title: Automatic Extraction of Myocardial Mass and Volume Using Parametric Images from Dynamic Nongated PET.
abstract: Dynamic cardiac PET is used to quantify molecular processes in vivo. However, measurements of left ventricular (LV) mass and volume require electrocardiogram-gated PET data. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of measuring LV geometry using nongated dynamic cardiac PET.
  
  
  
  Thirty-five patients with aortic-valve stenosis and 10 healthy controls underwent a 27-min (11)C-acetate PET/CT scan and cardiac MRI (CMR). The controls were scanned twice to assess repeatability. Parametric images of uptake rate K1 and the blood pool were generated from nongated dynamic data. Using software-based structure recognition, the LV wall was automatically segmented from K1 images to derive functional assessments of LV mass (mLV) and wall thickness. End-systolic and end-diastolic volumes were calculated using blood pool images and applied to obtain stroke volume and LV ejection fraction (LVEF). PET measurements were compared with CMR.
  
  
  
  High, linear correlations were found for LV mass (r = 0.95), end-systolic volume (r = 0.93), and end-diastolic volume (r = 0.90), and slightly lower correlations were found for stroke volume (r = 0.74), LVEF (r = 0.81), and thickness (r = 0.78). Bland-Altman analyses showed significant differences for mLV and thickness only and an overestimation for LVEF at lower values. Intra- and interobserver correlations were greater than 0.95 for all PET measurements. PET repeatability accuracy in the controls was comparable to CMR.
  
  
  
  LV mass and volume are accurately and automatically generated from dynamic (11)C-acetate PET without electrocardiogram gating. This method can be incorporated in a standard routine without any additional workload and can, in theory, be extended to other PET tracers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark hans.harms@clin.au.dk.
authors.forename: Hendrik Johannes
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; and.
authors.forename: Nils Henrik
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Stubkjær Hansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars Poulsen
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Tolbod
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; and.
authors.forename: Won Yong
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Steen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bouchelouche
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; and.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiggers
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frøkiaer
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sörensen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013318:Stroke Volume; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: 11C-acetate; dynamic PET; ejection fraction; myocardial mass; myocardial wall thickness; stroke volume