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Monte Carlo simulation of the acquisition conditions for 177Lu molecular imaging of hepatic tumors

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Annals of Nuclear Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To examine the impact of acquisition time on Lutetium-177 (177Lu) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images using Monte Carlo simulation.

Methods

A gamma camera simulation based on the Monte Carlo method was performed to produce SPECT images. The phantom was modeled on a NEMA IEC BODY phantom including six spheres as tumors. After the administration of 7.4 GBq of 177Lu, radioactivity concentrations of the tumor/liver at 6, 24, and 72 h after administration were set to 1.85/0.201, 2.12/0.156, and 1.95/0.117 MBq/mL, respectively. In addition, the radioactivity concentrations of the tumor at 72 h after administration varied by 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 when comparison was made. Acquisition times examined were 1.2, 1.5, 2, 3, 6, and 12 min. To assess the impact of collimators, SPECT data acquired at 72 h after the administration using six collimators of low-energy high-resolution (LEHR), extended low-energy general-purpose (ELEGP), medium-energy, and general-purpose (MEGP-1, MEGP-2, and MEGP-3) and high-energy general-purpose (HEGP) were examined. After prefiltering using a Butterworth filter, projection images were reconstructed using ordered subset expectation maximization. The detected photons were classified into direct rays, scattered rays, penetrating rays, and characteristic X-rays from lead. The image quality was evaluated through visual assessment, and physical assessment of contrast recovery coefficient (CRC) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). In this study, the CNR threshold for detectability was assumed to be 5.0.

Results

To compare collimators, the highest sensitivity was observed with ELEGP, followed by LEHR and MEGP-1. The highest ratio of direct ray was also observed in ELEGP followed by MEGP-1. In comparison of the radioactivity concentration ratios of tumor/liver, CRC and CNR were significantly decreased with smaller radioactivity concentration ratios. This effect was greater with larger spheres. According to the visual assessment, the acquisition time of 6, 6, and 3 min or longer was required using ELEGP collimator at 6, 24, and 72 h after administration, respectively. Physical assessment based on CNR and CRC also suggested that 6, 6, and 3 min or longer acquisition time was necessary at 6, 24, and 72 h after administration.

Conclusion

177Lu-SPECT images generated via the Monte Carlo simulation suggested that the recommended acquisition time was 6 min or longer at 6 and 24 h and 3 min or longer at 72 h after administration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Yuya Sekikawa & Keita Funada

  2. Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Fukuoka Medical Technology, Teikyo University, 6-22 Misakimachi, Omuta, Fukuoka, 836-8505, Japan

    Yuya Sekikawa

  3. National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan

    Go Akamatsu

  4. Division of Radiology, Department of Medical Technology, Kyushu University Hospital, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Kazuhiko Himuro & Shingo Baba

  5. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Akihiko Takahashi & Masayuki Sasaki

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  1. Yuya Sekikawa
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Correspondence to Akihiko Takahashi.

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Sekikawa, Y., Funada, K., Akamatsu, G. et al. Monte Carlo simulation of the acquisition conditions for 177Lu molecular imaging of hepatic tumors. Ann Nucl Med 35, 823–833 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-021-01620-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-021-01620-9

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