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  1. Adenocarcinoma Prostate With Neuroendocrine Differentiation: Potential Utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT Over 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parida, Girish Kumar; Tripathy, Sarthak; Datta Gupta, Shreya; Singhal, Abhinav; Kumar, Rakesh; Bal, Chandrasekhar; Shamim, Shamim Ahmed

    2018-04-01

    Ga-PSMA PET/CT is the upcoming imaging modality for staging, restaging and response assessment of prostate cancer. However, due to neuroendocrine differentiation in some of patients with prostate cancer, they express somatostatin receptors instead of prostate specific membrane antigen. This can be exploited and other modalities like Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and F-FDG PET/CT should be used in such cases for guiding management. We hereby discuss a similar case of 67-year-old man of adenocarcinoma prostate with neuroendocrine differentiation, which shows the potential pitfall of Ga-PSMA PET/CT imaging and benefit of Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and F-FDG PET/CT in such cases.

  2. Combined early dynamic (18)F-FDG PET/CT and conventional whole-body (18)F-FDG PET/CT provide one-stop imaging for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shao-Bo; Wu, Hu-Bing; Wang, Quan-Shi; Zhou, Wen-Lan; Tian, Ying; Li, Hong-Sheng; Ji, Yun-Hai; Lv, Liang

    2015-06-01

    It is widely accepted that conventional (18)F-FDG PET/CT (whole-body static (18)F-FDG PET/CT, WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT) has a low detection rate for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We prospectively assessed the role of early dynamic (18)F-FDG PET/CT (ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT) and WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT in detecting HCC, and we quantified the added value of ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT to WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT. Twenty-two patients with 37 HCC tumors (HCCs) who underwent both a liver ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT (performed simultaneously with a 5.5 MBq/kg (18)F-FDG bolus injection and continued for 240 s) and a WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT were enrolled in the study. The WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT and ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT scans were positive in 56.7% (21/37) and 78.4% (29/37) HCCs, respectively (PPET/CT in conjunction with WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT (one-stop (18)F-FDG PET/CT) improved the positive detection rates of WB and ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT alone from 56.7% and 78.4% to 91.9% (34/37) (P0.05, respectively). One-stop (18)F-FDG PET/CT appears to be useful to improve WB (18)F-FDG PET/CT for HCC detection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. Usefulness of emission CT in 67Ga tumor and inflammation scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koizumi, Kiyoshi; Tada, Akira; Bunko, Hisashi; Tonami, Norihisa; Hisada, Kinichi.

    1983-01-01

    67 Ga-citrate widely used for tumor imaging has some drawbacks. Poor blood elearance of 67 Ga is sometimes a cause of poor visualization of the abnormal uptake in lesions. Physiological accumulations of 67 Ga (e. g. liver, colon, pulmonary hilus, etc.) also conceal the abnormal 67 Ga uptake in lesions. We have evaluated the usefulness of 67 Ga SPECT (single photon emission CT) to overcome these drawbacks inherent in conventional gamma-camera images. 67 Ga SPECT was more useful to recognize the location and the extension of lesions in transaxial planes, therefore, comparison of the lesions with transmission CT was easily made. Abnormal accumulation in or near the liver was easily discriminated from the physiological accumulation of 67 Ga in the liver. Further evaluation of the lesions which had been detected by other imaging methods (e. g. transmission CT, ultrasonography, etc.), 67 Ga SPECT was more useful than conventional gamma-camera imaging. In conclusion, 67 Ga SPECT was useful in selected cases when performed after conventiond 67 Ga imaging. (author)

  4. Staging performance of whole-body DWI, PET/CT and PET/MRI in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catalano, Onofrio Antonio; Daye, Dania; Signore, Alberto; Iannace, Carlo; Vangel, Mark; Luongo, Angelo; Catalano, Marco; Filomena, Mazzeo; Mansi, Luigi; Soricelli, Andrea; Salvatore, Marco; Fuin, Niccolo; Catana, Ciprian; Mahmood, Umar; Rosen, Bruce Robert

    2017-07-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging (WB-DWI), whole-body positron emission tomography with computed tomography (WB-PET/CT), and whole-body positron emission tomography with magnetic resonance imaging (WB-PET/MRI) in staging patients with untreated invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Fifty-one women with newly diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast underwent WB-DWI, WB-PET/CT and WB-PET/MRI before treatment. A radiologist and a nuclear medicine physician reviewed in consensus the images from the three modalities and searched for occurrence, number and location of metastases. Final staging, according to each technique, was compared. Pathology and imaging follow-up were used as the reference. WB-DWI, WB-PET/CT and WB-PET/MRI correctly and concordantly staged 33/51 patients: stage IIA in 7 patients, stage IIB in 8 patients, stage IIIC in 4 patients and stage IV in 14 patients. WB-DWI, WB-PET/CT and WB-PET/MRI incorrectly and concordantly staged 1/51 patient as stage IV instead of IIIA. Discordant staging was reported in 17/51 patients. WB-PET/MRI resulted in improved staging when compared to WB-PET/CT (50 correctly staged on WB-PET/MRI vs. 38 correctly staged on WB-PET/CT; McNemar's test; p<0.01). Comparing the performance of WB-PET/MRI and WB-DWI (43 correct) did not reveal a statistically significant difference (McNemar test, p=0.14). WB-PET/MRI is more accurate in the initial staging of breast cancer than WB-DWI and WB-PET/CT, however, the discrepancies between WB-PET/MRI and WB-DWI were not statistically significant. When available, WB-PET/MRI should be considered for staging patient with invasive ductal breast carcinoma.

  5. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in the evaluation of bone metastases in prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachpekidis, Christos; Bäumer, P; Kopka, K; Hadaschik, B A; Hohenfellner, M; Kopp-Schneider, A; Haberkorn, U; Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, A

    2018-06-01

    The aims of this retrospective analysis were to compare 68 Ga-PSMA PET findings and low-dose CT findings (120 kV, 30 mA), and to obtain semiquantitative and quantitative 68 Ga-PSMA PET data in patients with prostate cancer (PC) bone metastases. In total, 152 PET/CT scans from 140 patients were evaluated. Of these patients, 30 had previously untreated primary PC, and 110 had biochemical relapse after treatment of primary PC. All patients underwent dynamic PET/CT scanning of the pelvis and lower abdomen as well as whole-body PET/CT with 68 Ga-PSMA-11. The PET/CT scans were analysed qualitatively (visually), semiquantitatively (SUV), and quantitatively based on a two-tissue compartment model and a noncompartmental approach leading to the extraction of the fractal dimension. Differences were considered significant for p values PET-positive and CT-positive, 65 were only 68 Ga-PSMA-positive, and 10 were only CT-positive. The Yang test showed that there were significantly more 68 Ga-PSMA PET-positive lesions than CT-positive lesions. Association analysis showed that PSA plasma levels were significantly correlated with several 68 Ga-PSMA-11-associated parameters in bone metastases, including the degree of tracer uptake (SUV average and SUV max ), its transport rate from plasma to the interstitial/intracellular compartment (K 1 ), its rate of binding to the PSMA receptor and its internalization (k 3 ), its influx rate (K i ), and its distribution heterogeneity. 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT is a useful diagnostic tool in the detection of bone metastases in PC. 68 Ga-PSMA PET visualizes more bone metastases than low-dose CT. PSA plasma levels are significantly correlated with several 68 Ga-PSMA PET parameters.

  6. Comparison of the 68Ga-DOTATATA PET/CT, FDG PET/CT, and MIBG SPECT/CT in the Evaluation of Suspected Primary Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Hongli; Li, Fang; Wang, Ling; Wang, Zhenghua; Li, Wei; Huo, Li; Zhang, Jingjing

    2017-07-01

    Anatomical imaging modalities including CT and MRI are the mainstay of evaluation of primary pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma. However, nuclear medicine imaging is frequently necessary to determine the nature of the lesions. The purpose of this investigation is to assess which commonly used nuclear medicine modality might have a better diagnostic value in this clinical setting. Eight patients who had been suspected of having either primary pheochromocytoma or primary paraganglioma and 1 patient with known pheochromocytoma were included in the analysis. Among the 8 patients without known diagnosis, 7 had been suggested by anatomical imaging modalities, whereas one of them presented with initial negative anatomical imaging interpretation. All of 9 patients underwent Ga-DOTATATA PET/CT, FDG PET/CT, and MIBG SPECT/CT for further evaluation. The imaging findings were compared with postsurgical pathology and follow-up. Both Ga-DOTATATA PET/CT and MIBG SPECT/CT accurately identified 9 primary tumors, whereas FDG PET/CT showed increased activity in 8 of 9 primary tumors. Both Ga-DOTATATA and FDG PET/CT are able to detect associated extra-adrenal lesions not shown on MIBG study in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome. Ga-DOTATATA PET/CT could be the nuclear medicine imaging choice to evaluate suspected primary pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma, especially in the situation of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome.

  7. Dual tracer functional imaging of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors using 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and 18F-FDG PET-CT: competitive or complimentary?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naswa, Niraj; Sharma, Punit; Gupta, Santosh Kumar; Karunanithi, Sellam; Reddy, Rama Mohan; Patnecha, Manish; Lata, Sneh; Kumar, Rakesh; Malhotra, Arun; Bal, Chandrasekhar

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT with F-FDG PET/CT in the patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Data of 51 patients with definite histological diagnosis of GEP-NET who underwent both Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT within a span of 15 days were selected for this retrospective analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT, and results were compared both on patientwise and regionwise analysis. Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT is superior to F-FDG PET-CT on patientwise analysis (P DOTA-NOC PET-CT is superior to F-FDG PET-CT only for lymph node metastases (P DOTA-NOC PET-CT detected more liver and skeletal lesions compared with F-FDG PET-CT, the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, the results of combined imaging helped in selecting candidates who would undergo the appropriate mode of treatment, whether octreotide therapy or conventional chemotherapy Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT seems to be superior to F-FDG PET-CT for imaging GEP-NETs. However, their role seems to be complementary because combination of Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT in such patients helps demonstrate the total disease burden and segregate them to proper therapeutic groups.

  8. Role of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Rakesh; Sharma, Punit; Karunanithi, Sellam; Naswa, Niraj; Lata, Sneh; Malhotra, Arun [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Nuclear Medicine, New Delhi (India); Garg, Pramod [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, New Delhi (India); Sharma, Raju; Thulkar, Sanjay [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Radiodiagnosis, New Delhi (India)

    2011-11-15

    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA(0)-Phe(1)-Tyr(3)-octreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC) positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) for detection and staging of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Twenty patients with clinically suspected and/or histopathologically proven pancreatic NET underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT imaging for staging and /or localisation of primary lesion. They also underwent contrast enhanced CT (CECT) and 8 patients underwent {sup 18}F-FDG PET-CT. SUVmax of primary and metastatic lesions were measured. Results were verified with histopathology for primary tumour and with clinical follow up/MRI and /or biopsy for metastatic disease. Results of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT were compared to CECT and {sup 18}F-FDG PET-CT. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT correctly localised primary in all 20, CECT in 15 and {sup 18}F-FDG PET-CT in 2 patients. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT demonstrated metastases in 13 patients, CECT in 7 and {sup 18}F-FDG PET-CT in 2. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT emerged as the best investigation with 100% sensitivity and PPV for detecting primary tumour and metastatic disease. The detection rate of CECT was lower than {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT, both for primary tumour (20vs.15) or metastatic disease (13vs.7). {sup 18}F-FDG PET-CT performed poorly for primary and metastasis. Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT is a very useful imaging investigation for diagnosing and staging pancreatic NET. (orig.)

  9. Diagnostic sensitivity of Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT in prostate carcinoma: A comparative analysis with Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawal, Ismaheel O; Ankrah, Alfred O; Mokgoro, Neo P; Vorster, Mariza; Maes, Alex; Sathekge, Mike M

    2017-08-01

    Emerging data from published studies are demonstrating the superiority of Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT imaging in prostate cancer. However, the low yield of the Ge-68/Ga-68 from which Gallium-68 is obtained and fewer installed PET/CT systems compared to the SPECT imaging systems may limit its availability. We, therefore, evaluated in a head-to-head comparison, the diagnostic sensitivity of Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT and Tc-99m PSMA SPECT/CT in patients with prostate cancer. A total of 14 patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer were prospectively recruited to undergo Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT and Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT. The mean age of patients was 67.21 ± 8.15 years and the median PSA level was 45.18 ng/mL (range = 1.51-687 ng/mL). SUVmax of all lesions and the size of lymph nodes with PSMA avidity on Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT were determined. Proportions of these lesions detected on Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT read independent of PET/CT findings were determined. A total of 46 lesions were seen on Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT localized to the prostate (n = 10), lymph nodes (n = 24), and bones (n = 12). Of these, Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT detected 36 lesions: Prostate = 10/10 (100%), lymph nodes = 15/24 (62.5%), and bones = 11/12 (91.7%) with an overall sensitivity of 78.3%. Lesions detected on Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT were bigger in size (P Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT. In a univariate analysis, Lymph node size (P = 0.033) and the SUVmax of all lesions (P = 0.007) were significant predictors of lesion detection on Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA SPECT/CT. Tc-99m HYNIC PSMA may be a useful in imaging of prostate cancer although with a lower sensitivity for lesion detection compared to Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT. Its use is recommended when Ga-68 PSMA is not readily available, in planning radio-guided surgery or the patient is being considered for radio-ligand therapy with Lu-177 PSMA. It performs poorly in detecting small-sized lesions hence its use is not recommended

  10. Comparison of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT with [18F]NaF PET/CT in the evaluation of bone metastases in metastatic prostate cancer patients prior to radionuclide therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uprimny, Christian; Svirydenka, Anna; Fritz, Josef; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Nilica, Bernhard; Decristoforo, Clemens; Haubner, Roland; von Guggenberg, Elisabeth; Buxbaum, Sabine; Horninger, Wolfgang; Virgolini, Irene Johanna

    2018-05-16

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in the evaluation of bone metastases in metastatic prostate cancer (PC) patients scheduled for radionuclide therapy in comparison to [ 18 F]sodium fluoride ( 18 F-NaF) PET/CT. Sixteen metastatic PC patients with known skeletal metastases, who underwent both 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and 18 F-NaF PET/CT for assessment of metastatic burden prior to radionuclide therapy, were analysed retrospectively. The performance of both tracers was calculated on a lesion-based comparison. Intensity of tracer accumulation of pathologic bone lesions on 18 F-NaF PET and 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET was measured with maximum standardized uptake values (SUV max ) and compared to background activity of normal bone. In addition, SUV max values of PET-positive bone lesions were analysed with respect to morphologic characteristics on CT. Bone metastases were either confirmed by CT or follow-up PET scan. In contrast to 468 PET-positive lesions suggestive of bone metastases on 18 F-NaF PET, only 351 of the lesions were also judged positive on 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET (75.0%). Intensity of tracer accumulation of pathologic skeletal lesions was significantly higher on 18 F-NaF PET compared to 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET, showing a median SUV max of 27.0 and 6.0, respectively (p PET, with a median SUV max of 1.0 in comparison to 2.7 on 18 F-NaF PET; however, tumour to background ratio was significantly higher on 18 F-NaF PET (9.8 versus 5.9 on 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET; p = 0.042). Based on morphologic lesion characterisation on CT, 18 F-NaF PET revealed median SUV max values of 23.6 for osteosclerotic, 35.0 for osteolytic, and 19.0 for lesions not visible on CT, whereas on 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET median SUV max values of 5.0 in osteosclerotic, 29.5 in osteolytic, and 7.5 in lesions not seen on CT were measured. Intensity of tracer accumulation between 18 F-NaF PET and 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET was significantly higher in osteosclerotic (p PET/CT

  11. 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT scans as diagnostic tools in focal congenital hyperinsulinism: a blinded evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, Charlotte Dahl; Petersen, Henrik; Nielsen, Anne Lerberg; Detlefsen, Sönke; Brusgaard, Klaus; Rasmussen, Lars; Melikyan, Maria; Ekström, Klas; Globa, Evgenia; Rasmussen, Annett Helleskov; Hovendal, Claus; Christesen, Henrik Thybo

    2018-02-01

    Focal congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is curable by surgery, which is why identification of the focal lesion is crucial. We aimed to determine the use of 18F-fluoro-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) PET/CT vs. 68Ga-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic-acid-1-Nal3-octreotide (68Ga-DOTANOC) PET/CT as diagnostic tools in focal CHI. PET/CT scans of children with CHI admitted to Odense University Hospital between August 2005 and June 2016 were retrospectively evaluated visually and by their maximal standardized uptake values (SUV max ) by two independent examiners, blinded for clinical, surgical and pathological data. Pancreatic histology was used as the gold standard. For patients without surgery, the genetic profile served as the gold standard. Fifty-five CHI patients were examined by PET/CT (18F-DOPA n = 53, 68Ga-DOTANOC n = 18). Surgery was performed in 34 patients, no surgery in 21 patients. Fifty-one patients had a classifiable outcome, either by histology (n = 33, 22 focal lesions, 11 non-focal) or by genetics (n = 18, all non-focal). The predictive performance of 18F-DOPA PET/CT to identify focal CHI was identical by visual- and cut-off-based evaluation: sensitivity (95% CI) of 1 (0.85-1); specificity of 0.96 (0.82-0.99). The optimal 18F-DOPA PET SUV max ratio cut-off was 1.44 and the optimal 68Ga-DOTANOC PET SUV max cut-off was 6.77 g/ml. The area under the receiver operating curve was 0.98 (0.93-1) for 18F-DOPA PET vs. 0.71 (0.43-0.95) for 68Ga-DOTANOC PET (p PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT, respectively. 18F-DOPA PET/CT was excellent in predicting focal CHI and superior compared to 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT. Further use of 68GA-DOTANOC PET/CT in predicting focal CHI is discouraged.

  12. Evaluation of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI for whole-body staging of neuroendocrine tumours in comparison with 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawicki, Lino M; Deuschl, Cornelius; Beiderwellen, Karsten; Ruhlmann, Verena; Poeppel, Thorsten D; Heusch, Philipp; Lahner, Harald; Führer, Dagmar; Bockisch, Andreas; Herrmann, Ken; Forsting, Michael; Antoch, Gerald; Umutlu, Lale

    2017-10-01

    To compare the diagnostic performance of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI and 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in the whole-body staging of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET). Thirty patients with histopathologically confirmed NET underwent PET/CT and PET/MRI in a single-injection protocol. PET/CT and PET/MRI scans were prospectively evaluated with regard to lesion count, localization, nature (NET/non-NET), and conspicuity (four-point scale). Histopathology and follow-up imaging served as the reference standards. The proportions of NET and non-NET lesions rated correctly were compared using McNemar's chi-squared test. The Wilcoxon test was used to assess differences in SUVmax and lesion conspicuity. The correlation between the SUVmax for the same lesions from each modality was analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). According to the reference standard, there were 197 lesions (142 NET, 55 non-NET). Lesion-based analysis showed a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions on PET/MRI than on PET/CT (90.8% vs. 86.7%, p = 0.031), whereas on PET/CT there was a higher proportion of correctly rated non-NET lesions (94.5% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.031). SUVmax was strongly correlated (r = 0.86; p PET/MRI (both p PET/MRI yielded a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions and should be regarded as a valuable alternative to 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in whole-body staging of NET patients. • 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI correctly identified more NET lesions than 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT. • 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI provides better NET lesion conspicuity than 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT. • SUVmax values from the two modalities are strongly correlated and do not differ significantly.

  13. Localization of Hidden Insulinomas with ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-Exendin-4 PET/CT: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antwi, Kwadwo; Fani, Melpomeni; Nicolas, Guillaume; Rottenburger, Christof; Heye, Tobias; Reubi, Jean Claude; Gloor, Beat; Christ, Emanuel; Wild, Damian

    2015-07-01

    (111)In-DOTA-exendin-4 SPECT/CT has been shown to be highly efficient in the detection of insulinomas. We aimed at determining whether novel PET/CT imaging with [Nle(14),Lys(40)(Ahx-DOTA-(68)Ga)NH2]exendin-4 ((68)Ga-DOTA-exendin-4) is feasible and sensitive in detecting benign insulinomas. (68)Ga-DOTA-exendin-4 PET/CT and (111)In-DOTA-exendin-4 SPECT/CT were performed in a randomized cross-over order on 5 patients with endogenous hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. The gold standard for comparison was the histologic diagnosis after surgery. In 4 patients histologic diagnosis confirmed a benign insulinoma, whereas one patient refused surgery despite a positive (68)Ga-DOTA-exendin-4 PET/CT scan. In 4 of 5 patients, previously performed conventional imaging (CT or MR imaging) was not able to localize the insulinoma. (68)Ga-DOTA-exendin-4 PET/CT correctly identified the insulinoma in 4 of 4 patients, whereas (111)In-DOTA-exendin-4 SPECT/CT correctly identified the insulinoma in only 2 of 4 patients. These preliminary data suggest that the use of (68)Ga-DOTA-exendin-4 PET/CT in detecting hidden insulinomas is feasible. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  14. Comparison of 68Ga-OPS202 (68Ga-NODAGA-JR11) and 68Ga-DOTATOC (68Ga-Edotreotide) PET/CT in Patients with Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Evaluation of Sensitivity in a Prospective Phase II Imaging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolas, Guillaume P; Schreiter, Nils; Kaul, Felix; Uiters, John; Bouterfa, Hakim; Kaufmann, Jens; Erlanger, Tobias E; Cathomas, Richard; Christ, Emanuel; Fani, Melpomeni; Wild, Damian

    2017-11-30

    Radiolabeled somatostatin receptor (sst) agonists are integral to the diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), but detection rates, especially of liver metastases, remain disappointing even with PET/CT. 68 Ga-OPS202 ( 68 Ga-NODAGA-JR11), a novel radiolabeled sst antagonist with a high affinity for sst 2 , has the potential to perform better than sst agonists. Here we present the results of the Phase II component of a Phase I/II study, which evaluated the sensitivity of 68 Ga-OPS202 PET/CT compared with the reference compound, 68 Ga-DOTATOC (sst agonist). Methods: Patients received a single intravenous administration of 68 Ga-DOTATOC (15 µg peptide) and 68 Ga-OPS202 (15 µg peptide at visit 1; 50 µg peptide at visit 2) with an activity of 150 MBq. Whole-body PET/CT acquisitions were performed 1 h post injection on the same calibrated PET/CT scanner. Diagnostic efficacy measures were compared against contrast medium-enhanced CT or MRI as gold standard. Two independent blinded experts read the scans and both outcomes were combined for analysis. Results: Twelve consecutive patients with G1 or G2 GEP-NETs took part in this prospective study. Image contrast for matched malignant liver lesions was significantly higher for 68 Ga-OPS202 scans than for the 68 Ga-DOTATOC scan: median of the mean [interquartile] tumor-to-normal-liver SUV max ratios for 15 µg and 50 µg 68 Ga-OPS202 (5.3 [2.9 - 5.7] and 4.3 [3.4 - 6.3], respectively) were significantly higher than for 68 Ga-DOTATOC (1.9 [1.4 - 2.9]; P = 0.004 and P = 0.008, respectively). The higher tumor-to-background ratio of 68 Ga-OPS202 resulted not only in a higher detection rate of liver metastases, but also in a significantly higher lesion-based overall sensitivity with the antagonist than with 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT: 94% and 88% for 50 µg and 15 µg 68 Ga-OPS202 and 59% for 15 µg 68 Ga-DOTATOC, respectively (pPET/CT and 68 Ga DOTATOC PET/CT were similar (approximately 98%). There were no

  15. A Comparative 68Ga-Citrate and 68Ga-Chloride PET/CT Imaging of Staphylococcus aureus Osteomyelitis in the Rat Tibia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petteri Lankinen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available There may be some differences in the in vivo behavior of 68Ga-chloride and 68Ga-citrate leading to different accumulation profiles. This study compared 68Ga-citrate and 68Ga-chloride PET/CT imaging under standardized experimental models. Methods. Diffuse Staphylococcus aureus tibial osteomyelitis and uncomplicated bone healing rat models were used (n=32. Two weeks after surgery, PET/CT imaging was performed on consecutive days using 68Ga-citrate or 68Ga-chloride, and tissue accumulation was confirmed by ex vivo analysis. In addition, peripheral quantitative computed tomography and conventional radiography were performed. Osteomyelitis was verified by microbiological analysis and specimens were also processed for histomorphometry. Results. In PET/CT imaging, the SUVmax of 68Ga-chloride and 68Ga-citrate in the osteomyelitic tibias (3.6 ± 1.4 and 4.7 ± 1.5, resp. were significantly higher (P=0.0019 and P=0.0020, resp. than in the uncomplicated bone healing (2.7 ± 0.44 and 2.5 ± 0.49, resp.. In osteomyelitic tibias, the SUVmax of 68Ga-citrate was significantly higher than the uptake of 68Ga-chloride (P=0.0017. In animals with uncomplicated bone healing, no difference in the SUVmax of 68Ga-chloride or 68Ga-citrate was seen in the operated tibias. Conclusions. This study further corroborates the use of 68Ga-citrate for PET imaging of osteomyelitis.

  16. Preliminary PET/CT Imaging with Somatostatin Analogs [68Ga]DOTAGA-TATE and [68Ga]DOTAGA-TOC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satpati, Drishty; Shinto, Ajit; Kamaleshwaran, K K; Sarma, Haladhar Dev; Dash, Ashutosh

    2017-12-01

    Somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography/X-ray computed tomography (SSTR-PET/CT) is a well-established technique for staging and detection of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Ga-68-labeled DOTA-conjugated octreotide analogs are the privileged radiotracers for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of NETs. Hence, we were interested in assessing the influence of promising, newer variant DOTAGA on the hydrophilicity, pharmacokinetics, and lesion pick-up of somatostatin analogs. Herein, the potential of ([ 68 Ga]DOTAGA, Tyr 3 , Thr 8 ) octreotide ([ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TATE) and ([ 68 Ga]DOTAGA, Tyr 3 ) octreotide ([ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TOC) as NET imaging agents has been investigated. Amenability of [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-(TATE/TOC) to kit-type formulation has been demonstrated. Biodistribution studies were carried out in normal rats at 1 h post-injection (p.i.). [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-(TATE/TOC) PET/CT scans were carried out in patients (70-170 MBq, 1 h p.i.) with histologically confirmed well-differentiated NETs. [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TATE exhibited hydrophilicity similar to [ 68 Ga]DOTA-TATE (log P = -3.51 vs -3.69) whereas [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TOC was more hydrophilic than [ 68 Ga]DOTA-TOC (log P = -3.27 vs -2.93). [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TATE and [ 68 Ga]DOTA-TATE showed almost identical blood and kidney uptake in normal rats whereas significantly fast clearance (p TOC also demonstrated rapid clearance from blood and kidneys (p TOC. The metastatic lesions in NET patients were well identified by [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TATE and [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TOC. The phenomenal analogy was observed between [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TATE and [ 68 Ga]DOTA-TATE as well as between [ 68 Ga]DOTAGA-TOC and [ 68 Ga]DOTA-TOC in biodistribution studies in rats. The good lesion detection ability of the two radiotracers indicates their potential as NET imaging radiotracers.

  17. 68Ga-PSMA-11 Dynamic PET/CT Imaging in Primary Prostate Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachpekidis, Christos; Kopka, Klaus; Eder, Matthias; Hadaschik, Boris A; Freitag, Martin T; Pan, Leyun; Haberkorn, Uwe; Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, Antonia

    2016-11-01

    The aim of our study is to assess the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of Ga-PSMA-11 in patients suffering from primary prostate cancer (PC) by means of dynamic and whole-body PET/CT. Twenty-four patients with primary, previously untreated PC were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent dynamic PET/CT (dPET/CT) scanning of the pelvis and whole-body PET/CT studies with Ga-PSMA-11. The evaluation of dPET/CT studies was based on qualitative evaluation, SUV calculation, and quantitative analysis based on two-tissue compartment modeling and a noncompartmental approach leading to the extraction of fractal dimension (FD). A total of 23/24 patients (95.8%) were Ga-PSMA-11 positive. In 9/24 patients (37.5%), metastatic lesions were detected. PC-associated lesions demonstrated the following mean values: SUVaverage = 14.3, SUVmax = 23.4, K1 = 0.24 (1/min), k3 = 0.34 (1/min), influx = 0.15 (1/min), and FD = 1.27. The parameters SUVaverage, SUVmax, k3, influx, and FD derived from PC-associated lesions were significantly higher than respective values derived from reference prostate tissue. Time-activity curves derived from PC-associated lesions revealed an increasing Ga-PSMA-11 accumulation during dynamic PET acquisition. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate but significant correlation between PSA levels and SUVaverage (r = 0.60) and SUVmax (r = 0.57), and a weak but significant correlation between Gleason score and SUVaverage (r = 0.33) and SUVmax (r = 0.28). Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT confirmed its capacity in detecting primary PC with a detection rate of 95.8%. Dynamic PET/CT studies of the pelvis revealed an increase in tracer uptake in PC-associated lesions during the 60 minutes of dynamic PET acquisition, a finding with potential applications in anti-PSMA approaches.

  18. 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT scans as diagnostic tools in focal congenital hyperinsulinism. A blinded evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahl Christiansen, Charlotte; Helleskov Rasmussen, Annett; Petersen, Henrik; Lerberg Nielsen, Anne; Detlefsen, Soenke; Brusgaard, Klaus; Rasmussen, Lars; Hovendal, Claus; Melikyan, Maria; Ekstroem, Klas; Globa, Evgenia; Christesen, Henrik Thybo

    2018-01-01

    Focal congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is curable by surgery, which is why identification of the focal lesion is crucial. We aimed to determine the use of 18F-fluoro-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) PET/CT vs. 68Ga-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic-acid-1-Nal3 -octreotide (68Ga-DOTANOC) PET/CT as diagnostic tools in focal CHI. PET/CT scans of children with CHI admitted to Odense University Hospital between August 2005 and June 2016 were retrospectively evaluated visually and by their maximal standardized uptake values (SUV max ) by two independent examiners, blinded for clinical, surgical and pathological data. Pancreatic histology was used as the gold standard. For patients without surgery, the genetic profile served as the gold standard. Fifty-five CHI patients were examined by PET/CT (18F-DOPA n = 53, 68Ga-DOTANOC n = 18). Surgery was performed in 34 patients, no surgery in 21 patients. Fifty-one patients had a classifiable outcome, either by histology (n = 33, 22 focal lesions, 11 non-focal) or by genetics (n = 18, all non-focal). The predictive performance of 18F-DOPA PET/CT to identify focal CHI was identical by visual- and cut-off-based evaluation: sensitivity (95% CI) of 1 (0.85-1); specificity of 0.96 (0.82-0.99). The optimal 18F-DOPA PET SUV max ratio cut-off was 1.44 and the optimal 68Ga-DOTANOC PET SUV max cut-off was 6.77 g/ml. The area under the receiver operating curve was 0.98 (0.93-1) for 18F-DOPA PET vs. 0.71 (0.43-0.95) for 68Ga-DOTANOC PET (p < 0.03). In patients subjected to surgery, localization of the focal lesion was correct in 91%, and 100%, by 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT, respectively. 18F-DOPA PET/CT was excellent in predicting focal CHI and superior compared to 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT. Further use of 68GA-DOTANOC PET/CT in predicting focal CHI is discouraged. (orig.)

  19. 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT scans as diagnostic tools in focal congenital hyperinsulinism. A blinded evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dahl Christiansen, Charlotte; Helleskov Rasmussen, Annett [Hans Christian Andersen Children' s Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Odense (Denmark); University of Southern Denmark, Department of Clinical Research, Odense (Denmark); Petersen, Henrik; Lerberg Nielsen, Anne [Odense University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense (Denmark); Detlefsen, Soenke [University of Southern Denmark, Department of Clinical Research, Odense (Denmark); Odense University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Odense (Denmark); Brusgaard, Klaus [Odense University Hospital, Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense (Denmark); Rasmussen, Lars; Hovendal, Claus [Odense University Hospital, Department of Abdominal Surgery, Odense (Denmark); Melikyan, Maria [Endocrine Research Centre, Moscow (Russian Federation); Ekstroem, Klas [Karolinska Hospital, Astrid Lindgren Children' s Hospital, Stockholm (Sweden); Globa, Evgenia [MOH of Ukraine, Ukrainian Center of Endocrine Surgery, Endocrine Organs and Tissue Transplantation, Kyiv (Ukraine); Christesen, Henrik Thybo [Hans Christian Andersen Children' s Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Odense (Denmark); University of Southern Denmark, Department of Clinical Research, Odense (Denmark); Odense University Hospital, Odense Pancreas Center (OPAC), Odense (Denmark); Odense University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, Odense C (Denmark)

    2018-02-15

    Focal congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is curable by surgery, which is why identification of the focal lesion is crucial. We aimed to determine the use of 18F-fluoro-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) PET/CT vs. 68Ga-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic-acid-1-Nal3 -octreotide (68Ga-DOTANOC) PET/CT as diagnostic tools in focal CHI. PET/CT scans of children with CHI admitted to Odense University Hospital between August 2005 and June 2016 were retrospectively evaluated visually and by their maximal standardized uptake values (SUV{sub max}) by two independent examiners, blinded for clinical, surgical and pathological data. Pancreatic histology was used as the gold standard. For patients without surgery, the genetic profile served as the gold standard. Fifty-five CHI patients were examined by PET/CT (18F-DOPA n = 53, 68Ga-DOTANOC n = 18). Surgery was performed in 34 patients, no surgery in 21 patients. Fifty-one patients had a classifiable outcome, either by histology (n = 33, 22 focal lesions, 11 non-focal) or by genetics (n = 18, all non-focal). The predictive performance of 18F-DOPA PET/CT to identify focal CHI was identical by visual- and cut-off-based evaluation: sensitivity (95% CI) of 1 (0.85-1); specificity of 0.96 (0.82-0.99). The optimal 18F-DOPA PET SUV{sub max} ratio cut-off was 1.44 and the optimal 68Ga-DOTANOC PET SUV{sub max} cut-off was 6.77 g/ml. The area under the receiver operating curve was 0.98 (0.93-1) for 18F-DOPA PET vs. 0.71 (0.43-0.95) for 68Ga-DOTANOC PET (p < 0.03). In patients subjected to surgery, localization of the focal lesion was correct in 91%, and 100%, by 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT, respectively. 18F-DOPA PET/CT was excellent in predicting focal CHI and superior compared to 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT. Further use of 68GA-DOTANOC PET/CT in predicting focal CHI is discouraged. (orig.)

  20. Comparison of 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT in localisation of tumours in ectopic ACTH syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadhav, Swati S; Lila, Anurag R; Kasaliwal, Rajeev; Khare, Shruti; Yerawar, Chaitanya G; Hira, Priya; Phadke, Uday; Shah, Hina; Lele, Vikram R; Malhotra, Gaurav; Bandgar, Tushar; Shah, Nalini S

    2016-01-01

    Background Localising ectopic adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) syndrome (EAS) tumour source is challenging. Somatostatin receptor-based PET imaging has shown promising results, but the data is limited to case reports and small case series. We reviewed here the performance of 68Ga-DOTANOC positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) in our cohort of 12 consecutive EAS patients. Materials and methods Retrospective data analysis of 12 consecutive patients of EAS presenting to a single tertiary care centre in a period between January 2013 and December 2014 was done. CECT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT were reported (blinded) by an experienced radiologist and a nuclear medicine physician, respectively. The performance of CECT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT was compared. Results Tumours could be localised in 11 out of 12 patients at initial presentation (overt cases), whereas in one patient, tumour remained occult. Thirteen lesions were identified in 11 patients as EAS source (true positives). CECT localised 12 out of these 13 lesions (sensitivity 92.3%) and identified five false-positive lesions (positive predictive value (PPV) 70.5%). Compared with false-positive lesions, true-positive lesions had greater mean contrast enhancement at 60s (33.2 vs 5.6 Hounsfield units (HU)). 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT was able to identify 9 out of 13 lesions (sensitivity 69.2%) and reported no false-positive lesions (PPV 100%). Conclusion CECT remains the first-line investigation in localisation of EAS. The contrast enhancement pattern on CECT can further aid in characterisation of the lesions. 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT can be added to CECT, to enhance positive prediction of the suggestive lesions. PMID:27006371

  1. Potential impact of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT on stereotactic radiotherapy planning of meningiomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nyuyki, Fonyuy; Plotkin, Michail; Michel, Roger; Steffen, Ingo; Fahdt, Daniel; Brenner, Winfried; Graf, Reinhold; Denecke, Timm; Geworski, Lilli; Wurm, Reinhard

    2010-01-01

    Since meningiomas show a high expression of somatostatin receptor subtype 2, PET with 68 Ga-DOTATOC was proposed as an additional imaging modality beside CT and MRI for planning radiotherapy. We investigated the input of 68 Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT on the definition of the ''gross tumour volume'' (GTV) in meningiomas, in order to assess the potential value of this method. Prior to radiotherapy, 42 patients with meningiomas (26 f, 16 m, mean age 55) underwent MRI and 68 Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT examinations. History: operated n = 24, radiotherapy n = 1, operation and radiotherapy n = 8, no treatment n = 9. PET/CT and MRI data were co-registered using a BrainLAB workstation. For comparison, the GTV was defined first under consideration of CT and MRI data, then using PET data. 3/42 patients were excluded from the analysis (two with negative PET results, one with an extensive tumour, not precisely delineable by MRI or PET/CT). The average GTV CT/MRI was 22(±19)cm 3 ; GTV PET was 23(±20)cm 3 . Additional GTV, obtained as a result of PET was 9(±10)cm 3 and was observed in patients with osseous infiltration. In some pre-treated patients there were intratumoural areas (as identified in CT/MRI) without SR-expression (7(±11)cm 3 ). Common GTV as obtained by both CT/MRI and PET was 15(±14)cm 3 . The mean bi-directional difference between the GTV CT/MRI and GTV PET accounted to 16(±15)cm 3 (93%, p 68 Ga-DOTATOC-PET enables delineation of SR-positive meningiomas and delivers additional information to both CT and MRI regarding the planning of stereotactic radiotherapy. The acquisition on a PET/CT scanner helps to estimate the relation of PET findings to anatomical structures and is especially useful for detection of osseous infiltration. 68 Ga-DOTATOC-PET also allows detection of additional lesions in patients with multiple meningiomas. (orig.)

  2. Evaluation of the recombinant antigens Wb14 and WbT for the capture antibody diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Filipe Pastor

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Lymphatic filariasis (LF is a parasitic disease caused mainly by the Wuchereria bancrofti worm and that affects up to 120 million people worldwide. LF is the second cause of chronic global deformity, responsible for 15 million people with lymphedema (elephantiasis and 25 million men with scrotal hydrocele. Its diagnosis is still associated with numerous difficulties, such as the sample collection periods (microfilaria nocturnal periodicity and limited diagnostic kits. OBJECTIVES The aim of this work was to evaluate two recombinant antigens (Wb14 and WbT as part of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA based antibody capture tests for LF. METHODS The recombinant antigens rWb14 and rWbT were expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and an antibody capture ELISA was performed. For this, sera were used from microfilaremic individuals with W. bancrofti (MF, chronic pathology (CP, individuals infected with Strongyloides (SP and healthy controls from endemic (EN and non-endemic (NE areas. FINDINGS Both tests showed similar results, with 90% sensitivity and 96.6% specificity. In comparison with the BM14 ELISA commercial test, the Wb14 and WbT antigens performed with identical sensitivity but greater specificity. Reduced positivity with the CP suggested a potential to monitor cure. This was not confirmed, however, when sera from individuals up to seven years after treatment were assayed. MAIN CONCLUSIONS The Wb14 and WbT ELISAs were considered efficient and promising diagnostic tests. Due to the importance of antibody capture analysis to evaluate the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF, the tests proposed here appear as great alternatives to the available commercial system.

  3. 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging of indeterminate pulmonary nodules and lung cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald Walker

    Full Text Available 18F-FDG PET/CT is widely used to evaluate indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs. False positive results occur, especially from active granulomatous nodules. A PET-based imaging agent with superior specificity to 18F-FDG for IPNs, is badly needed, especially in areas of endemic granulomatous nodules. Somatostatin receptors (SSTR are expressed in many malignant cells including small cell and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs. 68Ga-DOTATATE, a positron emitter labeled somatostatin analog, combined with PET/CT imaging, may improve the diagnosis of IPNs over 18F-FDG by reducing false positives. Our study purpose was to test this hypothesis in our region with high endemic granulomatous IPNs.We prospectively performed 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT scans in the same 30 patients with newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve lung cancer (N = 14 or IPNs (N = 15 and one metastatic nodule. 68Ga-DOTATATE SUVmax levels at or above 1.5 were considered likely malignant. We analyzed the scan results, correlating with ultimate diagnosis via biopsy or 2-year chest CT follow-up. We also correlated 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake with immunohistochemical (IHC staining for SSTR subtype 2A (SSTR2A in pathological specimens.We analyzed 31 lesions in 30 individuals, with 14 (45% being non-neuroendocrine lung cancers and 1 (3% being metastatic disease. McNemar's result comparing the two radiopharmaceuticals (p = 0.65 indicates that their accuracy of diagnosis in this indication are equivalent. 68Ga-DOTATATE was more specific (94% compared to 81% and less sensitive 73% compared to 93% than 18F-FDG. 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake correlated with SSTR2A expression in tumor stroma determined by immunohistochemical (IHC staining in 5 of 9 (55% NSCLCs.68Ga-DOTATATE and 18F-FDG PET/CT had equivalent accuracy in the diagnosis of non-neuroendocrine lung cancer and 68Ga-DOTATATE was more specific than 18F-FDG for the diagnosis of IPNs. IHC staining for SSTR2A receptor expression correlated with

  4. Clinical role of early dynamic FDG-PET/CT for the evaluation of renal cell carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakajima, Reiko; Abe, Koichiro; Kondo, Tsunenori; Tanabe, Kazunari; Sakai, Shuji

    2016-06-01

    We studied the usefulness of early dynamic (ED) and whole-body (WB) FDG-PET/CT for the evaluation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). One hundred patients with 107 tumours underwent kidney ED and WB FDG-PET/CT. We visually and semiquantitatively evaluated the FDG accumulation in RCCs in the ED and WB phases, and compared the accumulation values with regard to histological type (clear cell carcinoma [CCC] vs. non-clear cell carcinoma [N-CCC]), the TNM stage (high stage [3-4] vs. low stage [1-2]), the Fuhrman grade (high grade [3-4] vs. low grade [1-2]) and presence versus absence of venous (V) and lymphatic (Ly) invasion. In the ED phase, visual evaluation revealed no significant differences in FDG accumulation in terms of each item. However, the maximum standardized uptake value and tumour-to-normal tissue ratios were significantly higher in the CCCs compared to the N-CCCs (p PET/CT is a useful tool for the evaluation of RCCs. • ED and WB FDG-PET/ CT helps to assess patients with RCC • ED FDG-PET/CT enabled differentiation between CCC and N-CCC • FDG accumulation in the WB phase reflects tumour aggressiveness • Management of RCC is improved by ED and WB FDG-PET/CT.

  5. Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT for discrimination of tumors of the optic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klingenstein, Annemarie; Haug, Alexander R; Miller, Christina; Hintschich, Christoph

    2015-02-01

    Symptomatic tumors of the optic nerve pathway may endanger vision. They are difficult to classify by imaging alone and biopsy may damage visual function. Tumor pathology influences treatment decision and a diagnostic tool with a high sensitivity and specificity would therefore be invaluable. We hypothesized that Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT may help in discriminating optic nerve tumors as uptake of somatostatin is elevated in meningiomas. Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT was used to examine 13 patients with ambiguous, symptomatic lesions of the optic pathway for treatment planning. The presence or absence of meningioma was validated by histopathology or supplementary diagnostic work-up. Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT identified 10 meningiomas (en plaque = 1, optic nerve sheath = 4, sphenoidal = 5) correctly via increased SSTR (somatostatin receptor) expression (mean SUVmax (maximum standardized uptake value) = 14.3 ± 15.4). 3 tumors did not show elevated Ga-68-DOTA-TATE uptake (SUVmax = 2.1 ± 1.0). Subsumizing all clinical-radiological follow-up tools available, these lesions were classified as an intracerebral metastasis of an advanced gastric carcinoma, histologically proven inflammatory collagenous connective tissue and presumed leukemic infiltration of a newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In this case series, Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT demonstrated both a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Yet, the golden standard of histopathology was only available in a subset of patients included. Ga-68-DOTA-TATE PET/CT proved to be a valuable diagnostic tool for the correct classification of equivocal, symptomatic tumors of the anterior optic pathway requiring therapy. PET/CT results influenced therapy decision essentially in all cases.

  6. 68Ga DOTATATE PET/CT of Synchronous Meningioma and Prolactinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basu, Sandip; Ranade, Rohit; Hazarika, Suman

    2016-03-01

    Ga DOTATATE PET/CT in noninvasive characterization of synchronous pituitary neoplasm and meningioma in a 38-year-old man is illustrated. The patient presented with an MRI-detected lobulated enhancing sellar-suprasellar mass with erosion of bony sella measuring 4.5 × 3.5 × 3.4 cm (with differential diagnosis with germ cell tumor) and a right parafalcine mass (2.7 × 2.6 cm) suggesting meningioma. Ga DOTATATE PET/CT demonstrated intense uptake in both lesions, suggesting the sellar mass to be pituitary macroadenoma. The finding of high serum prolactin and normal LH, FSH, cortisol, and testosterone levels suggested diagnosis of prolactinoma, and the patient was started on cabergoline.

  7. Sensitivity of whole-body CT and MRI versus projection radiography in the detection of osteolyses in patients with monoclonal plasma cell disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wolf, Maya B., E-mail: m.mueller-wolf@dkfz.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg Germany (Germany); Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (Dkfz), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Murray, Fritz, E-mail: fritz.murray@hotmail.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg Germany (Germany); Kilk, Kerstin, E-mail: k_fechtner@hotmail.com [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg Germany (Germany); Hillengass, Jens, E-mail: jens.hillengass@med.uni-heidelberg.de [Department of Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Delorme, Stefan, E-mail: s.delorme@dkfz-heidelberg.de [Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (Dkfz), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Heiss, Christiane, E-mail: c.heiss@dkfz-heidelberg.de [Department of Biostatistics, German Cancer Research Center (Dkfz), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Neben, Kai, E-mail: k.neben@klinikum-mittelbaden.de [Department of Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Goldschmidt, Hartmut, E-mail: hartmut.goldschmidt@med.uni-heidelberg.de [Department of Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, University Hospital Heidelberg and National Center for Tumour Diseases, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich, E-mail: hu.kauczor@med.uni-heidelberg.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg Germany (Germany); and others

    2014-07-15

    Purpose: To compare sensitivity of whole-body Computed Tomography (wb-CT) and whole-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (wb-MRI) with Projection Radiography (PR) regarding each method's ability to detect osteolyses in patients with monoclonal plasma cell disease. Patients and methods: The bone status of 171 patients was evaluated. All patients presented with multiple myeloma (MM) of all stages, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) or solitary plasmacytoma. Two groups were formed. Group A consisted of 52 patients (26 females, 26 males) with an average age of 62 years (range, 45–89 years) who received, both, PR and wb-CT as part of their diagnostic work-up. Group B comprised 119 patients (58 females, 61 males) averaging 57 years of age (range, 20–80 years) who received, both, PR and wb-MRI. Two experienced radiologists were blinded regarding the disease status and assessed the number and location of osteolyses in consensus. A distinction was made between axial and extra-axial lesions. Results: In group A, wb-CT revealed osteolyses in 12 patients (23%) that were not detected in PR. CT was superior in detecting lesions in patients with osteopenia and osteoporosis. Compared with PR, wb-CT was significantly more sensitive in detecting osteolyses than PR (p < 0.001). This was particularly true for axial lesions. Additionally, CT revealed clinically relevant incidental findings in 33 patients (63%). In group B, wb-MRI revealed lesions in 19 patients (16%) that were not detected in PR. All lesions detected by PR were also detected by wb-MRI and wb-CT. Wb-MRI and wb-CT are each superior to PR in detecting axial lesions. Conclusion: Wb-CT can detect 23% more focal lesions than PR, especially in the axial skeleton. Therefore, this imaging method should be preferred over PR in the diagnostic work-up and staging of patients with monoclonal plasma cell disease.

  8. Multicenter comparison of 18F-FDG and 68Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT for pulmonary carcinoid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lococo, Filippo; Perotti, Germano; Cardillo, Giuseppe; De Waure, Chiara; Filice, Angelina; Graziano, Paolo; Rossi, Giulio; Sgarbi, Giorgio; Stefanelli, Antonella; Giordano, Alessandro; Granone, Pierluigi; Rindi, Guido; Versari, Annibale; Rufini, Vittoria

    2015-03-01

    The aims of this study were to retrospectively evaluate and compare the detection rate (DR) of 68Ga-DOTA-peptide and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the preoperative workup of patients with pulmonary carcinoid (PC) and to assess the utility of various functional indices obtained with the 2 tracers in predicting the histological characterization of PC, that is, typical versus atypical. Thirty-three consecutive patients with confirmed PC referred for 18F-FDG and 68Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT in 2 centers between January 2009 and April 2013 were included. The semiquantitative evaluation included the SUV max, the SUV of the tumor relative to the maximal liver uptake for 18F-FDG (SUV T/L) or the maximal spleen uptake for 68Ga-DOTA-peptides (SUV T/S), the ratio between SUV max of 68Ga-DOTA-peptides PET/CT, and the SUV max of 18F-FDG PET/CT (SUV max ratio). Histology was used as reference standard. Definitive diagnosis consisted of 23 typical carcinoids (TCs) and 10 atypical carcinoids. 18F-FDG PET/CT was positive in 18 cases and negative in 15 (55% DR). 68Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT was positive in 26 cases and negative in 7 (79% DR). In the subgroup analysis, 68Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT was superior in detecting TC (91% DR; P DOTA-peptide PET/CT findings. In the subgroup analysis, the SUV max ratio seems to be the most accurate index in predicting TC. Both methods should be performed when PC is suspected or when the histological subtype is undefined.

