Assessment of atherosclerosis in large vessel walls: A comprehensive review of FDG-PET/CT image acquisition protocols and methods for uptake quantification

J Nucl Cardiol. 2015 Jun;22(3):468-79. doi: 10.1007/s12350-015-0069-8. Epub 2015 Apr 1.

Abstract

There is growing evidence showing the importance of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in the evaluation of vessel wall inflammation and atherosclerosis. Although this imaging modality has been increasingly used, there are various methods for image acquisition and evaluating FDG uptake activity in the vessel walls and atherosclerotic lesions, including qualitative visual scaling, semi-quantitative, and quantitative evaluations. Using each of these image acquisition protocols and measurement methods may result in different findings. In this review, we are going to describe the various image acquisition methods and common measurement strategies reflected in the literature and discuss their advantages and flaws.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Atherosclerosis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Blood Glucose / analysis
  • Endothelium, Vascular / diagnostic imaging*
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Inflammation
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / methods*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals / chemistry
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18