European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging
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Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imaging · Aug 2006
Simplified quantification of small animal [18F]FDG PET studies using a standard arterial input function.
Arterial input function (AIF) measurement for quantification of small animal PET studies is technically challenging and limited by the small blood volume of small laboratory animals. The present study investigated the use of a standard arterial input function (SAIF) to simplify the experimental procedure. ⋯ The use of a SAIF scaled by one or (preferably) two arterial blood samples can serve as a valid substitute for individual AIF measurements to quantify [(18)F]FDG PET studies in rats. The SAIF approach minimises the loss of blood and should be ideally suited for longitudinal quantitative small animal [(18)F]FDG PET studies.