  9. Diagnostic performance and impact on patient management of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT for detecting osteomalacia-associated tumours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paquet, Marie; Gauthé, Mathieu; Zhang Yin, Jules; Nataf, Valérie; Bélissant, Ophélie; Orcel, Philippe; Roux, Christian; Talbot, Jean-Noël; Montravers, Françoise

    2018-03-12

    Oncogenic osteomalacia is an endocrine disorder induced by small benign tumours (TIO) producing excessive fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23). The only way of curing oncogenic osteomalacia is surgical resection of the culprit TIO, which is extremely difficult to detect using conventional imaging modalities due to its small size and variable location in the body. Since TIO frequently overexpress somatostatin receptors, a clinical utility of SPECT or PET with radiolabelled somatostatin analogues has been reported. Among them, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC has recently been granted a marketing authorization, facilitating its routine application. We report here the results of the first series evaluating the diagnostic performance of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT in detecting TIO and its impact on patient management. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and clinical and imaging data from 15 patients with clinical and biochemical signs of oncogenic osteomalacia were retrospectively reviewed. The 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT findings were compared with the results of post-surgical pathology and clinical and biochemical follow-up. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT resulted in the detection of one focus suspicious for TIO in nine of 15 patients (60%), and a tumour was surgically removed in eight. Post-operative pathology confirmed a TIO in those eight patients whose symptoms diminished promptly and biochemical anomalies resolved. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 73%, 67% and 71%, respectively. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT findings affected patient management in 67% of cases. In particular, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was able to detect the TIO with a negative or a false-positive result of a previous 111 In-pentetreotide SPECT/CT in 5/8 patients (63%) or a previous FDG PET/CT in 7/11 patients (64%). No close relationship was found between the positivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and the serum level of a biochemical marker. However, a true-positive result of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was obtained in only one patient

  10. Molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumors using {sup 68}Ga-labeled peptides (Somatostatin receptor PET/CT); Molekulare Bildgebung neuroendokriner Tumoren mit {sup 68}Ga-markierten Peptiden (Somatostatinrezeptor-PET/CT)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baum, R.P.; Prasad, V. [Zentralklinik Bad Berka GmbH (Germany). Klinik fuer Nuklearmedizin/PET-Zentrum; Hoersch, D. [Zentralklinik Bad Berka GmbH (Germany). Klinik fuer Innere Medizin, Gastroenterologie, Onkologie, Endokrionologie

    2009-06-15

    Receptor PET/CT using {sup 68}Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues (DOTA-NOC, DOTA-TOC or DOTA-TATE) enables the highly sensitive molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) based on the expression of somatostatin receptors and even the detection of receptor subtypes. Our experience after more than 3000 studies shows that receptor PET/CT has a significantly higher tumor detection rate than conventional scintigraphy (even in SPECT/CT technique), and that tumor lesions can be very accurately localized. By calculating standardized uptake values (SUV) - which are reproducible and investigator-independent - patients can be selected for peptide receptor radiotherapy and also the course after therapy can be controlled. Receptor-PET/CT is the most sensitive imaging modality for the detection of unknown primary tumors (CUP syndrome), which is especially true for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas and small bowel; whole-body staging (''one stop shop'') as well as restaging and selection of patients for peptide receptor radiotherapy can be performed using a patient-friendly procedure (examination finished within one hour) exposing the patient to less radiation than whole-body CT scanning. The {sup 68}Ge/{sup 68}Ga generator has proved very reliable over the years - even in a hospital environment. The effective costs for {sup 68}Ga labeled somatostatin analogues might be less than for scintigraphic agents, provided a certain number of studies per year are performed. The development of new tumor-specific peptides as well as of other DOTA- or NOTA-coupled radiopharmaceuticals opens a new avenue into the future: finally, the {sup 68}Ga generator could play a similar important role for PET/CT as did the {sup 99m}Tc-Generator for conventional gamma camera imaging over the last decades. (orig.)

  11. 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT allows tumor localization in patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia but negative 111In-octreotide SPECT/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breer, Stefan; Brunkhorst, Thomas; Beil, F Timo; Peldschus, Kersten; Heiland, Max; Klutmann, Susanne; Barvencik, Florian; Zustin, Jozef; Gratz, Klaus-Friedrich; Amling, Michael

    2014-07-01

    Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by renal phosphate wasting, hypophosphatemia and low calcitriol levels as well as clinical symptoms like diffuse bone and muscle pain, fatigue fractures or increased fracture risk. Conventional imaging methods, however, often fail to detect the small tumors. Lately, tumor localization clearly improved by somatostatin-receptor (SSTR) imaging, such as octreotide scintigraphy or octreotide SPECT/CT. However, recent studies revealed that still a large number of tumors remained undetected by octreotide imaging. Hence, studies focused on different SSTR imaging methods such as 68Ga DOTA-NOC, 68Ga DOTA-TOC and 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT with promising first results. Studies comparing different SSTR imaging methods for tumor localization in TIO are rare and thus little is known about diagnostic alternatives once a particular method failed to detect a tumor in patients with TIO. Here, we report the data of 5 consecutive patients suffering from TIO, who underwent both 111Indium-octreotide scintigraphy (111In-OCT) SPECT/CT as well as 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT for tumor detection. While 111In-OCT SPECT/CT allowed tumor detection in only 1 of 5 patients, 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT was able to localize the tumor in all patients. Afterwards, anatomical imaging of the region of interest was performed with CT and MRI. Thus, successful surgical resection of the tumor was achieved in all patients. Serum phosphate levels returned to normal and all patients reported relief of symptoms within weeks. Moreover, an iliac crest biopsy was obtained from every patient and revealed marked osteomalacia in all cases. Follow-up DXA revealed an increase in BMD of up to 34.5% 1-year postoperative, indicating remineralization. No recurrence was observed. In conclusion our data indicates that 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT is an effective and promising diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of TIO, even in patients in whom 111In-OCT prior failed to detect

  12. Planned Improvements for the WB-57F Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baccus, S.; Roberts, A.; Ross, M.

    2003-12-01

    NASA WB-57F aircraft have supported the atmospheric science community for over 30 years. Recent attention has focused on the chemistry and dynamics of the UTLS region of the atmosphere and several NASA sponsored field campaigns (ACCENT, CRYSTAL-FACE) have made critical use of the WB-57F's unique ability to carry large (3 ton) payloads during extended cruise at all altitudes from the lower troposphere to the lower stratosphere (20 km ceiling). In addition, the WB-57F's robust structure permits a large number and variety of instruments to be carried at inlet-favorable locations on the aircraft. In order to further improve the WB-57F's performance and unique utility to the atmospheric research and spacecraft validation communities, NASA is planning several upgrades to the WB-57F including state-of-the-art avionics and autopilot, landing gear replacement, maximum gross weight increase, engine replacement, and ultrapod installation. We will review the present WB-57F performance, plans for upcoming science campaigns, and plans for increased WB-57F payload, range, endurance, and ceiling resulting from the upgrades.

  13. PET/CT comparing 68Ga-DOTATATE and other radiopharmaceuticals and in comparison with CT/MRI for the localization of sporadic metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janssen, Ingo; Chen, Clara C.; Millo, Corina M.; Herscovitch, Peter; Ling, Alexander; Taieb, David; Lin, Frank I.; Adams, Karen T.; Wolf, Katherine I.; Pacak, Karel; Fojo, Antonio T.; Buchmann, Inga; Kebebew, Electron

    2016-01-01

    Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs) and their metastases are tumors that predominantly express somatostatin receptor 2 (SSR2). 68 Ga-DOTA(0)-Tyr(3)-octreotate ( 68 Ga-DOTATATE) is a PET radiopharmaceutical with both high and selective affinity for SSRs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of 68 Ga-DOTATATE in comparison with other specific and nonspecific radiopharmaceuticals recommended in the current guidelines for the localization of metastatic sporadic PPGL by PET/CT. This prospective study included 22 patients (15 men, 7 women; aged 50.0 ± 13.9 years) with confirmed metastatic PPGL, a negative family history for PPGL, and negative genetic testing, who underwent 68 Ga-DOTATATE, 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ( 18 F-FDG) PET/CT, and CT/MRI. Only 12 patients underwent an additional 18 F-fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine ( 18 F-FDOPA) PET/CT scan and only 11 patients underwent an additional 18 F-fluorodopamine ( 18 F-FDA) PET/CT scan. The rates of detection of metastatic lesions were compared among all the imaging studies. A composite of all functional and anatomical imaging studies served as the imaging comparator. 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed a lesion-based detection rate of 97.6 % (95 % confidence interval, CI, 95.8 - 98.7 %). 18 F-FDG PET/CT, 18 F-FDOPA PET/CT, 18 F-FDA PET/CT, and CT/MRI showed detection rates of 49.2 % (CI 44.5 - 53.6 %; p < 0.01), 74.8 % (CI 69.0 - 79.9 %; p < 0.01), 77.7 % (CI 71.5 - 82.8 %; p < 0.01), and 81.6 % (CI 77.8 - 84.8 %; p < 0.01), respectively. The results of this study demonstrate the superiority of 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in the localization of sporadic metastatic PPGLs compared to all other functional and anatomical imaging modalities, and suggest modification of future guidelines towards this new imaging modality. (orig.)

  14. ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT detects heart metastases from ileal neuroendocrine tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calissendorff, Jan; Sundin, Anders; Falhammar, Henrik

    2014-09-01

    Metastases from ileal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) to the myocardium are rare and generally seen in patients with widespread metastatic NET disease. The objectives of this investigation were to describe the frequency of intracardiac metastases in ileal NET patients examined by (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT and to describe the cases in detail. All (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT examinations performed at the Karolinska University Hospital since 2010 until April 2012 were reviewed. In all, 128 out of 337 examinations were in patients with ileal NETs. Four patients had seven myocardiac metastases, yielding a frequency of 4.3 % in patients with ileal NETs. One patient had cardiac surgery while three were treated with somatostatin analogs. The cardiac metastases did not affect the patients' activity of daily life. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT is an established imaging modality in identifying cardiac metastases in ileal NETs. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the true clinical value of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT in detecting cardiac metastases in both ileal and non-ileal NETs.

  15. Comparison of the prognostic values of {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT in patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Punit; Naswa, Niraj; Kc, Sudhir Suman; Yadav, Yashwant; Kumar, Rakesh; Bal, Chandrasekhar [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi (India); Alvarado, Luis Andres; Dwivedi, Alok Kumar [Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, El Paso, TX (United States); Ammini, Ariachery C. [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, New Delhi (India)

    2014-12-15

    To determine the prognostic value of {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT in patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (NET), and to compare the prognostic value with that of {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and other conventional clinicopathological prognostic factors. Data from 37 consecutive patients (age 46.6 ± 13.5 years, 51 % men) with well-differentiated NET who underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT were analyzed. All patients underwent a baseline visit with laboratory and radiological examinations. Clinical and imaging follow-up was performed in all patients. Progression-free survival (PFS) was measured from the date of the first PET/CT scan to the first documentation of progression of disease. {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT was positive in 37 of the 37 patients and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT was positive in 21. During follow-up 10 patients (27 %) showed progression of disease and 27 (73 %) showed no progression (24 stable disease, 3 partial response). The median follow-up was 25 months (range 2 - 52 months). Among the variables evaluated none was significantly different between the progressive disease and nonprogressive disease groups, with only SUVmax on {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT being borderline significant (P = 0.073). In the univariate analysis for PFS outcome, SUVmax on {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT (HR 0.122, 95 % CI 0.019 - 0.779; P = 0.026) and histopathological tumor grade (HR 4.238, 95 % CI 1.058 - 16.976; P = 0.041) were found to be associated with PFS. Other factors including age, sex, primary site, Ki-67 index, TNM stage, {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT status (positive/negative), SUVmax on {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and type of treatment were not significant. In multivariable analysis, only SUVmax on {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT was found to be an independent positive predictor of PFS (HR 0.122, 95 % CI 0.019 - 0.779; P = 0.026). SUVmax measured on {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT is an independent, positive prognostic factor in patients with well-differentiated NET and

  16. A case of positive 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT pancreatic heterotopia mimicking an intestinal neuroendocrine tumor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilli, Alessandra; Fanetti, Ilaria; Conte, Dario; Massironi, Sara

    Gallium-68 DOTA-peptide positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 68 Ga-PET/CT) has emerged as a promising tool for the diagnosis and staging of gastro-entero-pancreatic neoplasms, thanks to its high sensitivity and specificity. Heterotopic pancreas, which is relatively rare, has never been reported as a possible cause of false positives of 68 Ga-PET/CT. We report on the first case of a heterotopic pancreas showing pathological uptake at 68 Ga-PET/CT, thus mimicking an intestinal neuroendocrine tumor. The present case suggests that heterotopic pancreas should be included among the possible causes of false positives at 68 Ga PET. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Prospective evaluation of 68Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT in differentiated thyroid cancer patients with raised thyroglobulin and negative 131I-whole body scan: comparison with 18F-FDG PET-CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kundu, Parveen; Lata, Sneh; Sharma, Punit; Singh, Harmandeep; Malhotra, Arun; Bal, Chandrasekhar

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients with negative 131 I-whole body scan (WBS) along with serially increasing serum thyroglobulin (Tg), and compare the same with 18 F-FDG PET-CT. Sixty two DTC patients with serially rising Tg levels and negative 131 I-WBS were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT and 18 F-FDG PET-CT within an interval of two weeks. PET-CT analysis was done on a per-patient basis, location wise and lesion wise. All PET-CT lesions were divided into four categories-local, nodal, pulmonary and skeletal. Histopathology and/or serial serum Tg level, clinical and imaging follow up (minimum-1 year) were used as a reference standard. Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT demonstrated disease in 40/62 (65 %) patients and 18 F-FDG PET-CT in 45/62 (72 %) patients, with no significant difference on McNemar analysis (p = 0.226). Per-patient sensitivity and specificity of 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT was 78.4 %, 100 %, and for 18 F-FDG PET-CT was 86.3 %, 90.9 %, respectively. Out of 186 lesions detected by both PET-CTs, 121/186 (65 %) lesions were seen on 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT and 168/186 (90.3 %) lesions on 18 F-FDG PET-CT (p 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT and 18 F-FDG PET-CT for detection of local disease (k = 0.92), while moderate agreement was noted for nodal and pulmonary disease (k = 0.67). 68 Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT changed management in 21/62 (34 %) patients and 18 F-FDG PET-CT in 17/62 (27 %) patients. Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT is inferior to 18 F-FDG PET-CT on lesion based but not on patient based analysis for detection of recurrent/residual disease in DTC patients with negative WBS scan and elevated serum Tg levels. It can also help in selection of potential candidates for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. (orig.)

  18. Comprehensive imaging of tumor recurrence in breast cancer patients using whole-body MRI at 1.5 and 3 T compared to FDG-PET-CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, Gerwin P. [Institute of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich (Germany)], E-mail: gerwin.schmidt@med.uni-muenchen.de; Baur-Melnyk, Andrea [Institute of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich (Germany); Haug, Alexander [Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, 81377 Munich (Germany); Heinemann, Volker [Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, 81377 Munich (Germany); Bauerfeind, Ingo [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, 81377 Munich (Germany); Reiser, Maximilian F. [Institute of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals Munich-Grosshadern, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich (Germany); Schoenberg, Stefan O. [Institute of Clinical Radiology University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg (Germany)

    2008-01-15

    Purpose: To compare the diagnostic accuracy for the detection of tumor recurrence in breast cancer patients using whole-body-MRI (WB-MRI) at 1.5 or 3 T compared to FDG-PET-CT. Materials and methods: Thirty-three female patients with breast cancer and suspicion of recurrence underwent FDG-PET-CT and WB-MRI. Coronal T1w-TSE- and STIR-sequences, HASTE-imaging of the lungs, contrast-enhanced T1w- and T2w-TSE-sequences of the liver, brain and abdomen were performed, using a WB-MRI-scanner at 1.5 (n = 23) or 3 T (n = 10). Presence of local recurrence, lymph node involvement and distant metastatic disease was assessed using clinical and radiological follow-up as a standard of reference. Results: Tumor recurrence was found in 20 of 33 patients. Overall 186 malignant foci were detected with WB-MRI and PET-CT. Both modalities revealed two recurrent tumors of the breast. PET-CT detected more lymph node metastases (n = 21) than WB-MRI (n = 16). WB-MRI was more precise in the detection of distant metastases (n = 154 versus n = 147). Sensitivity was 93% (172/186) and 91% (170/186) for WB-MRI and PET-CT, specificity was 86% (66/77) and 90% (69/77), respectively. Examination times for WB-MRI at 1.5 and 3 T were 51 and 43 min, respectively, examination time for PET-CT was 103 min. Conclusion: WB-MRI and PET-CT are useful for the detection of tumor recurrence in the follow-up of breast cancer. WB-MRI is highly sensitive to distant metastatic disease. PET-CT is more sensitive in detecting lymph node involvement. Tumor screening with WB-MRI is feasible at 1.5 and 3 T, scan time is further reduced at 3 T with identical resolution.

  19. Evaluation of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT for the detection of duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in patients with MEN1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgat, Clement; Mazere, Joachim; Hindie, Elif; Fernandez, Philippe; Velayoudom-Cephise, Fritz-Line; Nunes, Marie-Laure; Tabarin, Antoine; Schwartz, Paul; Guyot, Martine; Gaye, Delphine; Vimont, Delphine; Schulz, Juergen; Smith, Denis

    2016-01-01

    Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with 111 In-pentetreotide (SRS) is used to detect duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (dpNETs) in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). However, SRS has limited sensitivity for this purpose. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC has a higher rate of sporadic dpNETs detection than SRS but there is little data for dpNETs detection in MEN1. To compare the performances of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) to diagnose dpNETs in MEN1. Single-institution prospective comparative study Nineteen consecutive MEN1 patients (aged 47 ± 13 years) underwent 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT within 2 months in random order. Blinded readings of images were performed separately by experienced physicians. Unblinded analysis of CE-CT, combined with additional magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic-ultrasound, 18 F-2-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose ( 18 F-FDG) PET/CT or histopathology results served as reference standard for dpNETs diagnosis. The sensitivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT was 76, 20, and 60 %, respectively (p < 0.0001). All the true-positive lesions detected by SRS were also depicted on 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT detected lesions of smaller size than SRS (10.7 ± 7.6 and 15.2 ± 5.9 mm, respectively, p < 0.03). False negatives of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT included small dpNETs (<10 mm) and 18 F-FDG PET/CT positive aggressive dpNETs. No false positives were recorded. In addition, whole-body mapping with 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT identified extra-abdominal MEN1-related tumors including one neuroendocrine thymic carcinoma identified by the three imaging procedures, one bronchial carcinoid undetected by CE-CT and three meningiomas undetected by SRS. Owing to higher diagnostic performance, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT (or alternative 68 Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues) should replace 111 In-pentetreotide in the investigation of MEN1

  20. Potential impact of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT on stereotactic radiotherapy planning of meningiomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nyuyki, Fonyuy; Plotkin, Michail; Michel, Roger; Steffen, Ingo; Fahdt, Daniel; Brenner, Winfried [Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department for Nuclear Medicine, Berlin (Germany); Graf, Reinhold [Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department for Radiation Therapy, Campus Virchow, Berlin (Germany); Denecke, Timm [Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department for Radiology, Campus Virchow, Berlin (Germany); Geworski, Lilli [Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department for Nuclear Medicine, Berlin (Germany); Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Department for Radiation Safety and Medical Physics, Hannover (Germany); Wurm, Reinhard [Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department for Radiation Therapy, Campus Virchow, Berlin (Germany); Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder), Department for Radiation Therapy and Radiooncology, Frankfurt (Germany)

    2010-02-15

    Since meningiomas show a high expression of somatostatin receptor subtype 2, PET with {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC was proposed as an additional imaging modality beside CT and MRI for planning radiotherapy. We investigated the input of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT on the definition of the ''gross tumour volume'' (GTV) in meningiomas, in order to assess the potential value of this method. Prior to radiotherapy, 42 patients with meningiomas (26 f, 16 m, mean age 55) underwent MRI and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT examinations. History: operated n = 24, radiotherapy n = 1, operation and radiotherapy n = 8, no treatment n = 9. PET/CT and MRI data were co-registered using a BrainLAB workstation. For comparison, the GTV was defined first under consideration of CT and MRI data, then using PET data. 3/42 patients were excluded from the analysis (two with negative PET results, one with an extensive tumour, not precisely delineable by MRI or PET/CT). The average GTV{sub CT/MRI} was 22({+-}19)cm{sup 3}; GTV{sub PET} was 23({+-}20)cm{sup 3}. Additional GTV, obtained as a result of PET was 9({+-}10)cm{sup 3} and was observed in patients with osseous infiltration. In some pre-treated patients there were intratumoural areas (as identified in CT/MRI) without SR-expression (7({+-}11)cm{sup 3}). Common GTV as obtained by both CT/MRI and PET was 15({+-}14)cm{sup 3}. The mean bi-directional difference between the GTV{sub CT/MRI} and GTV{sub PET} accounted to 16({+-}15)cm{sup 3} (93%, p < 0.001). In a subgroup of seven patients with multiple meningiomas, PET showed a total of 19 lesions; nine of them were not recognizable by CT or MRI. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET enables delineation of SR-positive meningiomas and delivers additional information to both CT and MRI regarding the planning of stereotactic radiotherapy. The acquisition on a PET/CT scanner helps to estimate the relation of PET findings to anatomical structures and is especially useful for detection of osseous infiltration

  1. (68)Ga-PSMA-11 dynamic PET/CT imaging in biochemical relapse of prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachpekidis, C; Eder, M; Kopka, K; Mier, W; Hadaschik, B A; Haberkorn, U; Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, A

    2016-07-01

    We aim to investigate the pharmacokinetics and distribution of the recently clinically introduced radioligand (68)Ga-PSMA-11 in men with recurrent prostate cancer (PC) by means of dynamic and whole-body PET/CT. The correlation between PSA levels and (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET parameters is also investigated. 31 patients with biochemical failure after primary PC treatment with curative intent (median age 71.0 years) were enrolled in the analysis. The median PSA value was 2.0 ng/mL (range = 0.1 - 130.0 ng/mL) and the median Gleason score was 7 (range = 5 - 9). 8/31 (25.8 %) of the included patients had a PSA value dynamic PET/CT (dPET/CT) scanning (60 min) of the pelvis and lower abdomen as well as whole-body PET/CT with (68)Ga-PSMA-11. dPET/CT assessment was based on qualitative evaluation, SUV calculation, and quantitative analysis based on a two-tissue compartment model and a non-compartmental approach leading to the extraction of fractal dimension (FD). 22/31 patients (71.0 %) were (68)Ga-PSMA-11-positive, while 9/31 (29.0 %) patients were (68)Ga-PSMA-11-negative. The median PSA value in the (68)Ga-PSMA-11-positive group was significantly higher (median = 2.35 ng/mL; range = 0.19 - 130.0 ng/mL) than in the (68)Ga-PSMA-11-negative group (median value: 0.34 ng/mL; range = 0.10 - 4.20 ng/mL). A total of 76 lesions were semi-quantitatively evaluated. PC recurrence-associated lesions demonstrated a mean SUVaverage = 12.4 (median = 9.0; range = 2.2 - 84.5) and mean SUVmax = 18.8 (median = 14.1; range = 3.1 - 120.3). Dynamic PET/CT studies of the pelvis revealed the following mean values for the PC recurrence-suspicious lesions: K1 = 0.26, k3 = 0.30, influx = 0.14 and FD = 1.24. Time-activity curves derived from PC-recurrence indicative lesions revealed an increasing (68)Ga-PSMA-11 accumulation during dynamic PET acquisition. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate, but significant, correlation between PSA

  2. Functional imaging in differentiating bronchial masses: an initial experience with a combination of (18)F-FDG PET-CT scan and (68)Ga DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Arvind; Jindal, Tarun; Dutta, Roman; Kumar, Rakesh

    2009-10-01

    To evaluate the role of combination of (18)F-FDG PET-CT scan and (68)Ga DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan in differentiating bronchial tumors observed in contrast enhanced computed tomography scan of chest. Prospective observational study. Place of study: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. 7 patients with bronchial mass detected in computed tomography scan of the chest were included in this study. All patients underwent (18)F-FDG PET-CT scan, (68)Ga DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan and fiberoptic bronchoscope guided biopsy followed by definitive surgical excision. The results of functional imaging studies were analyzed and the results are correlated with the final histopathology of the tumor. Histopathological examination of 7 bronchial masses revealed carcinoid tumors (2 typical, 1 atypical), inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (1), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (1), hamartoma (1), and synovial cell sarcoma (1). The typical carcinoids had mild (18)F-FDG uptake and high (68)Ga DOTA-TOC uptake. Atypical carcinoid had moderate uptake of (18)F-FDG and high (68)Ga DOTA-TOC uptake. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor showed high uptake of (18)F-FDG and no uptake of (68)Ga DOTA-TOC. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma showed mild (18)F-FDG uptake and no (68)Ga DOTA-TOC uptake. Hamartoma showed no uptake on either scans. Synovial cell sarcoma showed moderate (18)F-FDG uptake and mild focal (68)Ga DOTA-TOC uptake. This initial experience with the combined use of (18)F-FDG and (68)Ga DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan reveals different uptake patterns in various bronchial tumors. Bronchoscopic biopsy will continue to be the gold standard; however, the interesting observations made in this study merits further evaluation of the utility of the combination of (18)F-FDG PET-CT scan and (68)Ga DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan in larger number of patients with bronchial masses.

  3. False Positive Uptake in Bilateral Gynecomastia on 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT Scan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasikumar, Arun; Joy, Ajith; Nair, Bindu P; Pillai, M R A; Madhavan, Jayaprakash

    2017-09-01

    A 66-year-old man on hormonal therapy with prostate cancer was referred for Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan for biochemical recurrence. Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan detected moderate heterogeneous tracer concentration in bilateral breast parenchyma, in addition to the abnormal tracer concentration in enlarged prostate gland, right external iliac lymph node, and sclerotic lesion in L4 vertebra. On clinical examination, he was found to have bilateral gynecomastia. Abnormal concentration of Ga-PSMA in breast cancer is now well known, and in this context, it is important to know that tracer localization can occur in gynecomastia as well, as evidenced in this case.

  4. Evaluation of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT for the detection of duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in patients with MEN1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgat, Clément; Vélayoudom-Céphise, Fritz-Line; Schwartz, Paul; Guyot, Martine; Gaye, Delphine; Vimont, Delphine; Schulz, Jürgen; Mazère, Joachim; Nunes, Marie-Laure; Smith, Denis; Hindié, Elif; Fernandez, Philippe; Tabarin, Antoine

    2016-07-01

    Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with (111)In-pentetreotide (SRS) is used to detect duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (dpNETs) in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). However, SRS has limited sensitivity for this purpose. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC has a higher rate of sporadic dpNETs detection than SRS but there is little data for dpNETs detection in MEN1. To compare the performances of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) to diagnose dpNETs in MEN1. Single-institution prospective comparative study Nineteen consecutive MEN1 patients (aged 47 ± 13 years) underwent (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT within 2 months in random order. Blinded readings of images were performed separately by experienced physicians. Unblinded analysis of CE-CT, combined with additional magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic-ultrasound, (18)F-2-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) PET/CT or histopathology results served as reference standard for dpNETs diagnosis. The sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT was 76, 20, and 60 %, respectively (p TOC PET/CT. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT detected lesions of smaller size than SRS (10.7 ± 7.6 and 15.2 ± 5.9 mm, respectively, p TOC PET/CT included small dpNETs (TOC PET/CT identified extra-abdominal MEN1-related tumors including one neuroendocrine thymic carcinoma identified by the three imaging procedures, one bronchial carcinoid undetected by CE-CT and three meningiomas undetected by SRS. Owing to higher diagnostic performance, (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT (or alternative (68)Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues) should replace (111)In-pentetreotide in the investigation of MEN1 patients.

  5. 18F-DOPA PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT scans as diagnostic tools in focal congenital hyperinsulinism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Charlotte Dahl; Petersen, Henrik; Nielsen, Anne Lerberg

    2018-01-01

    (68Ga-DOTANOC) PET/CT as diagnostic tools in focal CHI. Methods: PET/CT scans of children with CHI admitted to Odense University Hospital between August 2005 and June 2016 were retrospectively evaluated visually and by their maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax) by two independent examiners......, blinded for clinical, surgical and pathological data. Pancreatic histology was used as the gold standard. For patients without surgery, the genetic profile served as the gold standard. Results: Fifty-five CHI patients were examined by PET/CT (18F-DOPA n = 53, 68Ga-DOTANOC n = 18). Surgery was performed...... in 34 patients, no surgery in 21 patients. Fifty-one patients had a classifiable outcome, either by histology (n = 33, 22 focal lesions, 11 non-focal) or by genetics (n = 18, all non-focal). The predictive performance of 18F-DOPA PET/CT to identify focal CHI was identical by visual- and cut...

  6. Evaluation of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT for the detection of duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in patients with MEN1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morgat, Clement; Mazere, Joachim; Hindie, Elif; Fernandez, Philippe [CNRS, INCIA, Bordeaux (France); University of Bordeaux, INCIA, Bordeaux (France); University Hospital of Bordeaux, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bordeaux (France); Velayoudom-Cephise, Fritz-Line; Nunes, Marie-Laure; Tabarin, Antoine [USN Haut-Leveque, Department of Endocrinology, Pessac (France); Schwartz, Paul; Guyot, Martine [University Hospital of Bordeaux, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bordeaux (France); Gaye, Delphine [University Hospital of Bordeaux, Department of Radiology, Pessac (France); Vimont, Delphine; Schulz, Juergen [CNRS, INCIA, Bordeaux (France); University of Bordeaux, INCIA, Bordeaux (France); Smith, Denis [University Hospital of Bordeaux, Department of Oncology, Bordeaux (France)

    2016-07-15

    Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with {sup 111}In-pentetreotide (SRS) is used to detect duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (dpNETs) in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). However, SRS has limited sensitivity for this purpose. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC has a higher rate of sporadic dpNETs detection than SRS but there is little data for dpNETs detection in MEN1. To compare the performances of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) to diagnose dpNETs in MEN1. Single-institution prospective comparative study Nineteen consecutive MEN1 patients (aged 47 ± 13 years) underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT within 2 months in random order. Blinded readings of images were performed separately by experienced physicians. Unblinded analysis of CE-CT, combined with additional magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic-ultrasound, {sup 18}F-2-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose ({sup 18}F-FDG) PET/CT or histopathology results served as reference standard for dpNETs diagnosis. The sensitivity of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT, SRS, and CE-CT was 76, 20, and 60 %, respectively (p < 0.0001). All the true-positive lesions detected by SRS were also depicted on {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT detected lesions of smaller size than SRS (10.7 ± 7.6 and 15.2 ± 5.9 mm, respectively, p < 0.03). False negatives of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT included small dpNETs (<10 mm) and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT positive aggressive dpNETs. No false positives were recorded. In addition, whole-body mapping with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT identified extra-abdominal MEN1-related tumors including one neuroendocrine thymic carcinoma identified by the three imaging procedures, one bronchial carcinoid undetected by CE-CT and three meningiomas undetected by SRS. Owing to higher diagnostic performance, {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT (or alternative {sup 68}Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues

  7. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 dynamic PET/CT imaging in biochemical relapse of prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sachpekidis, C. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Research Center, Medical PET Group-Biological Imaging, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Eder, M. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Kopka, K. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); Mier, W. [University of Heidelberg, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Hadaschik, B.A. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Haberkorn, U. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); University of Heidelberg, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, A. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2016-07-15

    We aim to investigate the pharmacokinetics and distribution of the recently clinically introduced radioligand {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 in men with recurrent prostate cancer (PC) by means of dynamic and whole-body PET/CT. The correlation between PSA levels and {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET parameters is also investigated. 31 patients with biochemical failure after primary PC treatment with curative intent (median age 71.0 years) were enrolled in the analysis. The median PSA value was 2.0 ng/mL (range = 0.1 - 130.0 ng/mL) and the median Gleason score was 7 (range = 5 - 9). 8/31 (25.8 %) of the included patients had a PSA value < 0.5 ng/ml. All patients underwent dynamic PET/CT (dPET/CT) scanning (60 min) of the pelvis and lower abdomen as well as whole-body PET/CT with {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11. dPET/CT assessment was based on qualitative evaluation, SUV calculation, and quantitative analysis based on a two-tissue compartment model and a non-compartmental approach leading to the extraction of fractal dimension (FD). 22/31 patients (71.0 %) were {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-positive, while 9/31 (29.0 %) patients were {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-negative. The median PSA value in the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-positive group was significantly higher (median = 2.35 ng/mL; range = 0.19 - 130.0 ng/mL) than in the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-negative group (median value: 0.34 ng/mL; range = 0.10 - 4.20 ng/mL). A total of 76 lesions were semi-quantitatively evaluated. PC recurrence-associated lesions demonstrated a mean SUV{sub average} = 12.4 (median = 9.0; range = 2.2 - 84.5) and mean SUV{sub max} = 18.8 (median = 14.1; range = 3.1 - 120.3). Dynamic PET/CT studies of the pelvis revealed the following mean values for the PC recurrence-suspicious lesions: K{sub 1} = 0.26, k{sub 3} = 0.30, influx = 0.14 and FD = 1.24. Time-activity curves derived from PC-recurrence indicative lesions revealed an increasing {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 accumulation during dynamic PET acquisition. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate, but significant

  8. Imaging benign pathology and variants with uptake in 68ga-Dotatate PET/CT studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Servente, L.; Bianco, C.; Gigirey, V.; Alonso, O.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the physiological, anatomical variants and benign lesions in positron emission computed tomography (PET/CT) studies with 68Ga-DOTATATE.Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed PET/CT reports scanned with 68Ga-DOTATATE and selected those that contained words in the report related to anatomical, physiological variants and benign tumors. The degree of 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by measuring the standarized uptake max value (SUVmax value). The anatomical location, SUVmax value and morphological CT image findings were recorded. All cases had clinical and imaging follow-up. Results: From a total of 772 PET/CT reports, 28 patients were obtained with 33 benign variants or tumors, 14 females and 14 males with a median age of 63 years. Uptake patterns were classified into four groups: anatomic and physiological variants (15), dependent on osteoblastic activity (4), dependent on inflammatory activity (10) and non-neuro-endocrine benign tumors (4).Discussion: Somatostatin receptors are overexpressed not only in the neuroendocrine system but also in other tissues. Physiological, anatomical variants and benign tumors expressing these receptors may be misleading. In the present work the frequency of this finding is 5.1%.Conclusion: Physiological variants and benign lesions (tumor and inflammatory) can accumulate 68Ga-DOTATATE since their tissues can express somatostatin receptors. The semiologic analysis of the tomographic component of this hybrid method enhances the diagnostic efficacy, optimizing PET/CT study performance. (authors) [es

  9. Evaluation of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI for whole-body staging of neuroendocrine tumours in comparison with 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawicki, Lino M.; Deuschl, Cornelius; Beiderwellen, Karsten; Forsting, Michael; Umutlu, Lale; Ruhlmann, Verena; Poeppel, Thorsten D.; Bockisch, Andreas; Herrmann, Ken; Heusch, Philipp; Antoch, Gerald; Lahner, Harald; Fuehrer, Dagmar

    2017-01-01

    To compare the diagnostic performance of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI and 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in the whole-body staging of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET). Thirty patients with histopathologically confirmed NET underwent PET/CT and PET/MRI in a single-injection protocol. PET/CT and PET/MRI scans were prospectively evaluated with regard to lesion count, localization, nature (NET/non-NET), and conspicuity (four-point scale). Histopathology and follow-up imaging served as the reference standards. The proportions of NET and non-NET lesions rated correctly were compared using McNemar's chi-squared test. The Wilcoxon test was used to assess differences in SUVmax and lesion conspicuity. The correlation between the SUVmax for the same lesions from each modality was analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). According to the reference standard, there were 197 lesions (142 NET, 55 non-NET). Lesion-based analysis showed a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions on PET/MRI than on PET/CT (90.8% vs. 86.7%, p = 0.031), whereas on PET/CT there was a higher proportion of correctly rated non-NET lesions (94.5% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.031). SUVmax was strongly correlated (r = 0.86; p < 0.001) and did not differ significantly (p = 0.35) between the modalities. Overall conspicuity and NET lesion conspicuity were higher on PET/MRI (both p < 0.01). Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI yielded a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions and should be regarded as a valuable alternative to 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in whole-body staging of NET patients. (orig.)

  10. Comparison of hybrid {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET/CT and {sup 99m}Tc-DPD-SPECT/CT for the detection of bone metastases in prostate cancer patients. Additional value of morphologic information from low dose CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janssen, Jan-Carlo; Meissner, Sebastian; Diederichs, Gerd; Hamm, Bernd; Makowski, Marcus R. [Charite, Department of Radiology, Berlin (Germany); Woythal, Nadine; Prasad, Vikas; Brenner, Winfried [Charite, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Berlin (Germany)

    2018-02-15

    This study compared {sup 68}Gallium-prostate-specific-membrane-antigen based Positron-emission-tomography ({sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET) and {sup 99metastable}technetium-3,3-diphospho-1,2-propanedicarbonacid ({sup 99m}Tc-DPD-SPECT) in performing skeletal staging in prostate cancer (PC) patients and evaluated the additional value of the information from low-dose-computed tomography (CT). In this retrospective study, 54 patients who received {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET/CT and {sup 99m}Tc-DPD-SPECT/CT within 80 days were extracted from our database. Osseous lesions were classified as benign, malignant or equivocal. Lesion, region and patient based analysis was performed with and without CT fusion. The reference standard was generated by defining a best valuable comparator (BVC) containing information from all available data. In the patient based analysis, accuracies measured as ''area-under-the-curve'' (AUC) for {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET, {sup 99m}Tc-SPECT, {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET/CT and {sup 99m}Tc-SPECT/CT were 0.97-0.96, 0.86-0.83, 1.00 and 0.83, respectively (p<0.05) (ranges = optimistic vs. pessimistic view). Region based analysis resulted in the following sensitivities and specificities: 91.8-97.7%, 100-99.5% (PET); 61.2-70.6%, 99.8-98.3% (SPECT); 97.7%, 100% (PET/CT), 69.4% and 98.3% (SPECT/CT) (p<0.05). The amount of correct classifications of equivocal lesions by CT was significantly higher in PET (100%) compared to SPECT (52.4%) (p<0.05). {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET outperforms {sup 99m}Tc-DPD-SPECT in detecting bone metastases in PC patients. Additional information from low-dose-CT resulted in a significant reduction in equivocal lesions in both modalities, however {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET benefited most. (orig.)

  11. Prognostic value of (18)F-FDG PET/CT volumetric parameters in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayoral, M; Fernandez-Martinez, A; Vidal, L; Fuster, D; Aya, F; Pavia, J; Pons, F; Lomeña, F; Paredes, P

    2016-01-01

    Metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) from (18)F-FDG PET/CT are emerging prognostic biomarkers in various solid neoplasms. These volumetric parameters and the SUVmax have shown to be useful criteria for disease prognostication in preoperative and post-treatment epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of (18)F-FDG PET/CT measurements to predict survival in patients with recurrent EOC. Twenty-six patients with EOC who underwent a total of 31 (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies for suspected recurrence were retrospectively included. SUVmax and volumetric parameters whole-body MTV (wbMTV) and whole-body TLG (wbTLG) with a threshold of 40% and 50% of the SUVmax were obtained. Correlation between PET parameters and progression-free survival (PFS) and the survival analysis of prognostic factors were calculated. Serous cancer was the most common histological subtype (76.9%). The median PFS was 12.5 months (range 10.7-20.6 months). Volumetric parameters showed moderate inverse correlation with PFS but there was no significant correlation in the case of SUVmax. The correlation was stronger for first recurrences. By Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test, wbMTV 40%, wbMTV 50% and wbTLG 50% correlated with PFS. However, SUVmax and wbTLG 40% were not statistically significant predictors for PFS. Volumetric parameters wbMTV and wbTLG 50% measured by (18)F-FDG PET/CT appear to be useful prognostic predictors of outcome and may provide valuable information to individualize treatment strategies in patients with recurrent EOC. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

  12. Benign versus malignant osseous lesions in spine: differentiation by means of bone SPECT/CT fused image

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Zhiming; Qu Wanying

    2004-01-01

    This study compared the efficiency of SPECT-CT fused image with planar bone scan, bone SPECT and CT in differentiating malignant from benign lesions and detecting metastases to the spine. Methods. Total 144 patients with spinal lesions underwent planar bone scan (WB), single photon tomography (SPECT), CT and SPECT-CT fused image by a SPECT/CT system. The malignant or benign nature of lesions was proved by radiological Methods, histological findings, 6-24 month follow-up, or all of these. The diagnostic results was divided into 4 types, i.e., normal, benign, doubtful malignant and malignant. Results. There were 137 malignant and 252 benign lesions in 144 patients, respectively. The percentages of doubtful malignant diagnosed by WB, SPECT, CT and fused image are 22.6%, 5.1%, 9.5% and 0%, respectively, p < 0.01-0.001, except for the comparison between the percentages of SPECT and CT. Sensitivities in detection of malignant lesions by WB, SPECT, CT and fused image are 75.2%, 94.2%, 96.6% and 99.3%, respectively, P < 0.001, excepting for the comparisons between those of SPECT and CT, and between those of CT and fused image. The sensitivities m detection of benign lesions by WB, SPECT, CT and fused image are, 56.7%, 86.5%, 90.1% and 96.8%, respectively, P < 0.005 - 0.001, excepting for the comparison between those of SPECT and CT. The specificities in detection of maliganant lesions by WB, SPECT, CT and fused image are 70.6%, 88.9%, 97.2% and 97.6%, respectively, P < 0.001, excepting for the comparison between those of CT and fused image. Conclusion. Bone SPECT-CT fused image has highest diagnostic and differentiating diagnostic values in detection of spinal abnormalities over the planar bone scanning and SPECT. The CT by present SPECT/CT system can complement planar bone scanning and SPECT and is clinically valuable in detection of spinal abnormalities. (authors)

  13. Molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumors using 68Ga-labeled peptides (Somatostatin receptor PET/CT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baum, R.P.; Prasad, V.; Hoersch, D.

    2009-01-01

    Receptor PET/CT using 68 Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues (DOTA-NOC, DOTA-TOC or DOTA-TATE) enables the highly sensitive molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) based on the expression of somatostatin receptors and even the detection of receptor subtypes. Our experience after more than 3000 studies shows that receptor PET/CT has a significantly higher tumor detection rate than conventional scintigraphy (even in SPECT/CT technique), and that tumor lesions can be very accurately localized. By calculating standardized uptake values (SUV) - which are reproducible and investigator-independent - patients can be selected for peptide receptor radiotherapy and also the course after therapy can be controlled. Receptor-PET/CT is the most sensitive imaging modality for the detection of unknown primary tumors (CUP syndrome), which is especially true for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas and small bowel; whole-body staging (''one stop shop'') as well as restaging and selection of patients for peptide receptor radiotherapy can be performed using a patient-friendly procedure (examination finished within one hour) exposing the patient to less radiation than whole-body CT scanning. The 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator has proved very reliable over the years - even in a hospital environment. The effective costs for 68 Ga labeled somatostatin analogues might be less than for scintigraphic agents, provided a certain number of studies per year are performed. The development of new tumor-specific peptides as well as of other DOTA- or NOTA-coupled radiopharmaceuticals opens a new avenue into the future: finally, the 68 Ga generator could play a similar important role for PET/CT as did the 99m Tc-Generator for conventional gamma camera imaging over the last decades. (orig.)

  14. Whole-body MRI at 1.5 T and 3 T compared with FDG-PET-CT for the detection of tumour recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, G.P.; Baur-Melnyk, A.; Becker, C.R.; Reiser, M.F.; Hermann, K.A. [Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals Grosshadern, Munich (Germany); Haug, A.; Tiling, R. [University Hospitals Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Munich (Germany); Utzschneider, S. [University Hospitals Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Department of Orthopedics, Munich (Germany)

    2009-06-15

    The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) at 1.5 T or 3 T compared with FDG-PET-CT in the follow-up of patients suffering from colorectal cancer. In a retrospective study, 24 patients with a history of colorectal cancer and suspected tumour recurrence underwent FDG-PET-CT and WB-MRI with the use of parallel imaging (PAT) for follow-up. High resolution coronal T1w-TSE and STIR sequences at four body levels, HASTE imaging of the lungs, contrast-enhanced T1w- and T2w-TSE sequences of the liver, brain, abdomen and pelvis were performed, using WB-MRI at either 1.5 T (n = 14) or 3 T (n = 10). Presence of local recurrent tumour, lymph node involvement and distant metastatic disease was confirmed using radiological follow-up within at least 5 months as a standard of reference. Seventy seven malignant foci in 17 of 24 patients (71%) were detected with both WB-MRI and PET-CT. Both investigations concordantly revealed two local recurrent tumours. PET-CT detected significantly more lymph node metastases (sensitivity 93%, n = 27/29) than WB-MRI (sensitivity 63%, n = 18/29). PET-CT and WB-MRI achieved a similar sensitivity for the detection of organ metastases with 80% and 78%, respectively (37/46 and 36/46). WB-MRI detected brain metastases in one patient. One false-positive local tumour recurrence was indicated by PET-CT. Overall diagnostic accuracy for PET-CT was 91% (sensitivity 86%, specificity 96%) and 83% for WB-MRI (sensitivity 72%, specificity 93%), respectively. Examination time for WB-MRI at 1.5 T and 3 T was 52 min and 43 min, respectively; examination time for PET-CT was 103 min. Initial results suggest that differences in accuracy for local and distant metastases detection using FDG-PET-CT and WB-MRI for integrated screening of tumour recurrence in colorectal cancer depend on the location of the malignant focus. Our results show that nodal disease is better detected using PET-CT, whereas organ disease is depicted

  15. Vertebral metastases from neuroendocrine tumours: How to avoid false positives on 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET using CT pattern analysis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauthé, Mathieu; Testart Dardel, Nathalie; Ruiz Santiago, Fernando; Ohnona, Jessica; Nataf, Valérie; Montravers, Françoise; Talbot, Jean-Noël

    2018-03-12

    To develop criteria to improve discrimination between vertebral metastases from neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and benign bone lesions on PET combined with CT using DOTA-D-Phe 1 -Tyr 3 -octreotide labelled with gallium-68 ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC). In 535 NET patients, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT examinations were reviewed retrospectively for vertebral CT lesions and/or PET foci. For each vertebral PET abnormality, appearance on CT, biological volume (BV), standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and ratios to those of reference organs were determined. All vertebral abnormalities were characterized as a metastasis, a typical vertebral haemangioma (VH) or other benign lesion. In 79 patients (14.8 %), we found 107 metastases, 34 VHs and 31 other benign lesions in the spine. The optimal cut-off values to differentiate metastases from benign lesions were BV ≥0.72 cm 3 , SUVmax ≥2, SUVmax ratio to a reference vertebra ≥2.1, to liver ≥0.28 and to spleen ≥0.14. They corresponded to lesion-based 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT sensitivity of 87 %, 98 %, 97 %, 99 % and 94 %, and specificity of 55 %, 100 %, 90 %, 97 %, 100 %, respectively. The high sensitivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC-PET/CT in detecting NET vertebral metastases was confirmed; this study showed that specificity could be improved by combining CT features and quantifying 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake. • Bone metastases in neuroendocrine tumours correlate with prognosis. • Benign bone lesions may mimic metastases on 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT imaging. • The specific polka-dot CT pattern may be missing in some vertebral haemangiomas. • Lesion atypical for haemangiomas can be better characterized by quantifying 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake.

  16. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma: a lesion-by-lesion comparison with {sup 111}In-octreotide SPECT/CT and conventional imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamaga, Lilian Yuri Itaya; Cunha, Marcelo L.; Campos Neto, Guilherme C.; Garcia, Marcio R.T.; Wagner, Jairo; Funari, Marcelo B.G. [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Imaging Department, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Yang, Ji H.; Camacho, Cleber P. [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Multiple Neoplasia Outpatiet Clinic, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2017-09-15

    The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the detection rate of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT with {sup 111}In-octreotide SPECT-CT and conventional imaging (CI) in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) patients with increased calcitonin (Ctn) levels but negative CI after thyroidectomy. Fifteen patients with raised Ctn levels and/or CI evidence of recurrence underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT, {sup 111}In-octreotide SPECT-CT and CI. Histopathology, CI and biochemical/clinical/imaging follow-up were used as the reference standard. PET/CT, SPECT/CT and CI were compared in a lesion-based and organ-based analysis. PET/CT evidenced recurrence in 14 of 15 patients. There were 13 true positive (TP), 1 true negative (TN), 1 false positive (FP) and no false negative (FN) cases, resulting in a sensitivity and accuracy of 100% and 93%. SPECT/CT was positive in 6 of 15 cases. There were 6 TP, 2 TN, 7 FN and no FP cases, resulting in a sensitivity of 46% and accuracy of 53%. CI procedures detected tumor lesions in 14 of 15 patients. There were 13 TP, 1TN, 1 FP and no FN cases with a sensitivity of 100% and accuracy of 93%. A significantly higher number of lesions was detected by PET/CT (112 lesions, p = 0.005) and CI (109 lesions, p = 0.005) in comparison to SPECT/CT (16 lesions). There was no significant difference between PET/CT and CI for the total number of detected lesions (p = 0.734). PET/CT detected more lesions than SPECT/CT regardless of the organ. PET/CT detected more bone lesions but missed some neck nodal metastases evidenced by CI. The number of lesions per region demonstrated by PET/CT and CI were similar in the other sites. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is superior to {sup 111}In-octreotide SPECT/CT for the detection of recurrent MTC demonstrating a significantly higher number of lesions. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed a superior detection rate compared to CI in demonstrating bone metastases. (orig.)

  17. Long Distance Endovascular Growth of Jugulotympanic Paraganglioma Evident in 68Ga-DOTATATE PET but Concealed on CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avramovic, Nemanja; Weckesser, Matthias; Velasco, Aglaé; Stenner, Markus; Noto, Benjamin

    2017-02-01

    A 60-year-old woman was referred to contrast-enhanced CT for evaluation of jugular vein thrombosis incidentally detected by ultrasound. Contrast-enhanced CT showed an enhanced tumor of the right skull base highly suspicious of jugulotympanic paraganglioma. However, the jugular veins showed a nearly symmetric contrast enhancement without clear evidence of thrombosis. Consecutive Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT depicted high tumor uptake, which comprised the entire internal jugular vein. Endovascular growth of paraganglioma might be missed on contrast-enhanced CT because of high vascularization of the lesion. Ga-DOTATATE PET is suited for accurate determination of tumor extent.

  18. Risk-related 18F-FDG PET/CT and new diagnostic strategies in patients with solitary pulmonary nodule: the ITALIAN multicenter trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spadafora, Marco; Pace, Leonardo; Evangelista, Laura; Mansi, Luigi; Del Prete, Francesco; Saladini, Giorgio; Miletto, Paolo; Fanti, Stefano; Del Vecchio, Silvana; Guerra, Luca; Pepe, Giovanna; Peluso, Giuseppina; Nicolai, Emanuele; Storto, Giovanni; Ferdeghini, Marco; Giordano, Alessandro; Farsad, Mohsen; Schillaci, Orazio; Gridelli, Cesare; Cuocolo, Alberto

    2018-05-05

    Diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is an important public health issue and 18 F-FDG PET/CT has proven to be more effective than CT alone. Pre-test risk stratification and clinical presentation of SPN could affect the diagnostic strategy. A relevant issue is whether thoracic segmental (s)-PET/CT could be implemented in patients with SPN. This retrospective multicenter study compared the results of FDG whole-body (wb)-PET/CT to those of s-PET/CT. 18 F-FDG PET/CT of 502 patients, stratified for pre-test cancer risk, were retrospectively analyzed. The thoracic part of wb-PET/CT, considered s-PET/CT, was compared to wb-PET/CT. Clinical and PET/CT variables were investigated for SPN characterization as well as for identification of patients in whom s-PET/CT could be performed. Histopathology or follow-up data were used as a reference. In the study population, 36% had malignant, 35% benign, and 29% indeterminate SPN. 18 F-FDG uptake indicative of thoracic and extra-thoracic lesions was detectable in 13% and 3% of the patients. All patients with extra-thoracic metastases (n = 13) had thoracic lymph node involvement and highest 18 F-FDG uptake at level of SPN (negative predictive value 100%). Compared to wb-PET/CT, s-PET/CT could save about 2/3 of 18 F-FDG dose, radiation exposure or scan-time, without affecting the clinical impact of PET/CT. Pre-test probability of malignancy can guide the diagnostic strategy of 18 FDG-PET/CT in patients with SPN. In subjects with low-intermediate pretest probability s-PET/CT imaging might be planned in advance, while in those at high risk and with thoracic lymph node involvement a wb-PET/CT is necessary.

