TY - JOUR

T1 - A deep learning-based whole-body solution for PET/MRI attenuation correction

AU - Ahangari, Sahar

AU - Beck Olin, Anders

AU - Kinggård Federspiel, Marianne

AU - Jakoby, Bjoern

AU - Andersen, Thomas Lund

AU - Hansen, Adam Espe

AU - Fischer, Barbara Malene

AU - Littrup Andersen, Flemming

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Background: Deep convolutional neural networks have demonstrated robust and reliable PET attenuation correction (AC) as an alternative to conventional AC methods in integrated PET/MRI systems. However, its whole-body implementation is still challenging due to anatomical variations and the limited MRI field of view. The aim of this study is to investigate a deep learning (DL) method to generate voxel-based synthetic CT (sCT) from Dixon MRI and use it as a whole-body solution for PET AC in a PET/MRI system. Materials and methods: Fifteen patients underwent PET/CT followed by PET/MRI with whole-body coverage from skull to feet. We performed MRI truncation correction and employed co-registered MRI and CT images for training and leave-one-out cross-validation. The network was pretrained with region-specific images. The accuracy of the AC maps and reconstructed PET images were assessed by performing a voxel-wise analysis and calculating the quantification error in SUV obtained using DL-based sCT (PETsCT) and a vendor-provided atlas-based method (PETAtlas), with the CT-based reconstruction (PETCT) serving as the reference. In addition, region-specific analysis was performed to compare the performances of the methods in brain, lung, liver, spine, pelvic bone, and aorta. Results: Our DL-based method resulted in better estimates of AC maps with a mean absolute error of 62 HU, compared to 109 HU for the atlas-based method. We found an excellent voxel-by-voxel correlation between PETCT and PETsCT (R2 = 0.98). The absolute percentage difference in PET quantification for the entire image was 6.1% for PETsCT and 11.2% for PETAtlas. The regional analysis showed that the average errors and the variability for PETsCT were lower than PETAtlas in all regions. The largest errors were observed in the lung, while the smallest biases were observed in the brain and liver. Conclusions: Experimental results demonstrated that a DL approach for whole-body PET AC in PET/MRI is feasible and allows for more accurate results compared with conventional methods. Further evaluation using a larger training cohort is required for more accurate and robust performance.

AB - Background: Deep convolutional neural networks have demonstrated robust and reliable PET attenuation correction (AC) as an alternative to conventional AC methods in integrated PET/MRI systems. However, its whole-body implementation is still challenging due to anatomical variations and the limited MRI field of view. The aim of this study is to investigate a deep learning (DL) method to generate voxel-based synthetic CT (sCT) from Dixon MRI and use it as a whole-body solution for PET AC in a PET/MRI system. Materials and methods: Fifteen patients underwent PET/CT followed by PET/MRI with whole-body coverage from skull to feet. We performed MRI truncation correction and employed co-registered MRI and CT images for training and leave-one-out cross-validation. The network was pretrained with region-specific images. The accuracy of the AC maps and reconstructed PET images were assessed by performing a voxel-wise analysis and calculating the quantification error in SUV obtained using DL-based sCT (PETsCT) and a vendor-provided atlas-based method (PETAtlas), with the CT-based reconstruction (PETCT) serving as the reference. In addition, region-specific analysis was performed to compare the performances of the methods in brain, lung, liver, spine, pelvic bone, and aorta. Results: Our DL-based method resulted in better estimates of AC maps with a mean absolute error of 62 HU, compared to 109 HU for the atlas-based method. We found an excellent voxel-by-voxel correlation between PETCT and PETsCT (R2 = 0.98). The absolute percentage difference in PET quantification for the entire image was 6.1% for PETsCT and 11.2% for PETAtlas. The regional analysis showed that the average errors and the variability for PETsCT were lower than PETAtlas in all regions. The largest errors were observed in the lung, while the smallest biases were observed in the brain and liver. Conclusions: Experimental results demonstrated that a DL approach for whole-body PET AC in PET/MRI is feasible and allows for more accurate results compared with conventional methods. Further evaluation using a larger training cohort is required for more accurate and robust performance.

KW - Attenuation correction

KW - Deep learning

KW - MR-AC

KW - PET/MRI

KW - Whole body

U2 - 10.1186/s40658-022-00486-8

DO - 10.1186/s40658-022-00486-8

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35978211

AN - SCOPUS:85136483543

VL - 9

JO - E J N M M I Physics

JF - E J N M M I Physics

SN - 2197-7364

M1 - 55

ER -