BS 2. The role of PET in PET/MRI

Key Questions

• Is the quality of the PET component sufficient for qualitative and quantitative imaging?

• Is the simultaneous acquisition of (dynamic) PET and MRI necessary in clinical routine?

Status Quo

◼ The physical parameters of the PET sub-systems of combined PET/MRI are reported to be satisfactory. Artifacts different from PET/CT occur occasionally (mostly related to MR-based AC).

◼ SUVs of PET-positive lesions can be reduced compared to PET/CT due to the inaccurate representation of bone attenuation values in MR-AC.

◼ For a number of important research questions in neuropsychiatry, cardiology and oncology, simultaneous PET/MRI is potentially preferable.

Conclusions and Open Questions

➢ Despite lower SUVs, the diagnostic quality of PET in PET/MRI is not impaired compared to PET/CT.

➢ The systematic error of PET data following MR-AC needs to be assessed further for currently employed three- or four-class segmentation methods.

➢ As far as can be concluded so far, especially imaging of brain disorders, soft tissue cancers, cancers in the proximity of moving organs, and pediatric cancers will profit from combined and simultaneous PET/MRI.

➢ Fully integrated PET/MR may further benefit the assessment of cancers in the proximity of moving organs.

➢ Future research will also focus on potential other clinical and research applications, for instance, in cardiology.