  19. Evaluation of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI for whole-body staging of neuroendocrine tumours in comparison with {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sawicki, Lino M. [University Dusseldorf, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Dusseldorf (Germany); University Duisburg-Essen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, Essen (Germany); Deuschl, Cornelius; Beiderwellen, Karsten; Forsting, Michael; Umutlu, Lale [University Duisburg-Essen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Medical Faculty, Essen (Germany); Ruhlmann, Verena; Poeppel, Thorsten D.; Bockisch, Andreas; Herrmann, Ken [University Duisburg-Essen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, Essen (Germany); Heusch, Philipp; Antoch, Gerald [University Dusseldorf, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Dusseldorf (Germany); Lahner, Harald; Fuehrer, Dagmar [University Duisburg-Essen, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Endocrine Tumour Center at WTZ and ENETS Center of Excellence, Medical Faculty, Essen (Germany); Endocrine Tumour Center at WTZ and ENETS Center of Excellence, Essen (Germany)

    2017-10-15

    To compare the diagnostic performance of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in the whole-body staging of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET). Thirty patients with histopathologically confirmed NET underwent PET/CT and PET/MRI in a single-injection protocol. PET/CT and PET/MRI scans were prospectively evaluated with regard to lesion count, localization, nature (NET/non-NET), and conspicuity (four-point scale). Histopathology and follow-up imaging served as the reference standards. The proportions of NET and non-NET lesions rated correctly were compared using McNemar's chi-squared test. The Wilcoxon test was used to assess differences in SUVmax and lesion conspicuity. The correlation between the SUVmax for the same lesions from each modality was analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). According to the reference standard, there were 197 lesions (142 NET, 55 non-NET). Lesion-based analysis showed a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions on PET/MRI than on PET/CT (90.8% vs. 86.7%, p = 0.031), whereas on PET/CT there was a higher proportion of correctly rated non-NET lesions (94.5% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.031). SUVmax was strongly correlated (r = 0.86; p < 0.001) and did not differ significantly (p = 0.35) between the modalities. Overall conspicuity and NET lesion conspicuity were higher on PET/MRI (both p < 0.01). Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI yielded a higher proportion of correctly rated NET lesions and should be regarded as a valuable alternative to {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in whole-body staging of NET patients. (orig.)

  20. Cost comparison of 111In-DTPA-octreotide scintigraphy and 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for staging enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schreiter, Nils F.; Brenner, Winfried; Buchert, Ralph; Prasad, Vikas; Nogami, Munenobu; Huppertz, Alexander; Pape, Ulrich-Frank; Hamm, Bernd; Maurer, Martin H.

    2012-01-01

    Although somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography (PET)/CT is gaining increasing popularity and has shown its diagnostic superiority in several studies, 111 In-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-octreotide is still the current standard for diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours (NET). The aim of this study was to compare the costs for the two diagnostic tests and the respective consequential costs. From January 2009 to July 2009, 51 consecutive patients with enteropancreatic NET who underwent contrast-enhanced 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT (n = 29) or 111 In-DTPA-octreotide (mean 3 whole-body scans plus 1.6 low-dose single photon emission computed tomography/CT; n = 22) were included. For cost analysis, direct costs (equipment) and variable costs (material, labour) per examination were calculated. Additionally required CT and/or MRI examinations within the staging process were assessed as consequential costs. An additional deterministic sensitivity analysis was performed. A 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT examination yielded total costs (equipment, personnel and material costs) of 548 EUR. On the other hand, an 111 In-DTPA-octreotide examination resulted in 827 EUR total costs. Costs for equipment and material had a share of 460 EUR/720 EUR for 68 Ga-DOTATOC/ 111 In-DTPA-octreotide and labour costs of 89 EUR/106 EUR. With 68 Ga-DOTATOC additional MRI had to be performed in 7% of the patients resulting in a mean of 20 EUR for supplementary imaging per patient; 82% of patients with 111 In-DTPA-octreotide needed additional MRI and/or CT resulting in mean additional costs of 161 EUR per patient. 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT was considerably cheaper than 111 In-DTPA-octreotide with respect to both material and personnel costs. Furthermore, by using 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT considerably fewer additional examinations were needed reducing the consequential costs significantly. (orig.)

  1. Relationships between serum PSA levels, Gleason scores and results of 68Ga-PSMAPET/CT in patients with recurrent prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanli, Yasemin; Kuyumcu, Serkan; Sanli, Oner; Buyukkaya, Fikret; İribaş, Ayça; Alcin, Goksel; Darendeliler, Emin; Ozluk, Yasemin; Yildiz, Sevda Ozel; Turkmen, Cüneyt

    2017-11-01

    To investigate the relationship between serum PSA level, Gleason score of PCa and the outcomes of Ga 68 -PSMA PET/CT in patients with recurrent PCa. A total of 109 consecutive patients (median age 71 years; range 48-89 years) who had PSA recurrence after RP and/or hormonotherapy and/or radiotherapy were included in this study. Local recurrences, lymph node metastasis (pelvic, abdominal and/or supradiaphragmatic), bone metastases (oligometastatic/multimetastatic) and other metastatic sites (lung, liver, brain, etc) were documented. In 91(83.4%) patients at least one lesion characteristic for PCa was detected by 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT. The median serum total PSA (tPSA) was 6.5 (0.2-640) ng/ml.There was a significant difference between 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT positive and negative patients in terms of serum total PSA value. No statistical significance was found between positive and negative 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT findings in terms of Gleason score. Local recurrence was detected in 56 patients. whereas lymph node metastases were demonstrated in 46 patients. Pelvic nodal disease was the most frequent presentation followed by abdominal and supradiaphragmaticnodal involvement. Bone metastases [oligometastasis, (n = 20); multimetastasis, (n = 35)⦌ were also detected in 55 patients. In the ROC analysis for the study cohort, the optimal cut-off value of total serum PSA was determined as 0.67 ng/ml for distinguishing between positive and negative 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT images, with an area under curve of 0.952 (95% CI 0.911-0.993). 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT was found to be an effective tool for the detection of recurrent PCa. Even though no relationship was detected between the GS and 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT findings, serum total PSA values may be used for estimating the likelihood of positive 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT results.

  2. Detection of unknown primary neuroendocrine tumours (CUP-NET) using 68Ga-DOTA-NOC receptor PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, Vikas; Baum, Richard P.; Ambrosini, Valentina; Fanti, Stefano; Hommann, Merten; Hoersch, Dieter

    2010-01-01

    This bi-centric study aimed to determine the role of receptor PET/CT using 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC in the detection of undiagnosed primary sites of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and to understand the molecular behaviour of the primarily undiagnosed tumours. Overall 59 patients (33 men and 26 women, age: 65 ± 9 years) with documented NET and unknown primary were enrolled. PET/CT was performed after injection of approximately 100 MBq (46-260 MBq) of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC. The maximum standardised uptake values (SUV max ) were calculated and compared with SUV max in known pancreatic NET (pNET) and ileum/jejunum/duodenum (SI-NET). The results of PET/CT were also correlated with CT alone. In 35 of 59 patients (59%), 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT localised the site of the primary: ileum/jejunum (14), pancreas (16), rectum/colon (2), lungs (2) and paraganglioma (1). CT alone (on retrospective analyses) confirmed the findings in 12 of 59 patients (20%). The mean SUV max of identified previously unknown pNET and SI-NET were 18.6 ± 9.8 (range: 7.8-34.8) and 9.1 ± 6.0 (range: 4.2-27.8), respectively. SUV max in patients with previously known pNET and SI-NET were 26.1 ± 14.5 (range: 8.7-42.4) and 11.3 ± 3.7 (range: 5.6-17.9). The SUV max of the unknown pNET and SI-NET were significantly lower (p 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC receptor PET/CT, 6 of 59 patients were operated and the primary was removed (4 pancreatic, 1 ileal and 1 rectal tumour) resulting in a management change in approximately 10% of the patients. In the remaining 29 patients, because of the far advanced stage of the disease (due to distant metastases), the primary tumours were not operated. Additional histopathological sampling was available from one patient with bronchial carcinoid (through bronchoscopy). Our data indicate that 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT is highly superior to 111 In-OctreoScan (39% detection rate for CUP according to the literature) and can play a major role in the management of patients with CUP-NET. (orig.)

  3. Associations of TNFα -308G>A, TNFα -238G>A, IL-1α -889C>T and IL-10 -1082G>A Genetic Polymorphisms with Atopic Diseases: Asthma, Rhinitis and Dermatitis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Babić, Željka; Sabolić Pipinić, Ivana; Varnai, Veda Marija; Kežić, Sanja; Macan, Jelena

    2016-01-01

    Polymorphisms of cytokine genes are an interesting focus for association studies involving atopic diseases due to their role in immune cell communications during inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate associations of TNFα -308G>A, TNFα -238G>A, IL-1α -889C>T and IL-10 -1082G>A

  4. The added value of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE-PET to contrast-enhanced CT for primary site detection in CUP of neuroendocrine origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazmierczak, Philipp M; Rominger, Axel; Wenter, Vera; Spitzweg, Christine; Auernhammer, Christoph; Angele, Martin K; Rist, Carsten; Cyran, Clemens C

    2017-04-01

    To quantify the additional value of 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT in comparison with contrast-enhanced CT alone for primary tumour detection in neuroendocrine cancer of unknown primary (CUP-NET). In total, 38 consecutive patients (27 men, 11 women; mean age 62 years) with histologically proven CUP-NET who underwent a contrast-enhanced 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT scan for primary tumour detection and staging between 2010 and 2014 were included in this IRB-approved retrospective study. Two blinded readers independently analysed the contrast-enhanced CT and 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET datasets separately and noted from which modality they suspected a primary tumour. Consensus was reached if the results were divergent. Postoperative histopathology (24 patients) and follow-up 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT imaging (14 patients) served as the reference standards and statistical measures of diagnostic accuracy were calculated accordingly. The majority of confirmed primary tumours were located in the abdomen (ileum in 19 patients, pancreas in 12, lung in 2, small pelvis in 1). High interobserver agreement was noted regarding the suspected primary tumour site (Cohen's k 0.90, p DOTA-TATE PET demonstrated a significantly higher sensitivity (94 % vs. 63 %, p = 0.005) and a significantly higher accuracy (87 % vs. 68 %, p = 0.003) than contrast-enhanced CT. Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT compared with contrast-enhanced CT alone provides an improvement in sensitivity of 50 % and an improvement in accuracy of 30 % in primary tumour detection in CUP-NET. • 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET augments the sensitivity of contrast-enhanced CT by 50 % • 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET augments the accuracy of contrast-enhanced CT by 30 % • Somatostatin receptor-targeted hybrid imaging optimizes primary tumour detection in CUP-NET.

  5. PSA levels as a predictor of 68Ga PSMA PET/CT positivity in patients with prostate cancer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soydal, Cigdem; Urun, Yuksel; Suer, Evren; Nak, Demet; Ozkan, Elgin; Kucuk, Ozlem N

    2018-05-10

    The aim of this study is to evaluate predictive factors of 68Gallium (68Ga) Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography (CT) positivity. Relationships between serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, Gleason Score (GS) and positivity of 68Ga PSMA PET in patients who underwent 68Ga PSMA PET/CT for restaging for PCa were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred and four (median age: 67; range: 51-88) patients were included in this study. Of these patients, PSMA PET was positive in 75 (72%) patients. Mean serum PSA levels for PET negative and positive groups were 0.76±1.00 and 180.85±324.93 ng/ml (pPSA cut-off and 92% and 90%, respectively, for the 2 ng/ml PSA cut-off values. The positivity rates for patients with PSA levels PSA recurrence. Patients with higher GS and early PSA recurrence could benefit from 68Ga PSMA PET/CT.

  6. High-resolution imaging of pulmonary ventilation and perfusion with 68Ga-VQ respiratory gated (4-D) PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callahan, Jason; Hofman, Michael S.; Siva, Shankar; Kron, Tomas; Schneider, Michal E.; Binns, David; Eu, Peter; Hicks, Rodney J.

    2014-01-01

    Our group has previously reported on the use of 68 Ga-ventilation/perfusion (VQ) PET/CT scanning for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. We describe here the acquisition methodology for 68 Ga-VQ respiratory gated (4-D) PET/CT and the effects of respiratory motion on image coregistration in VQ scanning. A prospective study was performed in 15 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. 4-D PET and 4-D CT images were acquired using an infrared marker on the patient's abdomen as a surrogate for breathing motion following inhalation of Galligas and intravenous administration of 68 Ga-macroaggregated albumin. Images were reconstructed with phase-matched attenuation correction. The lungs were contoured on CT and PET VQ images during free-breathing (FB) and at maximum inspiration (Insp) and expiration (Exp). The similarity between PET and CT volumes was measured using the Dice coefficient (DC) comparing the following groups; (1) FB-PET/CT, (2) InspPET/InspCT, (3) ExpPET/Exp CT, and (4) FB-PET/AveCT. A repeated measures one-way ANOVA with multiple comparison Tukey tests were performed to evaluate any difference between the groups. Diaphragmatic motion in the superior-inferior direction on the 4-D CT scan was also measured. 4-D VQ scanning was successful in all patients without additional acquisition time compared to the nongated technique. The highest volume overlap was between ExpPET and ExpCT and between FB-PET and AveCT with a DC of 0.82 and 0.80 for ventilation and perfusion, respectively. This was significantly better than the DC comparing the other groups (0.78-0.79, p 68 Ga-VQ 4-D PET/CT is feasible and the blurring caused by respiratory motion is well corrected with 4-D acquisition, which principally reduces artefact at the lung bases. The images with the highest spatial overlap were the combined expiration phase or FB PET and average CT. With higher resolution than SPECT/CT, the PET/CT technique has a broad range of potential clinical applications including

  7. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT-derived metabolic parameters for determination of whole-body tumor burden and treatment response in prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidkonz, Christian; Cordes, Michael; Schmidt, Daniela; Bäuerle, Tobias; Goetz, Theresa Ida; Beck, Michael; Prante, Olaf; Cavallaro, Alexander; Uder, Michael; Wullich, Bernd; Goebell, Peter; Kuwert, Torsten; Ritt, Philipp

    2018-05-03

    We aimed at evaluating the role of 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT-derived metabolic parameters for assessment of whole-body tumor burden and its capability to determine therapeutic response in patients with prostate cancer. A total of 142 patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer underwent PET/CT with [ 68 Ga]Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC ( 68 Ga-PSMA-11). Quantitative assessment of all 641 68 Ga-PSMA-11-positive lesions in the field of view was performed to calculate PSMA-derived parameters, including whole-body PSMA tumor volume (PSMA-TV) and whole-body total lesion PSMA (TL-PSMA), as well as the established SUVmax and SUVmean values. All PET-derived parameters were tested for correlation with serum PSA levels and for association with Gleason scores. In 23 patients who underwent 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT before and after therapy with either external beam radiation, androgen deprivation, or docetaxel chemotherapy, SUVmax and TL-PSMA were compared to radiographic response assessment of CT images based on RECIST 1.1 criteria and to biochemical response determined by changes of serum PSA levels. PSMA-TV and TL-PSMA demonstrated a significant correlation with serum PSA levels (P PET and biochemical response was 87% (95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.97; Cohen's κ = 0.78; P PET and CT were most likely due to limitations of CT and RECIST in rating small lymph nodes as metastases, as well as bone involvement, which was sometimes not detectable in CT. 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT-derived metabolic tumor parameters showed promising results for evaluation of treatment response. Especially, TL-PSMA demonstrated higher agreement rates with biochemical response compared to SUVmax. Larger, ideally prospective trials are needed to help to reveal the full potential of metabolic parameters derived from PET imaging with 68 Ga-PSMA-11.

  8. Improving PET Quantification of Small Animal [68Ga]DOTA-Labeled PET/CT Studies by Using a CT-Based Positron Range Correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cal-Gonzalez, Jacobo; Vaquero, Juan José; Herraiz, Joaquín L; Pérez-Liva, Mailyn; Soto-Montenegro, María Luisa; Peña-Zalbidea, Santiago; Desco, Manuel; Udías, José Manuel

    2018-01-19

    Image quality of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers that emits high-energy positrons, such as Ga-68, Rb-82, or I-124, is significantly affected by positron range (PR) effects. PR effects are especially important in small animal PET studies, since they can limit spatial resolution and quantitative accuracy of the images. Since generators accessibility has made Ga-68 tracers wide available, the aim of this study is to show how the quantitative results of [ 68 Ga]DOTA-labeled PET/X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging of neuroendocrine tumors in mice can be improved using positron range correction (PRC). Eighteen scans in 12 mice were evaluated, with three different models of tumors: PC12, AR42J, and meningiomas. In addition, three different [ 68 Ga]DOTA-labeled radiotracers were used to evaluate the PRC with different tracer distributions: [ 68 Ga]DOTANOC, [ 68 Ga]DOTATOC, and [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE. Two PRC methods were evaluated: a tissue-dependent (TD-PRC) and a tissue-dependent spatially-variant correction (TDSV-PRC). Taking a region in the liver as reference, the tissue-to-liver ratio values for tumor tissue (TLR tumor ), lung (TLR lung ), and necrotic areas within the tumors (TLR necrotic ) and their respective relative variations (ΔTLR) were evaluated. All TLR values in the PRC images were significantly different (p DOTA-labeled PET/CT imaging of mice with neuroendocrine tumors, hence demonstrating that these techniques could also ameliorate the deleterious effect of the positron range in clinical PET imaging.

  9. A retrospective comparison between 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and 18F-DOPA PET/CT in patients with extra-adrenal paraganglioma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Decristoforo, Clemens; Uprimny, Christian; Virgolini, Irene Johanna; Frech, Andreas; Fraedrich, Gustav; Gasser, Rudolf Wolfgang; Shulkin, Barry Lynn; Url, Christoph; Widmann, Gerlig; Prommegger, Rupert; Sprinzl, Georg Mathias

    2013-01-01

    18 F-Fluoro-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( 18 F-DOPA) PET offers high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of nonmetastatic extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGL) but lower sensitivity in metastatic or multifocal disease. These tumours are of neuroendocrine origin and can be detected by 68 Ga-DOTA-Tyr 3 -octreotide ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC) PET. Therefore, we compared 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18 F-DOPA as radiolabels for PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis and staging of extra-adrenal PGL. Combined cross-sectional imaging was the reference standard. A total of 5 men and 15 women (age range 22 to 73 years) with anatomical and/or histologically proven extra-adrenal PGL were included in this study. Of these patients, 5 had metastatic or multifocal lesions and 15 had single sites of disease. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT and functional imaging with 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and 18 F-DOPA PET. The imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) of each functional imaging modality in concordant tumour lesions was measured. Compared with anatomical imaging, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and 18 F-DOPA PET each had a per-patient and per-lesion detection rate of 100 % in nonmetastatic extra-adrenal PGL. However, in metastatic or multifocal disease, the per-lesion detection rate of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC was 100 % and that of 18 F-DOPA PET was 56.0 %. Overall, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 45 lesions; anatomical imaging identified 43 lesions, and 18 F-DOPA PET identified 32 lesions. The overall per-lesion detection rate of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET was 100 % (McNemar, P 18 F-DOPA PET was 71.1 % (McNemar, P max (mean ± SD) of all 32 concordant lesions was 67.9 ± 61.5 for 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and 11.8 ± 7.9 for 18 F-DOPA PET (Mann-Whitney U test, P 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET may be superior to 18 F-DOPA PET and diagnostic CT in providing valuable information for pretherapeutic staging of extra-adrenal PGL, particularly in surgically

  10. 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT in comparison with CT for the detection of bone metastasis in patients with neuroendocrine tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambrosini, Valentina; Nanni, Cristina; Castellucci, Paolo; Allegri, Vincenzo; Montini, Giancarlo; Franchi, Roberto; Zompatori, Maurizio; Campana, Davide; Tomassetti, Paola; Rubello, Domenico; Fanti, Stefano

    2010-01-01

    To retrospectively evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT and CT alone for the evaluation of bone metastasis in patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET). From among patients with NET who underwent 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT between April 2006 and November 2008 in our centre, 223 were included in the study. Criteria for inclusion were pathological confirmation of NET and a follow-up period of at least 10 months. PET and CT images were retrospectively reviewed by two nuclear medicine specialists and two radiologists, respectively, without knowledge of the patient history or the findings of other imaging modalities. PET data were compared with the CT findings. Interobserver agreement was evaluated in terms of the kappa score. Clinical and imaging follow-up were used as the standard of reference to evaluate the PET findings. PET was performed for staging (49/223), unknown primary tumour detection (24/223), restaging (32/223), restaging before radioimmunotherapy (1/223), evaluation during therapy (12/223), equivocal findings on conventional imaging (4/223 at the bone level; 61/223 at sites other than bone), and follow-up (40/223). A very high interobserver agreement was observed. CT detected at least one bone lesion in only 35 of 44 patients with a positive PET scan. In particular, PET showed more lesions in 20/35 patients, a lower number of lesions in 8/35, and the same number in 7/35. The characteristics of the lesions (sclerotic, lytic, mixed) on the basis of the CT report did not influence PET reading. PET revealed the presence of at least one bone metastasis in nine patients with a negative CT scan. Considering patients with a negative PET scan (179), CT showed equivocal findings at the bone level in three (single small sclerotic abnormality in two at the spine level, and bilateral small sclerotic abnormalities in the humeri, femurs and scapula). Clinical follow-up confirmed the PET findings in all patients; thus there were no false

  11. A retrospective comparison between 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and 18F-DOPA PET/CT in patients with extra-adrenal paraganglioma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Frech, Andreas; Decristoforo, Clemens; Uprimny, Christian; Gasser, Rudolf Wolfgang; Shulkin, Barry Lynn; Url, Christoph; Widmann, Gerlig; Prommegger, Rupert; Sprinzl, Georg Mathias; Fraedrich, Gustav; Virgolini, Irene Johanna

    2013-12-01

    (18)F-Fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine ((18)F-DOPA) PET offers high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of nonmetastatic extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGL) but lower sensitivity in metastatic or multifocal disease. These tumours are of neuroendocrine origin and can be detected by (68)Ga-DOTA-Tyr(3)-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC) PET. Therefore, we compared (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-DOPA as radiolabels for PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis and staging of extra-adrenal PGL. Combined cross-sectional imaging was the reference standard. A total of 5 men and 15 women (age range 22 to 73 years) with anatomical and/or histologically proven extra-adrenal PGL were included in this study. Of these patients, 5 had metastatic or multifocal lesions and 15 had single sites of disease. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT and functional imaging with (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and (18)F-DOPA PET. The imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of each functional imaging modality in concordant tumour lesions was measured. Compared with anatomical imaging, (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and (18)F-DOPA PET each had a per-patient and per-lesion detection rate of 100% in nonmetastatic extra-adrenal PGL. However, in metastatic or multifocal disease, the per-lesion detection rate of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC was 100% and that of (18)F-DOPA PET was 56.0%. Overall, (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 45 lesions; anatomical imaging identified 43 lesions, and (18)F-DOPA PET identified 32 lesions. The overall per-lesion detection rate of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET was 100% (McNemar, P TOC PET and 11.8 ± 7.9 for (18)F-DOPA PET (Mann-Whitney U test, P TOC PET may be superior to (18)F-DOPA PET and diagnostic CT in providing valuable information for pretherapeutic staging of extra-adrenal PGL, particularly in surgically inoperable tumours and metastatic or multifocal disease.

  12. Preliminary results on response assessment using 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA PET/CT in patients with metastatic prostate cancer undergoing docetaxel chemotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seitz, Anna Katharina; Rauscher, Isabel; Kroenke, Markus; Schwaiger, Markus; Haller, Bernhard; Luther, Sophia; Heck, Matthias M.; Horn, Thomas; Gschwend, Juergen E.; Maurer, Tobias; Eiber, Matthias

    2018-01-01

    To investigate the value of 68 Ga-HBED-CC PSMA ( 68 Ga-PSMA) PET/CT for response assessment in metastatic castration-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCSPC and mCRPC) during docetaxel chemotherapy. 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT was performed in seven mCSPC patients before and after six cycles of upfront docetaxel chemotherapy and in 16 mCRPC patients before and after three cycles of palliative docetaxel chemotherapy. Radiographic treatment response was evaluated separately on the 68 Ga-PSMA PET and CT datasets. Changes in 68 Ga-PSMA uptake (SUVmean) were assessed on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis using the PERCIST scoring system with slight modification. Treatment response was defined as absence of any PSMA uptake in all target lesions on posttreatment PET (complete response, CR) or a decrease in summed SUVmean of ≥30% (partial response, PR). The appearance of a new PET-positive lesion or an increase in summed SUVmean of ≥30% (progressive disease, PD) indicated nonresponse. A moderate change in summed SUVmean (between -30% and +30%) without a change in the number of target lesions was defined as stable disease (SD). For treatment response assessment on CT, RECIST1.1 criteria were used. Radiographic responses on 68 Ga-PSMA PET [RR(PET)] and on CT [RR(CT)] were compared and correlated with biochemical response (BR). A decrease in serum PSA level of ≥50% was defined as biochemical PR. Biochemical PR was found in six of seven patients with mCSPC (86%, 95% confidence interval 42% to 99.6%). The concordance rate was higher between BR and RR(PET) than between BR and RR(CT) (6/7 vs. 3/6 patients). 68 Ga-PSMA PET and CT were concordant in only three patients (50%, 12% to 88%). In mCRPC patients, biochemical PR was found in six of 16 patients (38%, 15% to 65%). Outcome prediction was concordant between BR and RR(PET) in nine of 16 patients (56%), and between BR and RR(CT) in only four of 12 patients (33%) with target lesions on CT. 68 Ga-PSMA PET and CT

  13. Incremental value of 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT over whole-body planar scintigraphy and SPECT in patients with neuroendocrine tumours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trogrlic, Mate; Težak, Stanko

    2017-06-12

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the additional value of 99m Tc-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT over planar whole-body (WB) scintigraphy and SPECT alone in the detection and accurate localisation of neuroendocrine tumour (NET) lesions. This study included 65 patients with a definitive histological diagnosis of NET prior to scintigraphy. Planar WB scintigraphy, SPECT, and SPECT/CT images were acquired at 4 h post-administration of 670 MBq 99m Tc-HYNIC-TOC. Additional SPECT images at 10 min after tracer administration were also acquired. Clinical and imaging follow-up findings were considered as the reference standards (minimum follow-up period, 15 months). Patient and lesion-based analyses of the efficacies of the imaging modalities were performed. While 38 patients exhibited metastasis of NETs, 27 presented no evidence of metastasis. Upon patient-based analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of SPECT/CT were found to be 88.9 and 79.3 %, respectively. The diagnostic accuracies of WB scintigraphy, 4h-SPECT, and SPECT/CT were 72.3, 73.8, and 84.6 %, respectively. The area under curve (AUC) value for SPECT/CT (0.84) was the highest, followed by those for 4h-SPECT (0.75) and WB scintigraphy (0.74). The accuracy and AUC values of SPECT/CT were significantly better compared to those of WB scintigraphy (p < 0.001), 10 min-SPECT (p < 0.001), and 4 h-SPECT (p = 0.001). The findings of SPECT/CT led to the change in treatment plan of 11 patients (16.9 %). The sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of SPECT/CT in the evaluation of NET lesions outperforms planar WB imaging or SPECT alone.

