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

Abstract

Background

We quantified myocardial blood flow with ⁸²Rb PET using parameters of the generalized Renkin-Crone model estimated from ⁸²Rb and ¹⁵O-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.

Methods

Nine healthy subjects were scanned at rest and under pharmacological stress on the Siemens Biograph mCT with ⁸²Rb and ¹⁵O-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 ¹⁵O-water k ₂ images. The parameters of the generalized Renkin-Crone model were estimated from these water-based flows and mean myocardial ⁸²Rb K ₁ estimates.

Results

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.

Conclusions

We have presented parameter estimates for the generalized Renkin-Crone model of extraction for ⁸²Rb PET using human ⁸²Rb and ¹⁵O-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 ⁸²Rb PET.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13550-016-0215-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.