A graphical user interface for calculating the arterial input function during dynamic positron emission tomography

Abstract

Abstract Purpose. Dynamic positron emission tomography (dPET) requires the acquisition of the arterial input function (AIF), conventionally obtained via invasive arterial blood sampling. To obtain the AIF non-invasively, our group developed and combined two novel solutions consisting of (1) a detector, placed on a patient’s wrist during the PET scans to measure the radiation leaving the wrist and (2) a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation software. The simulations require patient-specific wrist geometry. The aim of this study was to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) allowing the user to import 2D ultrasound scans of a patient’s wrist, and measure the wrist features needed to calculate the AIF. Methods. The GUI elements were implemented using Qt5 and VTK-8.2.0. The user imports a patient’s wrist ultrasound scans, measures the radial artery and veins’ surface and depth to model a wrist phantom, then specifies the radioactive source used during the dPET scan. The phantom, the source, and the number of decay events are imported into the Geant4-based Monte Carlo software to run a simulation. In this study, 100 million decays of 18F and 68Ga were simulated in a wrist phantom designed based on an ultrasound scan. The detector’s efficiency was calculated and the results were analyzed using a clinical data processing algorithm developed in a previous study. Results. The detector’s total efficiency decreased by 3.5% for 18F and by 51.7% for 68Ga when using a phantom based on ultrasound scans compared to a generic wrist phantom. Similarly, the data processing algorithm’s accuracy decreased when using the patient-specific phantom, giving errors greater than 1.0% for both radioisotopes. Conclusions. This toolkit enables the user to run Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations for dPET detector development applications using a patient-specific wrist phantom. Leading to a more precise simulation of the developed detector during dPET and the calculation of a personalized AIF.