Abstract：
The lack of pediatrics-specific equipment for nuclear medicine imaging has resulted in insufficient diagnostic information for newborns, especially low-birth-weight infants. Although PET offers high spatial resolution and low radiation exposure, its use in newborns is limited. This study investigated the feasibility of cardiac PET imaging using the latest silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) PET technology in infants of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) using a phantom model. Methods: The study used a phantom model representing a 500-g ELBW infant with brain, cardiac, liver, and lung tissues. The cardiac tissue included a 3-mm-thick defect mimicking myocardial infarction. Organ tracer concentrations were calculated assuming 18F-FDG myocardial viability scans and 18F-flurpiridaz myocardial perfusion scans and were added to the phantom organs. Imaging was performed using an SiPM PET/CT scanner with a 5-min acquisition. The data acquired in list mode were reconstructed using 3-dimensional ordered-subsets expectation maximization with varying iterations. Image evaluation was based on the depiction of the myocardial defect compared with normal myocardial accumulation. Results: Increasing the number of iterations improved the contrast of the myocardial defect for both tracers, with 18F-flurpiridaz showing higher contrast than 18F-FDG. However, even at 50 iterations, both tracers overestimated the defect accumulation. A bull\'s-eye image can display the flow metabolism mismatch using images from both tracers. Conclusion: SiPM PET enabled cardiac PET imaging in a 500-g ELBW phantom with a 1-g heart. However, there were limitations in adequately depicting these defects. Considering the image quality and defect contrast,18F-flurpiridaz appears more desirable than 18F-FDG if only one of the two can be used.
摘要：
核医学成像的儿科专用设备缺乏,导致新生儿诊断信息不足,尤其是低出生体重的婴儿。虽然PET提供高空间分辨率和低辐射暴露，它在新生儿中的使用是有限的。这项研究调查了使用体模模型对极低出生体重（ELBW）的婴儿使用最新的硅光电倍增管（SiPM）PET技术进行心脏PET成像的可行性。方法：该研究使用了一个代表500克脑ELBW婴儿的体模模型，心脏,肝脏,和肺组织。心脏组织包括3毫米厚的缺损，模仿心肌梗塞。假设18F-FDG心肌活力扫描和18F-flurpiridaz心肌灌注扫描，计算器官示踪剂浓度，并将其添加到体模器官中。使用SiPMPET/CT扫描仪进行5分钟采集的成像。在列表模式下获取的数据使用三维有序子集期望最大化以变化的迭代进行重建。图像评估基于与正常心肌积聚相比的心肌缺损的描绘。结果：增加迭代次数改善了两种示踪剂的心肌缺损的对比度，18F-flurpiridaz显示比18F-FDG更高的对比度。然而,即使在50次迭代中，两种示踪剂都高估了缺陷的积累。牛眼图像可以使用来自两个示踪剂的图像显示流动代谢不匹配。结论：SiPMPET可以在500gELBW体模和1g心脏中进行心脏PET成像。然而,在充分描述这些缺陷方面存在局限性.考虑到图像质量和缺陷对比度，如果只能使用两种中的一种，则18F-flurpiridaz似乎比18F-FDG更可取。
