The high matrix acquisition technique for imaging of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation in fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography with time-of-flight: Phantom study

Motion artifact and partial volume effect caused underestimation of coronary plaque inflammation. This study evaluated the high matrix acquisition technique using time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography/computed tomography for imaging of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose in small and moving phantoms. All images were reconstructed using a conventional algorithm without TOF (4 × 4 × 4 mm3 voxel size) and a high matrix algorithm with TOF (2 × 2 × 2 mm3 voxel size). Microsphere phantoms of 10, 7.9, 6.2, 5.0, and 4.0 mm diameters were acquired in 3-dimensional list-mode for 30 minutes. A heart phantom mimicking cardiac motion consisted of a hot spot simulating a plaque (φ 4 mm, φ 2 mm) on the outside of the left ventricle. In the microsphere and heart phantom study, visual discrimination, maximum activity, and target-to-background ratio using the high matrix algorithm with TOF were better than those using the conventional algorithm without TOF. The high matrix algorithm with TOF improves detection of small targets in phantoms.