title: Integrated whole body MR/PET: where are we?
abstract: Whole body integrated magnetic resonance imaging (MR)/positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems have recently become available for clinical use and are currently being used to explore whether the combined anatomic and functional capabilities of MR imaging and the metabolic information of PET provide new insight into disease phenotypes and biology, and provide a better assessment of oncologic diseases at a lower radiation dose than a CT. This review provides an overview of the technical background of combined MR/PET systems, a discussion of the potential advantages and technical challenges of hybrid MR/PET instrumentation, as well as collection of possible solutions. Various early clinical applications of integrated MR/PET are also addressed. Finally, the workflow issues of integrated MR/PET, including maximizing diagnostic information while minimizing acquisition time are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 110-744, Korea. ; Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends*
chemical_list: D056831:Coordination Complexes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
keywords: Hybrid imaging; MR/PET; Magnetic resonance imaging; Positron emission tomography