Pitfalls on PET/CT Due to Artifacts and Instrumentation

Semin Nucl Med. 2021 Nov;51(6):646-656. doi: 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2021.06.015. Epub 2021 Jul 7.

Abstract

PET/CT has become a preferred imaging modality over PET-only scanners in clinical practice. However, along with the significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy and patient throughput, pitfalls on PET/CT are reported as well. This review provides a general overview on the potential influence of the limitations with respect to PET/CT instrumentation and artifacts associated with the modality integration on the image appearance and quantitative accuracy of PET. Approaches proposed in literature to address the limitations or minimize the artifacts are discussed as well as their current challenges for clinical applications. Although the CT component can play an important role in assisting clinical diagnosis, we concentrate on the imaging scenarios where CT is used to provide auxiliary information for attenuation compensation and scatter correction in PET.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Artifacts*
  • Humans
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed