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RESEARCH PRODUCT

PET: Theoretical Background and Practical Aspects

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description

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging tool utilized for investigation of physiological processes in vivo. PET uses the decay characteristics of positron-emitting radionuclides which are produced in a cyclotron and then used to label compounds involved in physiological processes. Usually, the labeled compound—the tracer—is administered intravenously and distributed in the tissue. The radionuclide decays and the emitted photons are detected by the PET scanner. PET then offers the possibility to compute three-dimensional images of the biodistribution and kinetics of the regional radioactivity concentration. There are several options to analyze reconstructed PET images, i.e., they can be analyzed using qualitative approaches or more sophisticated methods such as pharmacokinetic modeling approaches. Here, the main focus is on pharmacokinetic modeling approaches as they deliver quantitative parameters describing uptake and metabolism of the administered radioactive tracer. In the context of sport and exercise sciences, it is of particular interest to quantify the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose consumption with the tracer 18F-FDG or to assess endogenous neurotransmitter trafficking using dedicated tracers and the applications are based on the methodology described here.