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Standardization of the heart-to-mediastinum ratio of 123I-labelled-metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake using the dual energy window method: feasibility of correction with different camera–collimator combinations

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Abstract

Background

Although the heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratio in a planar image has been used for practical quantification in 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging, standardization of the parameter is not yet established. We hypothesized that the value of the H/M ratio could be standardized to the various camera–collimator combinations.

Methods and results

Standard phantoms consisting of the heart and mediastinum were made. A low-energy high-resolution (LEHR) collimator and a medium-energy (ME) collimator were used. We examined multi-window correction methods with 123I- dual-window (IDW) acquisition, and planar images were obtained with IDW correction and the LEHR collimator. The images were obtained using the following gamma camera systems: GCA 9300A (Toshiba, Tokyo), E.CAM Signature (Toshiba/Siemens, Tokyo) and Varicam (GE, Tokyo). Cardiac phantom studies demonstrated that contamination of the H/M count ratio was greater with the LEHR collimator and least with the ME collimator. The corrected H/M ratio with the LEHR collimator was similar to that with ME collimators. The uncorrected H/M ratio with the ME collimator was linearly related to the H/M ratio with IDW correction with the LEHR collimator. The relationship between the uncorrected H/M ratios determined with the LEHR (E.CAM) and the ME collimators was y = 0.56x + 0.49, where y = H/M ratio with the E.CAM and x = H/M ratio with the ME collimator. The average normal values for the low-energy collimator (n=18) were 2.2±0.2 (initial H/M ratio) and 2.42±0.2 (delayed H/M ratio), and for the low/medium-energy (LME) collimator (n=14) were 2.63±0.25 (initial H/M ratio) and 2.87±0.19 (delayed H/M ratio). H/M ratios in previous clinical studies using LEHR collimators are comparable to those with ME collimators.

Conclusion

The IDW-corrected H/M ratios determined with the LEHR collimator were similar to those determined with the ME collimator. This finding could make it possible to standardize the H/M ratio in planar imaging among various collimators in the clinical setting.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the many physicians and technologists who contributed to the accumulation and generation of the database. We also thank the staff of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Kanazawa University Hospital for technical assistance. We also thank Drs. Junichi Yamazaki and Shohei Yamashina of Toho University Hospital, and Kazuyuki Sakata of the Shizuoka Cancer Center for supplying clinical data. This work was supported partly by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Japan (No. 19591403).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kanazawa University Hospital, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8641, Japan

    Shinro Matsuo, Kenichi Nakajima, Koichi Okuda, Junichi Taki & Seigo Kinuya

  2. Kanazawa Cardiovascular Center, Kanazawa, Japan

    Masaya Kawano

  3. Fujifilm RI Pharma Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

    Takehiro Ishikawa & Tetsuo Hosoya

Authors
  1. Shinro Matsuo
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  2. Kenichi Nakajima
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  3. Koichi Okuda
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  4. Masaya Kawano
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  5. Takehiro Ishikawa
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  7. Junichi Taki
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  8. Seigo Kinuya
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Correspondence to Shinro Matsuo.

Additional information

An editorial commentary on this paper is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0976-x

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Matsuo, S., Nakajima, K., Okuda, K. et al. Standardization of the heart-to-mediastinum ratio of 123I-labelled-metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake using the dual energy window method: feasibility of correction with different camera–collimator combinations. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 36, 560–566 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0971-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0971-2

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