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PURPOSE: This study aimed to construct a database of the effective doses (ED) from F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) torso positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in Korea to provide data that supports the reduction of the CT dose of PET/CT and optimization of PET/CT protocols in Korea. METHODS: We investigated data of ED and CT parameters of FDG PET/CT. The data were analyzed by body weight groups. RESULTS: A total of 31 hospitals participated in the survey (99 adults). The mean total EDs (± SD) were 8.77 ± 2.76, 10.93 ± 3.14, and 12.57 ± 3.79 mSv for the 55-, 70-, and 85-kg groups, respectively. The FDG EDs were 4.80 ± 0.98, 6.05 ± 1.15, and 6.89 ± 1.52 mSv, and the CT EDs were 4.00 ± 2.12, 4.88 ± 2.51, and 5.68 ± 2.89 mSv, respectively. Of the enrolled hospitals, 54.5% used ultra-low-dose CT protocols, and their CT ED was significantly lower than low-dose CT group in all groups (2.9 ± 1.0, 3.2 ± 1.1, and 3.3 ± 1.0 mSv vs. 6.6 ± 1.6, 7.2 ± 2.1, and 7.9 ± 2.2 mSv, all p

Quality control and quality assurance (QC/QA) have been two of the most important issues in modern nuclear medicine (NM) imaging for both clinical practices and academic research. Whereas quantitative QC analysis software is common to modern positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, the QC of gamma cameras and/or single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanners has not been sufficiently addressed. Although a thorough standard operating process (SOP) for mechanical and software maintenance may help the QC/QA of a gamma camera and SPECT-computed tomography (CT), no previous study has addressed a unified platform or process to decipher or analyze SPECT phantom images acquired from various scanners thus far. In addition, a few approaches have established cross-platform software to enable the technologists and physicists to assess the variety of SPECT scanners from different manufacturers. To resolve these issues, we have developed Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based in-house software for crossplatform (in terms of not only operating systems (OS) but also manufacturers) analyses of the QC data on an ACR SPECT phantom, which is essential for assessing and assuring the tomographical image quality of SPECT. We applied our devised software to our routine quarterly QC of ACR SPECT phantom images acquired from a number of platforms (OS/manufacturers). Based on our experience, we suggest that our devised software can offer a unified platform that allows images acquired from various types of scanners to be analyzed with great precision and accuracy.

This study examined the effect of an extended CT field of view (FOV) on the standardized uptake value (SUV) of positron emission tomography — computed tomography (PET/CT) when the image extended beyond the CT FOV. CT images were reconstructed at different FOV sizes (500 mm and 700 mm). Two sets of CT images were reconstructed from the CT projection data by using the two FOV sizes. Twenty patients were examined in this study. The PET images were reconstructed from attenuation maps with a 500 mm CT FOV and a 700 mm extended CT FOV images. The regions of interest (ROIs) were drawn on the PET images. In addition, in the twenty patients, the PET images reconstructed by using a 500-mm CT FOV and 700-mm extended CT FOV were compared with the standardized uptake value (SUVmax). When attenuation maps with the 700-mm extended CT FOV were used, the SUVmax analyses of the liver (p = 0.000), lung (p = 0.007) and mediastinum (p = 0.001) produced statistically significant result. A 700 mm extended CT FOV help recover the true activity distribution in the PET emission data and affected the SUV measurements of the liver, lung and mediastinum.