  14. Molecular imaging with 68Ga-SSTR PET/CT and correlation to immunohistochemistry of somatostatin receptors in neuroendocrine tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaemmerer, Daniel; Haugvik, Sven-Petter; Hommann, Merten; Peter, Luisa; Lupp, Amelie; Schulz, Stefan; Saenger, Joerg; Prasad, Vikas; Kulkarni, Harshad; Baum, Richard Paul

    2011-01-01

    Somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are known for an overexpression in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NET). The aim of the present study was to find out if the receptor density predicted by the semi-quantitative parameters generated from the static positron emission tomography (PET/CT) correlated with the in vitro immunohistochemistry using a novel rabbit monoclonal anti-SSTR2A antibody (clone UMB-1) for specific SSTR2A immunohistochemistry and polyclonal antibodies for SSTR1 and 3-5. Overall 14 surgical specimens generated from 34 histologically documented GEP-NET patients were correlated with the preoperative 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT. Quantitative assessment of the receptor density was done using the immunoreactive score (IRS) of Remmele and Stegner; the additional 4-point IRS classification for immunohistochemistry and standardized uptake values (SUV max and SUV mean ) were used for PET/CT. The IRS for SSTR2A and SSTR5 correlated highly significant with the SUV max on the PET/CT (p mean (p max on the 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT scans is concordant with the affinity profile of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC to the SSTR subtypes and demonstrates the excellent qualification of somatostatin analogues in the diagnostics of NET. This study correlating somatostatin receptor imaging using 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT with immunohistochemically analysed SSTR also underlines the approval of therapy using somatostatin analogues, follow-up imaging as well as radionuclide therapy. (orig.)

  15. Comparison of 11C-choline-PET/CT and whole body-MRI for staging of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eschmann, S.M.; Rieger, A.; Mueller, M.; Bares, R.; Pfannenberg, A.C.; Aschoff, P.; Claussen, C.D.; Schlemmer, H.P.; Paulsen, F.; Anastasiadis, A.

    2007-01-01

    Aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of positron emission tomography and computed tomography with 11 C-Choline (Cho-PET/CT) and whole body magneticresonance imaging (WB-MRI) for diagnostic work-up of prostate cancer. Patients, methods: We evaluated retrospectively 42 patients with untreated prostate cancer (n =17), or increasing levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after curative therapy (n = 25) who had been investigated by both Cho-PET/CT and WB-MRI. MRI, CT, and PET images were separately analyzed by experienced radiologists or nuclear medicine experts, followed by consensus reading. Validation was established by histology, follow-up, or consensus reading. Results: 88/103 detected lesions were considered as malignant: 44 bone metastases, 22 local tumor, 15 lymph node metastases, 3 lung, and 3 brain metastases. One further lesion was located in the adrenal gland, which was a second tumor. Overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for Cho-PET/CT were 96.6%, 76.5%, and 93.3%, resp., and for WB-MRI 78.4%, 94.1%, and 81.0%, resp. 3 vertebral metastases had initially been missed by Cho-PET/CT and were found retrospectively. MRI identified 2 bone metastases and 1 lymph node metastasis after being informed about the results of Cho-PET/CT. Conclusions: Cho-PET/CT and WB-MRI both presented high accuracy in the detection of bone and lymph node metastases. The strength of MRI is excellent image quality providing detailed anatomical information whereas the advantage of Cho-PET/CT is high image contrast of pathological foci. (orig.)

  16. Impact of 68Ga-DOTA-Peptide PET/CT on the Management of Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumour (GI-NET): Malaysian National Referral Centre Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Teik Hin; Boey, Ching Yeen; Lee, Boon Nang

    2018-04-01

    The National Cancer Institute is the only referral centre in Malaysia that provides 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide imaging. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT on the management of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours (GI-NET). A cross-sectional study was performed to review the impact of 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide ( 68 Ga-DOTATATE or 68 Ga-DOTATOC) PET/CT on patients with biopsy-proven GI-NET between January 2011 and December 2015. Suspected NET was excluded. Demographic data, tumoral characteristics, change of disease stage, pre-PET intended management and post-PET management were evaluated. Over a 5-year period, 82 studies of 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were performed on 44 GI-NET patients. The most common primary site was the rectum (50.0%) followed by the small bowel, stomach and colon. Using WHO 2010 grading, 40.9% of patients had low-grade (G1) tumour, 22.7% intermediate (G2) and 4.5% high (G3). Of ten patients scheduled for pre-operative staging, 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT only led to therapeutic change in three patients. Furthermore, false-negative results of 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were reported in one patient after surgical confirmation. However, therapeutic changes were seen in 20/36 patients (55.6%) scheduled for post-surgical restaging or assessment of somatostatin analogue (SSA) eligibility. When 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT was used for monitoring disease progress during systemic treatment (sandostatin, chemotherapy, everolimus and PRRT) in metastatic disease, impact on management modification was seen in 19/36 patients (52.8%), of which 84.2% had inter-modality change (switch to everolimus, chemotherapy or PRRT) and 15.8% had intra-modality change (increased SSA dosage). 68 Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT has a significant impact on management decisions in GI-NET patients as it can provide additional information on occult metastasis/equivocal lesions and supply the clinician an opportunity to select patients for targeted therapy.

  17. Clinical role of early dynamic FDG-PET/CT for the evaluation of renal cell carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakajima, Reiko; Abe, Koichiro; Sakai, Shuji [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Kondo, Tsunenori; Tanabe, Kazunari [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, Department of Urology, Tokyo (Japan)

    2016-06-15

    We studied the usefulness of early dynamic (ED) and whole-body (WB) FDG-PET/CT for the evaluation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). One hundred patients with 107 tumours underwent kidney ED and WB FDG-PET/CT. We visually and semiquantitatively evaluated the FDG accumulation in RCCs in the ED and WB phases, and compared the accumulation values with regard to histological type (clear cell carcinoma [CCC] vs. non-clear cell carcinoma [N-CCC]), the TNM stage (high stage [3-4] vs. low stage [1-2]), the Fuhrman grade (high grade [3-4] vs. low grade [1-2]) and presence versus absence of venous (V) and lymphatic (Ly) invasion. In the ED phase, visual evaluation revealed no significant differences in FDG accumulation in terms of each item. However, the maximum standardized uptake value and tumour-to-normal tissue ratios were significantly higher in the CCCs compared to the N-CCCs (p < 0.001). In the WB phase, in contrast, significantly higher FDG accumulation (p < 0.001) was found in RCCs with a higher TNM stage, higher Furman grade, and the presence of V and Ly invasion in both the visual and the semiquantitative evaluations. ED and WB FDG-PET/CT is a useful tool for the evaluation of RCCs. (orig.)

  18. Prospective comparison of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE and {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT in patients with various pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas with emphasis on sporadic cases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Archier, Aurelien; Taieb, David [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, La Timone and North University Hospital, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille University, European Center for Research in Medical Imaging, Marseille (France); Inserm UMR1068 Marseille Cancerology Research Center, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille (France); Varoquaux, Arthur; Beschmout, Eva [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Medical Imaging, Conception Hospital, Marseille (France); Garrigue, Philippe; Guillet, Benjamin [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, La Timone and North University Hospital, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille University, Department of Radiopharmacy, La Timone and North University Hospital, Marseille (France); Montava, Marion; Fakhry, Nicolas [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Conception Hospital, Marseille (France); Guerin, Carole; Sebag, Frederic [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Endocrine Surgery, Conception Hospital, Marseille (France); Gabriel, Sophie [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, La Timone and North University Hospital, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille University, European Center for Research in Medical Imaging, Marseille (France); Morange, Isabelle; Castinetti, Frederic [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Endocrinology, Conception Hospital, Marseille (France); Barlier, Anne [Aix-Marseille, University, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Conception Hospital, Marseille (France); Loundou, Anderson [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Public Health, Marseille (France); Pacak, Karel [National Institutes of Health, Program in Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, MD (United States)

    2016-07-15

    Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PHEOs/PGLs) overexpress somatostatin receptors and recent studies have already shown excellent results in the localization of these tumors using {sup 68}Ga-labeled somatostatin analogs ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-SSA), especially in patients with germline succinate dehydrogenase subunit B gene (SDHB) mutations and head and neck PGLs (HNPGLs). The value of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-SSA has to be established in sporadic cases, including PHEOs. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT, and conventional imaging in patients with various PHEOs/PGLs with a special emphasis on sporadic cases, including those located in the adrenal gland. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE, {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT, and conventional imaging (contrast-enhanced CT and MRI with MR angiography sequences) were prospectively performed in 30 patients (8 with SDHD mutations, 1 with a MAX mutation and 21 sporadic cases) with PHEO/PGL at initial diagnosis or relapse. The patient-based sensitivities were 93 % (28/30), 97 % (29/30), and 93 % (28/30) for {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT, and conventional imaging, respectively. The lesion-based sensitivities were 93 % (43/46), 89 % (41/46), and 76 % (35/46) for {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT, and conventional imaging respectively (p = 0.042). {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT detected a higher number of HNPGLs (30/30) than {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT (26/30; p = 0.112) and conventional imaging (24/30; p = 0.024). {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT missed two PHEOs of a few millimeters in size and a large recurrent PHEO. One lesion was considered false-positive on {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and corresponded to a typical focal lesion of fibrous dysplasia on MRI. Among the 11 lesions missed by conventional imaging, 7 were detected by conventional imaging with knowledge of the PET results (4 HNPGLs, 2 LNs, and 1 recurrent PHEO). {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is the most sensitive tool in the

  19. Biphasic {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC-PET/CT in patients with recurrent and high-risk prostate carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahlmann, Carsten-Oliver; Meller, Birgit; Bouter, Caroline; Meller, Johannes [University Medical Center Goettingen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Goettingen (Germany); Ritter, Christian Oliver; Lotz, Joachim [University Medical Center Goettingen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Goettingen (Germany); Stroebel, Philipp [University Medical Center Goettingen, Department of Pathology, Goettingen (Germany); Trojan, Lutz; Hijazi, Sameh [University Medical Center Goettingen, Department of Urology, Goettingen (Germany)

    2016-05-15

    Binding of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC ({sup 68}Ga-PSMA) at prostate cancer (PC) cells increases over time. A biphasic protocol may help separating benign from tumor lesions. The aim of this study was the retrospective evaluation of a diagnostic incremental value of a dual-time point (biphasic) {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer. Retrospective analysis of 35 consecutive patients (49-78 years, median 71) with newly diagnosed PC (12/35) or recurrence of PC (23/35). PET/CT (Gemini TF16, Philips) was acquired 1 h and 3 h p. i. of 140-392 MBq (300 MBq median) {sup 68}Ga-PSMA, followed by a diagnostic contrast CT. PET findings were correlated with histology or unequivocal CT findings. Semiquantitative PET data (SUVmax, SUV mean) were acquired and target-to-background-ratios (T/B-ratio) were calculated for benign and malign lesions for both time points. Size of lymph nodes (LN) on diagnostic CT was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed for assessment of significant changes of semiquantitative PET-parameters over time and for correlation of size and uptake of lymph nodes. One hundred and four lesions were evaluated. Sixty lesions were referenced by histology or unequivocal CT findings, including eight (13.3 %) histopathologically benign lymph nodes, 12 (20 %) histopathologically lymph node metastases, 12 (20 %) primary tumors, three (5 %) local recurrences, and 25 (41.7 %) bone metastases. Forty-four lesions were axillary LN with normal CT-appearance. Benign lesions had significantly lower SUVmax and T/B-ratios compared with malignant findings. Malign lesions showed a significant increase of both parameters over time compared to benign findings. There was no correlation between LN size and SUVmax. The sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PET/CT regarding pelvic LN was 94 %, 99 %, 89 %, and 99.5 %, respectively. In contrast to benign tissues, the uptake of proven tumor lesions increases on {sup 68

  20. Ga-67 tumor scan in malignant diffuse mesothelioma. Comparison with CT and pathological findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Shoji; Fukumoto, Mitsutaka; Motohara, Tomofumi; Oobayashi, Kayoko; Takada, Yoshiki; Tsubota, Noriaki; Sashikata, Terumasa

    1999-01-01

    Malignant diffuse mesothelioma is characterized by more difficult diagnosis and worse prognosis than other pleural tumors. In the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hyogo Medical Center for Adults, 11 patients underwent panpleuropneumonectomy for this disease between January, 1988 and March, 1993. In 7 of these cases, Ga-67 scans were obtained before the operation. To clarify the factors affecting Ga-67 uptake in the pleural tumor, we compared Ga-67 uptake on the involved side of the thorax with CT and the pathological findings of the tumor. Regarding the use of Ga-67 scan imaging for the diagnosis of this disease, a number of related findings must be considered, such as an encircled wide Ga-67 uptake in the thickened pleural involvement and a diffuse slight Ga-67 uptake on the affected side with very slight involvement of the pleura. When the involved pleural thickness was over 6 mm, a definite correlation was found between the degree of Ga-67 uptake and the macroscopic thickness of mesothelioma in resected specimens. Thickness of the pleura on CT images demonstrates the real tumor thickness in the case of thickened involvement but in the case of thin involvement the real thickness of active mesothelioma could not be identified. No definite correlation was found between the degree of Ga-67 uptake and the histological type, or among microscopic findings, such as the extent of tumor parenchyma, interstitial volume and tumor vascularity. Our results suggest that the Ga-67 scan is very useful for revealing the extent of pleural involvement, especially when this involvement is more than 6 mm thick. (author)

  1. Ga-67 tumor scan in malignant diffuse mesothelioma. Comparison with CT and pathological findings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoshida, Shoji; Fukumoto, Mitsutaka [Kochi Medical School, Nankoku (Japan); Motohara, Tomofumi; Oobayashi, Kayoko; Takada, Yoshiki; Tsubota, Noriaki; Sashikata, Terumasa

    1999-02-01

    Malignant diffuse mesothelioma is characterized by more difficult diagnosis and worse prognosis than other pleural tumors. In the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hyogo Medical Center for Adults, 11 patients underwent panpleuropneumonectomy for this disease between January, 1988 and March, 1993. In 7 of these cases, Ga-67 scans were obtained before the operation. To clarify the factors affecting Ga-67 uptake in the pleural tumor, we compared Ga-67 uptake on the involved side of the thorax with CT and the pathological findings of the tumor. Regarding the use of Ga-67 scan imaging for the diagnosis of this disease, a number of related findings must be considered, such as an encircled wide Ga-67 uptake in the thickened pleural involvement and a diffuse slight Ga-67 uptake on the affected side with very slight involvement of the pleura. When the involved pleural thickness was over 6 mm, a definite correlation was found between the degree of Ga-67 uptake and the macroscopic thickness of mesothelioma in resected specimens. Thickness of the pleura on CT images demonstrates the real tumor thickness in the case of thickened involvement but in the case of thin involvement the real thickness of active mesothelioma could not be identified. No definite correlation was found between the degree of Ga-67 uptake and the histological type, or among microscopic findings, such as the extent of tumor parenchyma, interstitial volume and tumor vascularity. Our results suggest that the Ga-67 scan is very useful for revealing the extent of pleural involvement, especially when this involvement is more than 6 mm thick. (author)

  2. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in Patients with Rising Prostatic-Specific Antigen After Definitive Treatment of Prostate Cancer: Detection Efficacy and Diagnostic accuracy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamed, Maged Abdel Galil; Basha, Mohammad Abd Alkhalik; Ahmed, Hussien; Obaya, Ahmed Ali; Afifi, Amira Hamed Mohamed; Abdelbary, Eman H

    2018-06-20

    68 Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 ( 68 Ga-PSMA-11) is a recently developed positron emission tomography (PET) tracer that can detect prostate cancer (PC) relapses and metastases with high contrast resolution. The aim of this study was to assess the detection efficacy and diagnostic accuracy of 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT image in patients with rising prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) after treatment of PC. The present prospective study included 188 patients who exhibited rising of PSA level on a routine follow-up examination after definitive treatment of PC. All patients underwent a 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT examination. For each patient, we determined the disease stage, the Gleason score, and the maximum standardized uptake value of the local recurrence and extraprostatic metastases. The detection efficacy and diagnostic accuracy of 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT were established by histopathology and clinical and imaging follow-up as the reference standards. 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT detected tumour relapse in 165 patients (35 patients had local recurrence, 106 patients had extraprostatic metastases, and 24 patients had combined lesions). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values of 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT examination in the detection of PC recurrence were 98.8%, 100%, and 98.8%, respectively. 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT revealed an overall detection rate of 87.8% (165/188) in patients with rising PSA (median of 2.2 ng/mL, and range of 0.01-70 ng/mL). 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT is a valuable tool for the detection of PC local recurrence or extraprostatic metastases following rising PSA levels after primary definitive therapy and should be incorporated during routine work-up. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer with PET/CT imaging using the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor antagonist {sup 68}Ga-RM2: Preliminary results in patients with negative or inconclusive [{sup 18}F]Fluoroethylcholine-PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wieser, Gesche; Bartholomae, Mark [University of Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center -Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Popp, Ilinca; Grosu, Anca-Ligia [University of Freiburg, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Christian Rischke, H. [University of Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center -Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); University of Freiburg, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Drendel, Vanessa [University of Freiburg, Institute for Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Weber, Wolfgang A. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service, New York, NY (United States); Mansi, Rosalba [University Hospital Basel, Division of Radiological Chemistry, Basel (Switzerland); Wetterauer, Ulrich; Schultze-Seemann, Wolfgang; Jilg, Cordula Annette [University of Freiburg, Department of Urology, Medical Center -Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Meyer, Philipp T. [University of Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center -Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Freiburg (Germany)

    2017-08-15

    [{sup 18}F]fluoroethylcholine ({sup 18}FECH) has been shown to be a valuable PET-tracer in recurrent prostate cancer (PCa), but still has limited accuracy. RM2 is a gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPr) antagonist that binds to GRPr on PCa cells. Recent studies suggest that GRPr imaging with PET/CT is a promising technique for staging and restaging of PCa. We explore the value of GRPr-PET using the {sup 68}Ga-labeled GRPr antagonist RM2 in a selected population of patients with biochemically recurrent PCa and a negative/inconclusive {sup 18}FECH-PET/CT. In this retrospective study 16 men with biochemical PCa relapse and negative (n = 14) or inconclusive (n = 2) {sup 18}FECH-PET/CT underwent whole-body {sup 68}Ga-RM2-PET/CT. Mean time from {sup 18}FECH-PET/CT to {sup 68}Ga-RM2-PET/CT was 6.1 ± 6.8 months. Primary therapies in these patients were radical prostatectomy (n = 13; 81.3%) or radiotherapy (n = 3; 18.7%). 14/16 patients (87.5%) had already undergone salvage therapies because of biochemical relapse prior to {sup 68}Ga-RM2-PET/CT imaging. Mean ± SD PSA at {sup 68}Ga-RM2-PET/CT was 19.4 ± 53.5 ng/ml (range 1.06-226.4 ng/ml). {sup 68}Ga-RM2-PET/CT showed at least one region with focal pathological uptake in 10/16 patients (62.5%), being suggestive of local relapse (n = 4), lymph node metastases (LNM; n = 4), bone metastases (n = 1) and lung metastasis with hilar LNM (n = 1). Seven of ten positive {sup 68}Ga-RM2 scans were positively confirmed by surgical resection and histology of the lesions (n = 2), by response to site-directed therapies (n = 2) or by further imaging (n = 3). Patients with a positive {sup 68}Ga-RM2-scan showed a significantly higher median PSA (6.8 ng/ml, IQR 10.2 ng/ml) value than those with a negative scan (1.5 ng/ml, IQR 3.1 ng/ml; p = 0.016). Gleason scores or concomitant antihormonal therapy had no apparent impact on the detection of recurrent disease. Even in this highly selected population of patients with known biochemical

  4. Pretreatment evaluation of distant-site status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: accuracy of whole-body MRI at 3-Tesla and FDG-PET-CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Shu-Hang; Chan, Sheng-Chieh; Yen, Tzu-Chen; Chang, Joseph Tung-Chieh; Liao, Chun-Ta; Ko, Sheung-Fat; Wai, Yau-Yau; Wang, Hung-Ming; Wang, Jiun-Jie; Chen, Min-Chi

    2009-01-01

    We sought to prospectively evaluate the accuracy of 3.0-Tesla whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and integrated fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) (FDG-PET-CT), and their combined interpretation for the assessment of distant-site status in 150 patients with untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Eighteen (12%) patients were diagnosed as having distant malignancies (15 patients had distant metastases, and three distant synchronous tumours). On a patient-based analysis, WB-MRI and FDG-PET-CT showed similar sensitivity (77.8% vs 72.2%, P > 0.999), specificity (98.5% vs 97.7%, P > 0.999) and diagnostic capability (0.905 vs 0.878, P = 0.669). Combined interpretation of WB-MRI and FDG-PET-CT showed no significant benefit over either technique alone. In conclusion, 3.0-Tesla WB-MRI is a feasible, non-ionising technique that showed similar diagnostic capacity to FDG-PET-CT in assessing distant-site status in patients with untreated NPC and can be recommended as the first-line imaging technique for comprehensive evaluation of such patients. (orig.)

  5. "6"8Ga-PSMA PET/CT: Joint EANM and SNMMI procedure guideline for prostate cancer imaging: version 1.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fendler, Wolfgang P.; Eiber, Matthias; Beheshti, Mohsen; Bomanji, Jamshed; Wan, Simon; Ceci, Francesco; Fanti, Stefano; Cho, Steven; Giesel, Frederik; Haberkorn, Uwe; Hope, Thomas A.; Kopka, Klaus; Krause, Bernd J.; Mottaghy, Felix M.; Schoeder, Heiko; Sunderland, John; Wester, Hans-Juergen; Herrmann, Ken

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this guideline is to provide standards for the recommendation, performance, interpretation and reporting of "6"8Ga-PSMA PET/CT for prostate cancer imaging. These recommendations will help to improve accuracy, precision, and repeatability of "6"8Ga-PSMA PET/CT for prostate cancer essentially needed for implementation of this modality in science and routine clinical practice. (orig.)

  6. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT: Joint EANM and SNMMI procedure guideline for prostate cancer imaging: version 1.0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fendler, Wolfgang P. [UCLA, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Munich (Germany); Eiber, Matthias [UCLA, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Technical University of Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Beheshti, Mohsen [St. Vincent' s Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrinology, PET-CT Center, Linz (Austria); Bomanji, Jamshed; Wan, Simon [UCL/UCLH, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, London (United Kingdom); Ceci, Francesco; Fanti, Stefano [University of Bologna, S. Orsola Hospital Bologna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Bologna (Italy); Cho, Steven [University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Radiology, Madison, WI (United States); Giesel, Frederik; Haberkorn, Uwe [University Hospital Heidelberg and DKFZ Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Hope, Thomas A. [University of California, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, San Francisco, CA (United States); Kopka, Klaus [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg, Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Krause, Bernd J. [University Medical Center, University of Rostock, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rostock (Germany); Mottaghy, Felix M. [University Hospital RWTH Aachen University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht (Netherlands); Schoeder, Heiko [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States); Sunderland, John [University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Radiology, Iowa City, IA (United States); Wester, Hans-Juergen [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry, Garching (Germany); Herrmann, Ken [UCLA, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Universitaetsklinikum Essen, Klinik fuer Nuklearmedizin, Essen (Germany)

    2017-06-15

    The aim of this guideline is to provide standards for the recommendation, performance, interpretation and reporting of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT for prostate cancer imaging. These recommendations will help to improve accuracy, precision, and repeatability of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT for prostate cancer essentially needed for implementation of this modality in science and routine clinical practice. (orig.)

  7. The added value of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE-PET to contrast-enhanced CT for primary site detection in CUP of neuroendocrine origin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kazmierczak, Philipp M. [Klinikum der Universitaet Muenchen, Institut fuer Klinische Radiologie, Muenchen (Germany); Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Muenchen (Germany); Rominger, Axel; Wenter, Vera [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Muenchen (Germany); Spitzweg, Christine; Auernhammer, Christoph [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Department of Internal Medicine II, Muenchen (Germany); Angele, Martin K. [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Department of General, Visceral, Transplantation, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Muenchen (Germany); Rist, Carsten; Cyran, Clemens C. [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Muenchen (Germany)

    2017-04-15

    To quantify the additional value of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT in comparison with contrast-enhanced CT alone for primary tumour detection in neuroendocrine cancer of unknown primary (CUP-NET). In total, 38 consecutive patients (27 men, 11 women; mean age 62 years) with histologically proven CUP-NET who underwent a contrast-enhanced {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT scan for primary tumour detection and staging between 2010 and 2014 were included in this IRB-approved retrospective study. Two blinded readers independently analysed the contrast-enhanced CT and {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET datasets separately and noted from which modality they suspected a primary tumour. Consensus was reached if the results were divergent. Postoperative histopathology (24 patients) and follow-up {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT imaging (14 patients) served as the reference standards and statistical measures of diagnostic accuracy were calculated accordingly. The majority of confirmed primary tumours were located in the abdomen (ileum in 19 patients, pancreas in 12, lung in 2, small pelvis in 1). High interobserver agreement was noted regarding the suspected primary tumour site (Cohen's k 0.90, p < 0.001). {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET demonstrated a significantly higher sensitivity (94 % vs. 63 %, p = 0.005) and a significantly higher accuracy (87 % vs. 68 %, p = 0.003) than contrast-enhanced CT. Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT compared with contrast-enhanced CT alone provides an improvement in sensitivity of 50 % and an improvement in accuracy of 30 % in primary tumour detection in CUP-NET. (orig.)

