title: Impact of the point spread function on maximum standardized uptake value measurements in patients with pulmonary cancer.
abstract: Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) from fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans is a semi quantitative measure that is increasingly used in the clinical practice for diagnostic and therapeutic response assessment purposes. Technological advances such as the implementation of the point spread function (PSF) in the reconstruction algorithm have led to higher signal to noise ratio and increased spatial resolution. The impact on SUVmax measurements has not been studied in clinical setting. We studied the impact of PSF on SUVmax in 30 consecutive lung cancer patients. SUVmax values were measured on PET-computed tomography (CT) scans reconstructed iteratively with and without PSF (respectively high-definition [HD] and non-HD). HD SUVmax values were significantly higher than non-HD SUVmax. There was excellent correlation between HD and non-HD values. Details of reconstruction and PSF implementation in particular have important consequences on SUV values. Nuclear Medicine physicians and radiologists should be aware of the reconstruction parameters of PET-CT scans when they report or rely on SUV measurements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse 31000, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gellee
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, London, NM3 2QG, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Department of PET/CT, Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2RN, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanghera
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse 31000, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Payoux
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, London, NM3 2QG, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wagner
keywords: Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography; lung cancer; maximum standardized uptake value; point spread function; quantification