Fast Automated PET Image Quality Assessment by Deep Learning

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Abstract

The use of simultaneous positron emission tomography - magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MR) earlier in the diagnostic pathway for memory clinic patients is inhibited by associated radiation dose and tracer costs. Low-dose PET imaging and reconstruction may overcome these limitations, but the higher noise levels compromise image quality. We have developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) capable of automating low-dose PET image quality assessments, typically executed by experienced clinicians. Automating image quality assessments may aid large-scale reconstruction hyperparameter investigations, working faster towards clinically feasible reconstructions at ultra-reduced injected doses. Preliminary work used 1800 reconstructed phantoms to predict, initially, the coefficient of variation (CV) as a noise level measure. For non-normalised and normalised test images, the mean errors in CV prediction were 3.4 ± 2.6% and 16.1 ± 11.9%, respectively. In a real patient study, data from one patient was resampled at different dose levels and reconstructed using maximum-likelihood expectation maximisation. A CNN was trained on 3200 randomly extracted patches, with simultaneous predictions of the dose and three clinician-scored metrics: global quality rating, pattern recognition, and diagnostic confidence. The median prediction for 1000 test-time patches for each dose level was taken, obtaining mean-absolute-errors of 10.20 ± 22.30 MBq, 0.27 ± 0.52, 0.11 ± 0.25 and 0.04 ± 0.04, for each metric, respectively. This study shows that it is possible to automatically predict multiple metrics, both clinician-scored and conventional quantitative image quality measures, simultaneously. Future work will include obtaining more clinically scored reconstructions, to improve training and performance of the model.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2020
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728176932
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Event2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2020 - Boston, United States
Duration: 31 Oct 20207 Nov 2020

Publication series

Name2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2020

Conference

Conference2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston
Period31/10/20207/11/2020

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