  8. Potential impact of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT on prostate cancer definitive radiation therapy planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calais, Jérémie; Kishan, Amar U; Cao, Minsong; Fendler, Wolfgang P; Eiber, Matthias; Herrmann, Ken; Ceci, Francesco; Reiter, Robert E; Matthew, Rettig B; Hegde, John V; Shaverdian, Narek; King, Christopher R; Steinberg, Michael L; Czernin, Johannes; Nickols, Nicholas G

    2018-04-13

    Background: Standard-of-care imaging for initial staging of prostate cancer (PCa) underestimates disease burden. Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) detects PCa metastasis with superior accuracy with potential impact definitive radiation therapy (RT) planning for non-metastatic PCa. Objectives: i) To determine how often definitive PCa RT planning based on standard target volumes cover 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT defined disease, and ii) To assess the potential impact of 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT on definitive PCa RT planning. Patients and Methods: This is a post-hoc analysis of an intention to treat population of 73 patients with localized PCa without prior local therapy who underwent 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT for initial staging as part of an Investigational New Drug trial. 11/73 were intermediate-risk (15%), 33/73 were high-risk (45%), 22/73 were very high risk (30%), and 7/73 were N1 (9.5%). Clinical target volumes (CTVs) that included the prostate, seminal vesicles, and pelvic lymph nodes (LNs) using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) consensus guidelines were contoured on the CT portion of the PET/CT by a radiation oncologist blinded to the PET findings. 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT images were analyzed by a nuclear medicine physician. PSMA-positive lesions not covered by planning volumes based on the CTVs were considered to have a major potential impact on treatment planning. Results: All patients had PSMA-positive primary prostate lesion(s). 25/73 (34%) and 7/73 (9.5%) had PSMA-positive pelvic nodal and distant metastases, respectively. The sites of nodal metastases in decreasing order of frequency were external iliac (20.5%), common iliac (13.5%), internal iliac (12.5%) obturator (12.5%), perirectal (4%), abdominal (4%), upper-diaphragm (4%), and presacral (1.5%). The median size of the nodal lesions was 6 mm (range 4-24 mm). RT planning based on the CTVs covered 69/73 (94.5%) of primary disease and 20/25 (80%) of

  9. Early Dynamic 68Ga-DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-Octreotide PET/CT in Patients With Hepatic Metastases of Neuroendocrine Tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sänger, Philipp Wilhelm; Freesmeyer, Martin

    2016-06-01

    Whole-body PET with Ga-DOTA-D-Phe-Tyr-octreotide (Ga-DOTATOC) and contrast-enhanced CT (ceCT) are considered a standard for the staging of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). This study sought to verify whether early dynamic (ed) Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT can reliably detect liver metastases of NETs (hypervascular, nonhypervascular; positive or negative for somatostatin receptors) and to verify if the receptor positivity has a significant impact on the detection of tumor hypervascularization. Twenty-seven patients with NET were studied by ceCT and standard whole-body PET according to established Ga-DOTATOC protocols. In addition, edPET data were obtained by continuous scanning during the first 300 seconds after bolus injections of the radiotracer. Early dynamic PET required an additional low-dose, native CT image of the liver for the purpose of attenuation correction. Time-activity and time-contrast curves were obtained, the latter being calculated by the difference between tumor and reference regions. Early dynamic PET/CT proved comparable with ceCT in readily identifying hypervascular lesions, irrespective of the receptor status, with activities rising within 16 to 40 seconds. Early dynamic PET/CT also readily identified nonhypervascular, receptor-positive lesions. Positive image contrasts were obtained for hypervascular, receptor-positive lesions, whereas early negative contrasts were obtained for nonhypervascular, receptor-negative lesions. The high image contrast of hypervascular NET metastases in early arterial phases suggests that edPET/CT can become a useful alternative in patients with contraindications to ceCT. The high density of somatostatin receptors did not seem to interfere with the detection of the lesion's hypervascularization.

  10. Comparison between whole-body MRI and Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET or PET/CT in oncology: a systematic review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciliberto, Mario; Maggi, Fabio; Treglia, Giorgio; Padovano, Federico; Calandriello, Lucio; Giordano, Alessandro; Bonomo, Lorenzo

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the article is to systematically review published data about the comparison between positron emission tomography (PET) or PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) using Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) in patients with different tumours. A comprehensive literature search of studies published in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Embase databases through April 2012 and regarding the comparison between FDG-PET or PET/CT and WB-MRI in patients with various tumours was carried out. Forty-four articles comprising 2287 patients were retrieved in full-text version, included and discussed in this systematic review. Several articles evaluated mixed tumours with both diagnostic methods. Concerning the specific tumour types, more evidence exists for lymphomas, bone tumours, head and neck tumours and lung tumours, whereas there is less evidence for other tumour types. Overall, based on the literature findings, WB-MRI seems to be a valid alternative method compared to PET/CT in oncology. Further larger prospective studies and in particular cost-effectiveness analysis comparing these two whole-body imaging techniques are needed to better assess the role of WB-MRI compared to FDG-PET or PET/CT in specific tumour types

  11. Detection of unknown primary neuroendocrine tumours (CUP-NET) using {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC receptor PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prasad, Vikas; Baum, Richard P. [Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET/CT, Bad Berka (Germany); Ambrosini, Valentina; Fanti, Stefano [University of Bologna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna (Italy); Hommann, Merten [Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Bad Berka (Germany); Hoersch, Dieter [Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Department of Internal Medicine/Gastroenterology, Oncology and Endocrinology, Bad Berka (Germany)

    2010-01-15

    This bi-centric study aimed to determine the role of receptor PET/CT using {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC in the detection of undiagnosed primary sites of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and to understand the molecular behaviour of the primarily undiagnosed tumours. Overall 59 patients (33 men and 26 women, age: 65 {+-} 9 years) with documented NET and unknown primary were enrolled. PET/CT was performed after injection of approximately 100 MBq (46-260 MBq) of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC. The maximum standardised uptake values (SUV{sub max}) were calculated and compared with SUV{sub max} in known pancreatic NET (pNET) and ileum/jejunum/duodenum (SI-NET). The results of PET/CT were also correlated with CT alone. In 35 of 59 patients (59%), {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT localised the site of the primary: ileum/jejunum (14), pancreas (16), rectum/colon (2), lungs (2) and paraganglioma (1). CT alone (on retrospective analyses) confirmed the findings in 12 of 59 patients (20%). The mean SUV{sub max} of identified previously unknown pNET and SI-NET were 18.6 {+-} 9.8 (range: 7.8-34.8) and 9.1 {+-} 6.0 (range: 4.2-27.8), respectively. SUV{sub max} in patients with previously known pNET and SI-NET were 26.1 {+-} 14.5 (range: 8.7-42.4) and 11.3 {+-} 3.7 (range: 5.6-17.9). The SUV{sub max} of the unknown pNET and SI-NET were significantly lower (p < 0.05) as compared to the ones with known primary tumour sites; 19% of the patients had high-grade and 81% low-grade NET. Based on {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC receptor PET/CT, 6 of 59 patients were operated and the primary was removed (4 pancreatic, 1 ileal and 1 rectal tumour) resulting in a management change in approximately 10% of the patients. In the remaining 29 patients, because of the far advanced stage of the disease (due to distant metastases), the primary tumours were not operated. Additional histopathological sampling was available from one patient with bronchial carcinoid (through bronchoscopy). Our data indicate that {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT is

  12. Whole-body MRI versus 18F-FDG PET/CT for pretherapeutic assessment and staging of lymphoma: a meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang D

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Danyang Wang,1 Yanlei Huo,1 Suyun Chen,1 Hui Wang,1 Yingli Ding,2 Xiaochun Zhu,3 Chao Ma1,4 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated XinHua Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Third People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Ninth People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 4Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China Purpose: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT is the reference standard in staging of 18F-FDG-avid lymphomas; however, there is no recommended functional imaging modality for indolent lymphomas. Therefore, we aimed to compare the performance of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI with that of 18F-FDG PET/CT for lesion detection and initial staging in patients with aggressive or indolent lymphoma. Materials and methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases for studies that compared WB-MRI with 18F-FDG PET/CT for lymphoma staging or lesion detection. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using version 2 of the “Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies” tool. The pooled staging accuracy (µ of WB-MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT for initial staging and for assessing possible heterogeneity (χ2 across studies were calculated using commercially available software. Results: Eight studies comprising 338 patients were included. In terms of staging, the meta-analytic staging accuracies of WB-MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT for Hodgkin lymphoma and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL were 98% (95% CI, 94%–100% and 98% (95% CI, 94%–100%, respectively. The pooled staging accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT dropped to 87% (95% CI, 72%–97% for staging in patients with indolent lymphoma

  13. Preliminary results on response assessment using {sup 68}Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA PET/CT in patients with metastatic prostate cancer undergoing docetaxel chemotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seitz, Anna Katharina [Technical University of Munich, Department of Urology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Julius Maximilians University Medical Centre of Wuerzburg, Department of Urology and Paediatric Urology, Wuerzburg (Germany); Rauscher, Isabel; Kroenke, Markus; Schwaiger, Markus [Technical University of Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Haller, Bernhard [Technical University of Munich, Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Luther, Sophia; Heck, Matthias M.; Horn, Thomas; Gschwend, Juergen E.; Maurer, Tobias [Technical University of Munich, Department of Urology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Eiber, Matthias [Technical University of Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Los Angeles (United States)

    2018-04-15

    To investigate the value of {sup 68}Ga-HBED-CC PSMA ({sup 68}Ga-PSMA) PET/CT for response assessment in metastatic castration-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCSPC and mCRPC) during docetaxel chemotherapy. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT was performed in seven mCSPC patients before and after six cycles of upfront docetaxel chemotherapy and in 16 mCRPC patients before and after three cycles of palliative docetaxel chemotherapy. Radiographic treatment response was evaluated separately on the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET and CT datasets. Changes in {sup 68}Ga-PSMA uptake (SUVmean) were assessed on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis using the PERCIST scoring system with slight modification. Treatment response was defined as absence of any PSMA uptake in all target lesions on posttreatment PET (complete response, CR) or a decrease in summed SUVmean of ≥30% (partial response, PR). The appearance of a new PET-positive lesion or an increase in summed SUVmean of ≥30% (progressive disease, PD) indicated nonresponse. A moderate change in summed SUVmean (between -30% and +30%) without a change in the number of target lesions was defined as stable disease (SD). For treatment response assessment on CT, RECIST1.1 criteria were used. Radiographic responses on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET [RR(PET)] and on CT [RR(CT)] were compared and correlated with biochemical response (BR). A decrease in serum PSA level of ≥50% was defined as biochemical PR. Biochemical PR was found in six of seven patients with mCSPC (86%, 95% confidence interval 42% to 99.6%). The concordance rate was higher between BR and RR(PET) than between BR and RR(CT) (6/7 vs. 3/6 patients). {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET and CT were concordant in only three patients (50%, 12% to 88%). In mCRPC patients, biochemical PR was found in six of 16 patients (38%, 15% to 65%). Outcome prediction was concordant between BR and RR(PET) in nine of 16 patients (56%), and between BR and RR(CT) in only four of 12 patients (33%) with target

  14. Optimal time-point for 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging in assessment of prostate cancer: feasibility of sterile cold-kit tracer preparation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beheshti, Mohsen; Paymani, Zeinab; Brilhante, Joana; Geinitz, Hans; Gehring, Daniela; Leopoldseder, Thomas; Wouters, Ludovic; Pirich, Christian; Loidl, Wolfgang; Langsteger, Werner

    2018-07-01

    In this prospective study, we evaluated the optimal time-point for 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT acquisition in the assessment of prostate cancer. We also examined, for the first time the feasibility of tracer production using a PSMA-11 sterile cold-kit in the clinical workflow of PET/CT centres. Fifty prostate cancer patients (25 staging, 25 biochemical recurrence) were enrolled in this study. All patients received an intravenous dose of 2.0 MBq/kg body weight 68 Ga-PSMA-11 prepared using a sterile cold kit (ANMI SA, Liege, Belgium), followed by an early (20 min after injection) semi-whole-body PET/CT scan and a standard-delay (100 min after injection) abdominopelvic PET/CT scan. The detection rates with 68 Ga-PSMA-11 were compared between the two acquisitions. The pattern of physiological background activity and tumour to background ratio were also analysed. The total preparation time was reduced to 5 min using the PSMA-11 sterile cold kit, which improved the final radionuclide activity by about 30% per single 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator elution. Overall, 158 pathological lesions were analysed in 45 patients (90%) suggestive of malignancy on both (early and standard-delay) 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT images. There was a significant (p PET/CT imaging seems to provide a detection rate comparable with that of standard-delay imaging. Furthermore, the shorter preparation time using the 68 Ga-PSMA-11 sterile cold kit and promising value of early PET/CT scanning could allow tailoring of imaging protocols which may reduce the costs and improve the time efficiency in PET/CT centres.

  15. Breast fibroadenoma with increased activity on 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakis, Georgios Z.; Millo, Corina; Sadowski, Samira M.; Karantanas, Apostolos H.; Bagci, Ulas; Patronas, Nicholas J.

    2016-01-01

    Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast tumor in women of reproductive age, carrying little to no risk of breast cancer development. We report on a case of a woman with history of neuroendocrine tumor (NET), who on follow-up imaging tests underwent whole-body PET/CT study using 68Ga-DOTATATE. The scan showed increased focal activity in the right breast, which was biopsied revealing a fibroadenoma. The presented data suggests cell surface over-expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) by this benign breast tumor. Moreover, this finding emphasizes the need for cautious interpretation of 68Ga-DOTATATE avid breast lesions which could mimic malignancy in NET patients. PMID:27879489

  16. Breast Fibroadenoma With Increased Activity on 68Ga DOTATATE PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakis, Georgios Z; Millo, Corina; Sadowski, Samira M; Karantanas, Apostolos H; Bagci, Ulas; Patronas, Nicholas J

    2017-02-01

    Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast tumor in women of reproductive age, carrying little to no risk of breast cancer development. We report on a case of a woman with history of neuroendocrine tumor who on follow-up imaging tests underwent whole-body PET/CT study using Ga DOTATATE. The scan showed increased focal activity in the right breast, which was biopsied revealing a fibroadenoma. The presented data suggests cell surface overexpression of somatostatin receptors by this benign breast tumor. Moreover, this finding emphasizes the need for cautious interpretation of Ga DOTATATE-avid breast lesions that could mimic malignancy in neuroendocrine tumor patients.

  17. TU-CD-207-11: Patient-Driven Automatic Exposure Control for Dedicated Breast CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, A; Gazi, P; Seibert, J; Boone, J

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To implement automatic exposure control (AEC) in dedicated breast CT (bCT) on a patient-specific basis using only the pre-scan scout views. Methods: Using a large cohort (N=153) of bCT data sets, the breast effective diameter (D) and width in orthogonal planes (Wa,Wb) were calculated from the reconstructed bCT image and pre-scan scout views, respectively. D, Wa, and Wb were measured at the breast center-of-mass (COM), making use of the known geometry of our bCT system. These data were then fit to a second-order polynomial “D=F(Wa,Wb)” in a least squares sense in order to provide a functional form for determining the breast diameter. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and mean percent error between the measured breast diameter and fit breast diameter were used to evaluate the overall robustness of the polynomial fit. Lastly, previously-reported bCT technique factors derived from Monte Carlo simulations were used to determine the tube current required for each breast diameter in order to match two-view mammographic dose levels. Results: F(Wa,Wb) provided fitted breast diameters in agreement with the measured breast diameters resulting in R 2 values ranging from 0.908 to 0.929 and mean percent errors ranging from 3.2% to 3.7%. For all 153 bCT data sets used in this study, the fitted breast diameters ranged from 7.9 cm to 15.7 cm corresponding to tube current values ranging from 0.6 mA to 4.9 mA in order to deliver the same dose as two-view mammography in a 50% glandular breast with a 80 kV x-ray beam and 16.6 second scan time. Conclusion: The present work provides a robust framework for AEC in dedicated bCT using only the width measurements derived from the two orthogonal pre-scan scout views. Future work will investigate how these automatically chosen exposure levels affect the quality of the reconstructed image

  18. TU-CD-207-11: Patient-Driven Automatic Exposure Control for Dedicated Breast CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez, A; Gazi, P [Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group, University of California Davis, Davis, CA (United States); Department of Radiology, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA (United States); Seibert, J; Boone, J [Department of Radiology, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To implement automatic exposure control (AEC) in dedicated breast CT (bCT) on a patient-specific basis using only the pre-scan scout views. Methods: Using a large cohort (N=153) of bCT data sets, the breast effective diameter (D) and width in orthogonal planes (Wa,Wb) were calculated from the reconstructed bCT image and pre-scan scout views, respectively. D, Wa, and Wb were measured at the breast center-of-mass (COM), making use of the known geometry of our bCT system. These data were then fit to a second-order polynomial “D=F(Wa,Wb)” in a least squares sense in order to provide a functional form for determining the breast diameter. The coefficient of determination (R{sup 2}) and mean percent error between the measured breast diameter and fit breast diameter were used to evaluate the overall robustness of the polynomial fit. Lastly, previously-reported bCT technique factors derived from Monte Carlo simulations were used to determine the tube current required for each breast diameter in order to match two-view mammographic dose levels. Results: F(Wa,Wb) provided fitted breast diameters in agreement with the measured breast diameters resulting in R{sup 2} values ranging from 0.908 to 0.929 and mean percent errors ranging from 3.2% to 3.7%. For all 153 bCT data sets used in this study, the fitted breast diameters ranged from 7.9 cm to 15.7 cm corresponding to tube current values ranging from 0.6 mA to 4.9 mA in order to deliver the same dose as two-view mammography in a 50% glandular breast with a 80 kV x-ray beam and 16.6 second scan time. Conclusion: The present work provides a robust framework for AEC in dedicated bCT using only the width measurements derived from the two orthogonal pre-scan scout views. Future work will investigate how these automatically chosen exposure levels affect the quality of the reconstructed image.

  19. Can technical characteristics predict clinical performance in PET/CT imaging? A correlation study for thyroid cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallergi, Maria; Menychtas, Dimitrios; Georgakopoulos, Alexandros; Pianou, Nikoletta; Metaxas, Marinos; Chatziioannou, Sofia

    2013-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether image characteristics could be used to predict the outcome of ROC studies in PET/CT imaging. Patients suspected for recurrent thyroid cancer underwent a standard whole body (WB) examination and an additional high-resolution head-and-neck (HN) F18-FDG PET/CT scan. The value of the latter was determined with an ROC study, the results of which showed that the WB+HN combination was better than WB alone for thyroid cancer detection and diagnosis. Following the ROC experiment, the WB and HN images of confirmed benign or malignant thyroid disease were analyzed and first and second order textural features were determined. Features included minimum, mean, and maximum intensity, as well as contrast in regions of interest encircling the thyroid lesions. Lesion size and standard uptake values (SUV) were also determined. Bivariate analysis was applied to determine relationships between WB and HN features and between observer ROC responses and the various feature values. The two sets showed significant associations in the values of SUV, contrast, and lesion size. They were completely different when the intensities were considered; no relationship was found between the WB minimum, maximum, and mean ROI values and their HN counterparts. SUV and contrast were the strongest predictors of ROC performance on PET/CT examinations of thyroid cancer. The high resolution HN images seem to enhance these relationships but without a single dramatic effect as was projected from the ROC results. A combination of features from both WB and HN datasets may possibly be a more robust predictor of ROC performance.

  20. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for the detection of bone metastasis in recurrent prostate cancer and a PSA level <2 ng/ml

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lars J; Nielsen, Julie B; Dettmann, Katja

    2017-01-01

    /computed tomography ((68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT) is a novel and promising method for imaging in prostate cancer. The present study reports two cases of patients with prostate cancer with biochemical recurrence, with evidence of bone metastases on (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT images and low prostate specific antigen PSA levels (.../ml) and PSA doubling time >6 months. The bone metastases were verified by supplementary imaging with (18)F-sodium fluoride PET/CT and magnetic resonance imaging as well as biochemical responses to androgen deprivation therapy. Therefore, (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT is promising for the restaging of patients...... with prostate cancer with biochemical recurrence, including patients with low PSA levels and low PSA kinetics....

  1. A retrospective comparison between {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and {sup 18}F-DOPA PET/CT in patients with extra-adrenal paraganglioma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Decristoforo, Clemens; Uprimny, Christian; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Frech, Andreas; Fraedrich, Gustav [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Vascular Surgery, Innsbruck (Austria); Gasser, Rudolf Wolfgang [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Internal Medicine I, Innsbruck (Austria); Shulkin, Barry Lynn [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Department of Radiological Sciences, Memphis, TN (United States); Url, Christoph [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Innsbruck (Austria); Widmann, Gerlig [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Prommegger, Rupert [Sanatorium Kettenbruecke, Department of Surgery, Innsbruck (Austria); Sprinzl, Georg Mathias [State Clinic St. Poelten, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, St. Poelten (Austria)

    2013-12-15

    {sup 18}F-Fluoro-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine ({sup 18}F-DOPA) PET offers high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of nonmetastatic extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGL) but lower sensitivity in metastatic or multifocal disease. These tumours are of neuroendocrine origin and can be detected by {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC) PET. Therefore, we compared {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC and {sup 18}F-DOPA as radiolabels for PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis and staging of extra-adrenal PGL. Combined cross-sectional imaging was the reference standard. A total of 5 men and 15 women (age range 22 to 73 years) with anatomical and/or histologically proven extra-adrenal PGL were included in this study. Of these patients, 5 had metastatic or multifocal lesions and 15 had single sites of disease. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT and functional imaging with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and {sup 18}F-DOPA PET. The imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) of each functional imaging modality in concordant tumour lesions was measured. Compared with anatomical imaging, {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and {sup 18}F-DOPA PET each had a per-patient and per-lesion detection rate of 100 % in nonmetastatic extra-adrenal PGL. However, in metastatic or multifocal disease, the per-lesion detection rate of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC was 100 % and that of {sup 18}F-DOPA PET was 56.0 %. Overall, {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 45 lesions; anatomical imaging identified 43 lesions, and {sup 18}F-DOPA PET identified 32 lesions. The overall per-lesion detection rate of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET was 100 % (McNemar, P < 0.5), and that of {sup 18}F-DOPA PET was 71.1 % (McNemar, P < 0.001). The SUV{sub max} (mean {+-} SD) of all 32 concordant lesions was 67.9 {+-} 61.5 for {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and 11.8 {+-} 7.9 for {sup 18}F-DOPA PET (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.0001). {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET

  2. 68Ga-PSMA and 11C-Choline comparison using a tri-modality PET/CT-MRI (3.0 T) system with a dedicated shuttle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso, Omar; Dos Santos, Gerardo; García Fontes, Margarita; Balter, Henia; Engler, Henry

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the detection rate of 68 Ga-PSMA versus 11 C-Choline in men with prostate cancer with biochemical recurrence and to demonstrate the added value of a tri-modality PET/CT-MRI system. We analysed 36 patients who underwent both 11 C-Choline PET/CT and 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT scanning within a time window of 1-2 weeks. Additionally, for the 68 Ga-PSMA scan, we used a PET/CT-MRI (3.0 T) system with a dedicated shuttle, acquiring MRI images of the pelvis. Both scans were positive in 18 patients (50%) and negative in 8 patients (22%). Nine patients were positive with 68 Ga-PSMA alone (25%) and one with 11 C-Choline only (3%). The median detected lesion per patient was 2 for 68 Ga-PSMA (range 0-93) and 1 for 11 C-Choline (range 0-57). Tumour to background ratios in all concordant lesions ( n  = 96) were higher for 68 Ga-PSMA than for 11 C-Choline (110.3 ± 107.8 and 27.5 ± 17.1, mean ± S.D., for each tracer, respectively P  = 0.0001). The number of detected lesions per patient was higher for 11 C-Choline in those with PSA ≥ 3.3 ng/mL, while the number of detected lesions was independent of PSA levels for 68 Ga-PSMA using the same PSA cut-off value. Metastatic pelvic lesions were found in 25 patients (69%) with 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT, in 18 (50%) with 11 C-Choline PET/CT and in 21 (58%) with MRI (3.0 T). MRI was very useful in detecting recurrence in cases classified as indeterminate by means of PET/CT alone at prostate bed. In patients with prostate cancer with biochemical recurrence 68 Ga-PSMA detected more lesions per patient than 11 C-Choline, regardless of PSA levels. PET/CT-MRI (3.0 T) system is a feasible imaging modality that potentially adds useful relevant information with increased accuracy of diagnosis.

