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PET/MRI in Inflammatory Diseases

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PET/MR Imaging: Current and Emerging Applications

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Abstract

The lower radiation dose of PET/MR, as compared to PET/CT, the picomolar sensitivity of PET to radiopharmaceuticals, the exquisite soft tissue anatomic layout and functional information by MR, and the possibility to simultaneously acquire PET and MR data, make PET/MR an ideal technique for functional-morphologic evaluation of inflammation.

The literature on PET/MR of inflammation is scanty; however, from the few published studies and from the personal experience shared by several authors involved in this text book, this hybrid technique seems promising in several scenarios. In particular it has been proven to have the highest reported accuracy in discriminating fibrotic from inflammatory strictures in Crohn disease patients, providing useful in discriminating patients who might benefit from medical treatments from those who need mechanical dilatation or surgery. PET/MR has also been demonstrated to be capable of detecting at risk carotid plaques in patients with cryptogenic stroke, despite previous negative extensive investigations. PET/MR might also answer several unmet diagnostic needs in spondylodiscitis patients.

In this chapter, we provide a review of the present literature on PET/MR applications in inflammation, focused on vascular pathology, Crohn disease, and spondylodiscitis, and we also contribute with the authors’ personal experience.

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Abbreviations

DWI:

Diffusion weighted imaging

GE:

Gradient echo

HASTE:

Half Fourier single shot fast spin echo T2 weighted

MR:

Magnetic resonance

PET:

Positron emission tomography

SPECT:

Single photon emission computerized tomography

STIR:

Short tau inversion recovery

VIBE:

Volume interpolated breath hold T1 weighted

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Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank the Nuclear Medicine Discovery association for help provided in bibliographic search. Aoife Kilcoyne would like to acknowledge the support of the Mac Erlaine scholarship from the Academic Radiology Research Trust, St. Vincent’s Radiology Group Dublin, Ireland and the Higher Degree Bursary from the Faculty of Radiologists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Onofrio Antonio Catalano M.D. & Aoife Kilcoyne M.B. B.Ch. B.A.O.

  2. Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University Rome, Rome, Italy

    Chiara Lauri M.D. & Alberto Signore M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Onofrio Antonio Catalano M.D.
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  2. Aoife Kilcoyne M.B. B.Ch. B.A.O.
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  3. Chiara Lauri M.D.
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  4. Alberto Signore M.D., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Onofrio Antonio Catalano M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiolgy, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Lale Umutlu

  2. Department of Nuclearmedicine, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Ken Herrmann

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Catalano, O.A., Kilcoyne, A., Lauri, C., Signore, A. (2018). PET/MRI in Inflammatory Diseases. In: Umutlu, L., Herrmann, K. (eds) PET/MR Imaging: Current and Emerging Applications . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69641-6_9

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