Non-invasive quantification of myocardial [11C]-meta-hydroxyephedrine kinetics.

C-11-meta-hydroxyephedrine (C-11-HED) kinetics in the myocardium can be quantified using a single-tissue-compartment model together with a metabolite-corrected arterial blood sampler input function (BSIF). The need for arterial blood sampling, however, limits clinical applicability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of replacing arterial sampling with imaging-derived input function (IDIF) and venous blood samples. Methods: Twenty patients underwent 60-min dynamic C-11-HED PET/CT scans with online arterial blood sampling. Thirteen of these patients also underwent venous blood sampling. Data were reconstructed using both 3 dimensional row-action maximum-likelihood algorithm (3DR) and a time-of-flight (TF) list-mode reconstruction algorithm. For each reconstruction, IDIF results were compared with BSIF results. In addition, IDIF results obtained with venous blood samples and with a transformed venous-to-arterial metabolite correction were compared with results obtained with arterial metabolite corrections. Results: Correlations between IDIF- and BSIF-derived K-1 and V-T were high (r(2) > =0.89 for 3DR and TF). Slopes of the linear fits were significantly different from 1 for K-1, for both 3DR (slope = 0.94) and TF (slope = 1.06). For V-T, the slope of the linear fit was different from 1 for TF (slope = 0.93) but not for 3DR (slope = 0.98). Use of venous blood data introduced a large bias in V-T (r(2) = 0.96, slope = 0.84) and a small bias in K-1 (r(2) = 0.99, slope = 0.98). Use of a second-order polynomial venous-to-arterial transformation was robust and greatly reduced bias in V-T (r(2) = 0.97, slope = 0.99) with no effect on K-1. Conclusion: IDIF yielded precise results for both 3DR and TF. Venous blood samples can be used for absolute quantification of C-11-HED studies, provided a venous-to-arterial transformation is applied. A venous-to-arterial transformation enables noninvasive, absolute quantification of C-11-HED studies.