected to be minimal, R tended to be < 6 and S tended to be 0. The use of DDG significantly increased the SUVmax of focal lesions, by an average of 11% when considering lesions in bed positions with R ≥ 15.ConclusionsThe majority of waveforms with high R corresponded to the part of the patient where respiratory motion was expected. The waveforms were deemed suitable for respiratory gating when assessed visually, and when used were found to increase SUVmax in focal lesions.

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Impact of irregular waveforms on data-driven respiratory gated PET/CT images processed using MotionFree algorithm

Miyaji,

Miwa,

Yamashita

et al. 2023

Ann Nucl Med

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Software Respiratory Gating of Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography Improves Pulmonary Nodule Detection

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Evaluation of principal component analysis-based data-driven respiratory gating for positron emission tomography

Evaluation of principal component analysis-based data-driven respiratory gating for positron emission tomography

Evaluation of data-driven respiratory gating waveforms for clinical PET imaging

Impact of irregular waveforms on data-driven respiratory gated PET/CT images processed using MotionFree algorithm

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