  3. [68Ga]-DOTATOC-PET/CT for meningioma IMRT treatment planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bamberg Michael

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Purpose The observation that human meningioma cells strongly express somatostatin receptor (SSTR 2 was the rationale to analyze retrospectively in how far DOTATOC PET/CT is helpful to improve target volume delineation for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT. Patients and Methods In 26 consecutive patients with preferentially skull base meningioma, diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and planning-computed tomography (CT was complemented with data from [68Ga]-DOTA-D Phe1-Tyr3-Octreotide (DOTATOC-PET/CT. Image fusion of PET/CT, diagnostic computed tomography, MRI and radiotherapy planning CT as well as target volume delineation was performed with OTP-Masterplan®. Initial gross tumor volume (GTV definition was based on MRI data only and was secondarily complemented with DOTATOC-PET information. Irradiation was performed as EUD based IMRT, using the Hyperion Software package. Results The integration of the DOTATOC data led to additional information concerning tumor extension in 17 of 26 patients (65%. There were major changes of the clinical target volume (CTV which modify the PTV in 14 patients, minor changes were realized in 3 patients. Overall the GTV-MRI/CT was larger than the GTV-PET in 10 patients (38%, smaller in 13 patients (50% and almost the same in 3 patients (12%. Most of the adaptations were performed in close vicinity to bony skull base structures or after complex surgery. Median GTV based on MRI was 18.1 cc, based on PET 25.3 cc and subsequently the CTV was 37.4 cc. Radiation planning and treatment of the DOTATOC-adapted volumes was feasible. Conclusion DOTATOC-PET/CT information may strongly complement patho-anatomical data from MRI and CT in cases with complex meningioma and is thus helpful for improved target volume delineation especially for skull base manifestations and recurrent disease after surgery.

  4. Is {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT indicated in patients with clinical, biochemical or radiological suspicion of neuroendocrine tumour?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambrosini, Valentina [S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Nuclear Medicine, Bologna (Italy); Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Nuclear Medicine, Pad 30, Bologna (Italy); Campana, Davide; Tomassetti, Paola [S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Internal Medicine, Bologna (Italy); Nanni, Cristina; Cambioli, Silvia; Fanti, Stefano [S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Nuclear Medicine, Bologna (Italy); Rubello, Domenico [Ospedale S. Maria della Misericordia, Nuclear Medicine, Rovigo (Italy)

    2012-08-15

    In recent years, {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-peptides positron emission tomography (PET)/CT has been increasingly used to study patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET). However, performing specialized examinations in the appropriate contest is mandatory for both medical and economic reasons. The aim of the study is to evaluate the potential usefulness of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT in patients with suspected NET. Among the patients undergoing {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT at our centre, we reviewed those studied for suspected NET based on the presence of either clinical signs/symptoms or imaging or raised biochemical markers or a combination of these conditions. PET/CT results were compared with clinical and imaging follow-up of at least 1 year or pathology. Overall 131 suspected NET cases were included. The most common condition considered suspicious for NET was the increase of blood markers (66), followed by inconclusive findings at conventional imaging (CI, 41), clinical signs/symptoms (10), equivocal {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET (7) or somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS, 4), or a combination of the above (3). PET/CT results were true-positive in 17 cases, true-negative in 112 and false-negative in 2 (overall sensitivity 89.5 %, specificity 100 %). Interestingly, increased blood markers and clinical signs/symptoms were associated with the lowest frequency of true-positive findings (1/66 and 1/10, respectively), while CI findings were confirmed in one third of the cases (13/41). Overall, the incidence of NET in the studied population was 14.5 % (19/131). Our data confirm the good accuracy (98 %) of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT in NET lesion detection. However, our results also suggest that {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT may not be routinely recommended in patients with a suspicion of NET based on the mere detection of increased blood markers or clinical symptoms. Positive CI alone or in association with clinical/biochemical findings is on the contrary associated with

  5. Potential role of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in screening for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, Vikas; Brenner, Winfried; Tiling, Nikolaus; Ploeckinger, Ursula; Denecke, Timm

    2016-01-01

    Neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas (pNET) are observed in 8 - 17 % of patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (vHLD), and 11 - 20 % of these patients develop metastatic disease. MRI and CT have a very high resolution; however, their sensitivity and specificity for the detection of pNET amongst cystic lesions in the pancreas of vHLD patients are generally considered insufficient. In contrast, 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT demonstrates a high sensitivity for the diagnosis and staging of neuroendocrine tumours. In this study we investigated the potential role of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in screening of patients with vHLD. 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/three-phase contrast-enhanced CT was performed according to guidelines in all consecutive vHLD patients between January 2012 and November 2015. All patients underwent additional MRI imaging of the abdomen, spine, and head. Chromogranin A (CgA) was determined at the time of the PET/CT examination. A lesion seen on 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET in the pancreas was defined as positive if the uptake was visually higher than in the surrounding tissues. Lesions were quantified using maximum SUV. Overall, 20 patients (8 men, 12 women; mean age 44.7 ± 11.1 years) were prospectively examined. Genetically, 12 patients had type 1 vHLD and 8 had type 2 vHLD. 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT detected more pNET than morphological imaging (CT or MRI): 11 patients (55 %; 8 type 1, 3 type 2) vs. 9 patients (45 %; 6 type 1, 3 type 2). The concentration of CgA was mildly elevated in 2 of 11 patients with pNET. The mean SUVmax of the pancreatic lesions was 18.9 ± 21.9 (range 5.0 - 65.6). Four patients (36.4 %) had multiple pNETs. The mean size of the lesions on CT and/or MRI was 10.4 ± 8.3 mm (range 4 - 38 mm), and 41.1 % were larger than 10 mm. In addition, somatostatin receptor-positive cerebellar and spinal haemangioblastomas were detected in three patients (SUVmax 2.1 - 10.1). One patient presented with a solitary somatostatin receptor-positive lymph node metastasis. pNETs were

  6. MRI versus {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT for gross tumour volume delineation in radiation treatment planning of primary prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zamboglou, Constantinos; Kirste, Simon; Fechter, Tobias; Grosu, Anca-Ligia [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Radiation Oncology, Freiburg (Germany); German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); Wieser, Gesche [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Hennies, Steffen [University Medical Center Goettingen, Department of Radiation Oncology, Goettingen (Germany); Rempel, Irene; Soschynski, Martin; Langer, Mathias [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Radiology, Freiburg (Germany); Rischke, Hans Christian [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Radiation Oncology, Freiburg (Germany); Jilg, Cordula A. [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Urology, Freiburg (Germany); Meyer, Philipp T. [German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Freiburg (Germany); Bock, Michael [German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Radiology, Freiburg (Germany)

    2016-05-15

    Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is widely used in radiation treatment planning of primary prostate cancer (PCA). Focal dose escalation to the dominant intraprostatic lesions (DIPL) may lead to improved PCA control. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is overexpressed in most PCAs. {sup 68}Ga-labelled PSMA inhibitors have demonstrated promising results in detection of PCA with PET/CT. The aim of this study was to compare {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT with MRI for gross tumour volume (GTV) definition in primary PCA. This retrospective study included 22 patients with primary PCA analysed after {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI. GTVs were delineated on MR images by two radiologists (GTV-MRIrad) and two radiation oncologists separately. Both volumes were merged leading to GTV-MRIint. GTVs based on PET/CT were delineated by two nuclear medicine physicians in consensus (GTV-PET). Laterality (left, right, and left and right prostate lobes) on mpMRI, PET/CT and pathological analysis after biopsy were assessed. Mean GTV-MRIrad, GTV-MRIint and GTV-PET were 5.92, 3.83 and 11.41 cm{sup 3}, respectively. GTV-PET was significant larger then GTV-MRIint (p = 0.003). The MRI GTVs GTV-MRIrad and GTV-MRIint showed, respectively, 40 % and 57 % overlap with GTV-PET. GTV-MRIrad and GTV-MRIint included the SUVmax of GTV-PET in 12 and 11 patients (54.6 % and 50 %), respectively. In nine patients (47 %), laterality on mpMRI, PET/CT and histopathology after biopsy was similar. Ga-PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI provided concordant results for delineation of the DIPL in 47 % of patients (40 % - 54 % of lesions). GTV-PET was significantly larger than GTV-MRIint. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT may have a role in radiation treatment planning for focal radiation to the DIPL. Exact correlation of PET and MRI images with histopathology is needed. (orig.)

  7. BetaWB - A language for modular representation of biological systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ihekwaba, Adoha; Larcher, Roberto; Mardare, Radu Iulian

    2007-01-01

    A. Ihekwaba, R. Larcher, R. Mardare, C. Priami. BetaWB - A language for modular representation of biological systems. In Proc. of International Conference on Systems Biology (ICSB), 2007......A. Ihekwaba, R. Larcher, R. Mardare, C. Priami. BetaWB - A language for modular representation of biological systems. In Proc. of International Conference on Systems Biology (ICSB), 2007...

  8. Detection rate of PET/CT in patients with biochemical relapse of prostate cancer using [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T and comparison with published data of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA HBED-CC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berliner, Christoph; Tienken, Milena; Kobayashi, Yuske; Helberg, Annabelle; Kirchner, Uve; Klutmann, Susanne; Mester, Janos; Bannas, Peter [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Hamburg (Germany); Frenzel, Thorsten [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Ambulatory Center, Department for Radiation Oncology, Hamburg (Germany); Beyersdorff, Dirk [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Hamburg (Germany); University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martini-Klinik, Hamburg (Germany); Budaeus, Lars [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martini-Klinik, Hamburg (Germany); Wester, Hans-Juergen [Technical University Munich, Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry, Garching (Germany)

    2017-04-15

    To determine the detection rate of PET/CT in biochemical relapse of prostate cancer using [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T and to compare it with published detection rates of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA HBED-CC. We performed a retrospective analysis in 83 consecutive patients with documented biochemical relapse after prostatectomy. All patients underwent whole body [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT. PET/CT images were evaluated for presence of local recurrence, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases. Proportions of positive PET/CT results were calculated for six subgroups with increasing prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels (<0.5 ng/mL, 0.5 to <1.0 ng/mL, 1.0 to <2.0 ng/mL, 2.0 to <5.0 ng/mL, 5.0 to <10.0, ≥10.0 ng/mL). Detection rates of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T were statistically compared with published detection rates of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA HBED-CC using exact Fisher's test. Median PSA was 0.81 (range: 0.01 - 128) ng/mL. In 58/83 patients (70 %) at least one [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T positive lesion was detected. Local recurrent cancer was present in 18 patients (22 %), lymph node metastases in 29 patients (35 %), and distant metastases in 15 patients (18 %). The tumor detection rate was positively correlated with PSA levels, resulting in detection rates of 52 % (<0.5 ng/mL), 55 % (0.5 to <1.0 ng/mL), 70 % (1.0 to <2.0 ng/mL), 93 % (2.0 to <5.0 ng/mL), 100 % (5.0 to <10.0 ng/mL), and 100 % (≥10.0 ng/mL). There was no significant difference between the detection rate of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T and published detection rates of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA HBED-CC (all p>0.05). [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT has high detection rates of recurrent prostate cancer that are comparable to [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA HBED-CC. (orig.)

  9. High-resolution imaging of pulmonary ventilation and perfusion with {sup 68}Ga-VQ respiratory gated (4-D) PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callahan, Jason [Centre for Molecular Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Hofman, Michael S. [The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Centre for Molecular Imaging, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Siva, Shankar [The University of Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Department of Radiation Oncology, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); The University of Melbourne, Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Kron, Tomas [The University of Melbourne, Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); The University of Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Department of Physical Sciences, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Schneider, Michal E. [Monash University, Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Science, Clayton, VIC (Australia); Binns, David; Eu, Peter [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Centre for Cancer Imaging, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Hicks, Rodney J. [The University of Melbourne, Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Centre for Molecular Imaging, East Melbourne, VIC (Australia)

    2014-02-15

    Our group has previously reported on the use of {sup 68}Ga-ventilation/perfusion (VQ) PET/CT scanning for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. We describe here the acquisition methodology for {sup 68}Ga-VQ respiratory gated (4-D) PET/CT and the effects of respiratory motion on image coregistration in VQ scanning. A prospective study was performed in 15 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. 4-D PET and 4-D CT images were acquired using an infrared marker on the patient's abdomen as a surrogate for breathing motion following inhalation of Galligas and intravenous administration of {sup 68}Ga-macroaggregated albumin. Images were reconstructed with phase-matched attenuation correction. The lungs were contoured on CT and PET VQ images during free-breathing (FB) and at maximum inspiration (Insp) and expiration (Exp). The similarity between PET and CT volumes was measured using the Dice coefficient (DC) comparing the following groups; (1) FB-PET/CT, (2) InspPET/InspCT, (3) ExpPET/Exp CT, and (4) FB-PET/AveCT. A repeated measures one-way ANOVA with multiple comparison Tukey tests were performed to evaluate any difference between the groups. Diaphragmatic motion in the superior-inferior direction on the 4-D CT scan was also measured. 4-D VQ scanning was successful in all patients without additional acquisition time compared to the nongated technique. The highest volume overlap was between ExpPET and ExpCT and between FB-PET and AveCT with a DC of 0.82 and 0.80 for ventilation and perfusion, respectively. This was significantly better than the DC comparing the other groups (0.78-0.79, p < 0.05). These values agreed with a visual inspection of the images with improved image coregistration around the lung bases. The diaphragmatic motion during the 4-D CT scan was highly variable with a range of 0.4-3.4 cm (SD 0.81 cm) in the right lung and 0-2.8 cm (SD 0.83 cm) in the left lung. Right-sided diaphragmatic nerve palsy was observed in 3 of 15 patients. {sup 68}Ga-VQ 4-D

  10. Molecular imaging with {sup 68}Ga-SSTR PET/CT and correlation to immunohistochemistry of somatostatin receptors in neuroendocrine tumours

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaemmerer, Daniel; Haugvik, Sven-Petter; Hommann, Merten [Zentralklinik Bad Berka GmbH, Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Bad Berka (Germany); Peter, Luisa; Lupp, Amelie; Schulz, Stefan [University of Jena, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jena (Germany); Saenger, Joerg [Laboratory of Pathology and Cytology, Bad Berka (Germany); Prasad, Vikas; Kulkarni, Harshad; Baum, Richard Paul [Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Center for PET, Bad Berka (Germany)

    2011-09-15

    Somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are known for an overexpression in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NET). The aim of the present study was to find out if the receptor density predicted by the semi-quantitative parameters generated from the static positron emission tomography (PET/CT) correlated with the in vitro immunohistochemistry using a novel rabbit monoclonal anti-SSTR2A antibody (clone UMB-1) for specific SSTR2A immunohistochemistry and polyclonal antibodies for SSTR1 and 3-5. Overall 14 surgical specimens generated from 34 histologically documented GEP-NET patients were correlated with the preoperative {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT. Quantitative assessment of the receptor density was done using the immunoreactive score (IRS) of Remmele and Stegner; the additional 4-point IRS classification for immunohistochemistry and standardized uptake values (SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub mean}) were used for PET/CT. The IRS for SSTR2A and SSTR5 correlated highly significant with the SUV{sub max} on the PET/CT (p < 0.001; p < 0.05) and the IRS for SSTR2A with the SUV{sub mean} (p < 0.013). The level of SSTR2A score correlated significantly with chromogranin A staining and indirectly to the tumour grading. The highly significant correlation between SSTR2A and SSTR5 and the SUV{sub max} on the {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT scans is concordant with the affinity profile of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC to the SSTR subtypes and demonstrates the excellent qualification of somatostatin analogues in the diagnostics of NET. This study correlating somatostatin receptor imaging using {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT with immunohistochemically analysed SSTR also underlines the approval of therapy using somatostatin analogues, follow-up imaging as well as radionuclide therapy. (orig.)

  11. Automatic delineation of functional lung volumes with 68Ga-ventilation/perfusion PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Roux, Pierre-Yves; Siva, Shankar; Callahan, Jason; Claudic, Yannis; Bourhis, David; Steinfort, Daniel P; Hicks, Rodney J; Hofman, Michael S

    2017-10-10

    Functional volumes computed from 68 Ga-ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) PET/CT, which we have shown to correlate with pulmonary function test parameters (PFTs), have potential diagnostic utility in a variety of clinical applications, including radiotherapy planning. An automatic segmentation method would facilitate delineation of such volumes. The aim of this study was to develop an automated threshold-based approach to delineate functional volumes that best correlates with manual delineation. Thirty lung cancer patients undergoing both V/Q PET/CT and PFTs were analyzed. Images were acquired following inhalation of Galligas and, subsequently, intravenous administration of 68 Ga-macroaggreted-albumin (MAA). Using visually defined manual contours as the reference standard, various cutoff values, expressed as a percentage of the maximal pixel value, were applied. The average volume difference and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) were calculated, measuring the similarity of the automatic segmentation and the reference standard. Pearson's correlation was also calculated to compare automated volumes with manual volumes, and automated volumes optimized to PFT indices. For ventilation volumes, mean volume difference was lowest (- 0.4%) using a 15%max threshold with Pearson's coefficient of 0.71. Applying this cutoff, median DSC was 0.93 (0.87-0.95). Nevertheless, limits of agreement in volume differences were large (- 31.0 and 30.2%) with differences ranging from - 40.4 to + 33.0%. For perfusion volumes, mean volume difference was lowest and Pearson's coefficient was highest using a 15%max threshold (3.3% and 0.81, respectively). Applying this cutoff, median DSC was 0.93 (0.88-0.93). Nevertheless, limits of agreement were again large (- 21.1 and 27.8%) with volume differences ranging from - 18.6 to + 35.5%. Using the 15%max threshold, moderate correlation was demonstrated with FEV1/FVC (r = 0.48 and r = 0.46 for ventilation and perfusion images, respectively

  12. The role of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT in evaluating neuroendocrine tumors: real-world experience from two large neuroendocrine tumor centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haidar, Mohamad; Shamseddine, Ali; Panagiotidis, Emmanouil; Jreige, Mario; Mukherji, Deborah; Assi, Rita; Abousaid, Rayan; Ibrahim, Toni; Haddad, Marwan M; Vinjamuri, Sobhan

    2017-02-01

    Our aim was to assess the role of Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT as a tool for the management of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), evaluating the clinical impact on patients from two large NET centers in different geopolitical settings. This is a retrospective study of patients with NETs who underwent Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT at Royal Liverpool University Hospital (UK) and at Mount Lebanon Hospital (Lebanon). Indications for imaging and findings of the PET/CT along with demographic and clinical outcome data were recorded and evaluated. Four hundred and forty-five patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, with a median age at the time of diagnosis of 56 (range: 3-90) years; 248 (55.7%) patients were male.Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT was indicated for staging in 193 (43.4%) patients, for diagnosis in 124 (27.9%) patients, for follow-up in 97 (21.7%) patients, and for identification of a primary NET site in 31 (7%) patients.One hundred and four (27.9%) patients underwent Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT for the primary diagnosis of NET, of whom 66 (52.7%) patients presented with a clinical suspicion of NET, 10 (8.3%) patients presented with a biochemical suspicion of NET only, and 48 (38.8%) patients presented with a suspicious NET lesion discovered on another imaging modality. The most common clinical presentation was typical carcinoid syndrome [4 (33%) patients].Results on the basis of histology were used as the gold standard for the diagnosis in 57% of patients and the remaining on the basis of follow-up as per established clinical consensus. Sensitivity, specificity, negative-predictive value, and positive-predictive value of PET/CT were 87.1, 97.7, 79.6, and 98.7%, respectively, for the entire sample. Accuracy was measured using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis with an area under the curve of 0.924 (95% confidence interval: 0.874-0.974). Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT is a highly sensitive and specific study for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with neuroendocrine tumors. These results

  13. Early dynamic imaging in 68Ga- PSMA-11 PET/CT allows discrimination of urinary bladder activity and prostate cancer lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uprimny, Christian; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Decristoforo, Clemens; Fritz, Josef; Warwitz, Boris; Scarpa, Lorenza; Roig, Llanos Geraldo; Kendler, Dorota; von Guggenberg, Elisabeth; Bektic, Jasmin; Horninger, Wolfgang; Virgolini, Irene Johanna

    2017-05-01

    PET/CT with 68 Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-ligands has been proven to establish a promising imaging modality in the work-up of prostate cancer (PC) patients with biochemical relapse. Despite a high overall detection rate, the visualisation of local recurrence may be hampered by high physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder on whole body imaging, usually starting 60 min after injection. This study sought to verify whether early dynamic 68 Ga-PSMA-11 (HBED-CC)PET/CT can differentiate pathologic PC-related tracer uptake from physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder. Eighty consecutive PC patients referred to 68 Ga -PSMA-11 PET/CT were included in this retrospective analysis (biochemical relapse: n = 64; primary staging: n = 8; evaluation of therapy response/restaging: n = 8). In addition to whole-body PET/CT acquisition 60 min post injection early dynamic imaging of the pelvis in the first 8 min after tracer injection was performed. SUV max of pathologic lesions was calculated and time-activity curves were generated and compared to those of urinary bladder and areas of physiologic tracer uptake. A total of 55 lesions consistent with malignancy on 60 min whole body imaging exhibited also pathologic 68 Ga-PSMA-11 uptake during early dynamic imaging (prostatic bed/prostate gland: n = 27; lymph nodes: n = 12; bone: n = 16). All pathologic lesions showed tracer uptake within the first 3 min, whereas urinary bladder activity was absent within the first 3 min of dynamic imaging in all patients. Suv max was significantly higher in PC lesions in the first 6 min compared to urinary bladder accumulation (p dynamic imaging in 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT reliably enables the differentiation of pathologic tracer uptake in PC lesions from physiologic bladder accumulation. Performance of early dynamic imaging in addition to whole body imaging 60 min after tracer injection might improve the detection rate

  14. Radiation exposure of patients during 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT examinations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmann, Holger; Freudenberg, R.; Oehme, L.; Andreeff, M.; Wunderlich, G.; Zoephel, K.; Eisenhofer, G.; Kotzerke, J.

    2009-01-01

    Investigation of the biodistribution and calculation of dosimetry of Ga-68-DOTATOC-for patients imaged in the routine clinical setting for diagnosis or exclusion of neuroendocrine tumours. Patients methods: Dynamic PET/CT-imaging (Biograph 16) was performed over 20 min in 14 patients (8 men, 6 women) after injection of (112 ± 22) MBq 68 Ga-DOTATOC followed by whole body 3D-acquisition (8 bed positions, 3 or 4 min each) 30 min p.i. and 120 min p.i., Urinary tracer elimination was measured and blood activity was derived non-invasively from the blood pool of the heart. The relevant organs for dosimetry were spleen, kidneys, liver, adrenals, urinary bladder and pituitary gland. Dosimetry was performed using OLINDA/EXM 1.0 software and specific organ uptake was expressed as standardized uptake values (SUVs). Results Rapid physiological uptake of the radiotracer could be demonstrated in liver, spleen and kidneys, adrenals and pituitary gland (mean SUVs were 6, 20, 16, 10, and 4, respectively). Radiotracer elimination was exclusively via urine (16% of injected dose within 2h); no redistribution could be observed. The spleen and the kidneys received the highest radiation exposure (0.24 mSv/MBq, 0.22 mSv/MBq resp.), mean effective dose yielded 0.023 mSv/MBq. Conclusion: 68 Ga-DOTATOC is used extensively for diagnosis of somatostatin receptor positive tumours because it has several advantages over the 111 In-labelled ligand. The derived dosimetric values are lower than first approximations from the biological data of OctreoScan. The use of CT for transmission correction of the PET data delivers radiation exposure up to 1 mSv (low dose). (orig.)

  15. PET/CT With 68Ga-DOTA-TATE for Diagnosis of Neuroendocrine: Differentiation in Patients With Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gofrit, Ofer Nathan; Frank, Stephen; Meirovitz, Amichay; Nechushtan, Hovav; Orevi, Marina

    2017-01-01

    Castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) often shows histological evidence of neuroendocrine differentiation (NED). To evaluate the extent of NED in patients with CRPC, we used PET/CT with Ga-[DOTA-Tyr]-octreotate (Ga-DOTA-TATE), a somatostatin analog that binds somatostatin receptor 2 with high affinity. This radiotracer is used in imaging of neuroendocrine tumors. Twelve patients (mean age, 65 [SD, 12] years) with CRPC were studied. Their mean prostate-specific antigen level at scanning was 85.6 (SD, 144.6) ng/mL. PET/CT images were obtained after the injection of 120 to 200 MBq of Ga-DOTA-TATE. All participants had at least 1 blastic metastasis demonstrating uptake of Ga-DOTA-TATE (mean SUVmax of 5.3 [SD, 2.3]). In 6 patients, moderately high to high uptakes (SUVmax, >5) were seen. Patients with multiple bone metastases had a significantly higher SUVmax compared with patients with few metastases (mean of 5.8 vs 3.8, P = 0.05). In 4 patients, lytic bone lesions or lymph node metastases also showed uptake of the tracer (mean SUVmax of 7.2 [SD, 3.2]). Uptake of the radiotracer was also observed in bones showing normal architecture in CT, suggesting that NED cells appear early during metastases development. Uptake of Ga-DOTA-TATE is a common finding in metastases of CRPC patients, suggesting that NED is frequent in these patients. In half of the patients, widespread uptake of Ga-DOTA-TATE was observed. This suggests that the possibility of treating selected CRCP patients with anti-neuroendocrine tumor therapies should be explored and that Ga-DOTA-TATE scanning could have a role in predicting the efficacy of these treatments.

  16. Guideline for PET/CT imaging of neuroendocrine neoplasms withGa-DOTA-conjugated somatostatin receptor targeting peptides andF-DOPA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bozkurt, Murat Fani; Virgolini, Irene; Balogova, Sona

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE & METHODS: Neuroendocrine neoplasms are a heterogenous group of tumours, for which nuclear medicine plays an important role in the diagnostic work-up as well as in the targeted therapeutic options. This guideline is aimed to assist nuclear medicine physicians in recommending, performing......, reporting and interpreting the results of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) PET/CT imaging using68Ga-DOTA-conjugated peptides, as well as18F-DOPA imaging for various neuroendocrine neoplasms. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The previous procedural guideline by EANM regarding the use PET/CT tumour imaging with68Ga...

  17. Nerve Sheath Tumors in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Assessment of Whole-Body Metabolic Tumor Burden Using F-18-FDG PET/CT.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes Salamon

    Full Text Available To determine the metabolically active whole-body tumor volume (WB-MTV on F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18-FDG PET/CT in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1 using a three-dimensional (3D segmentation and computerized volumetry technique, and to compare PET WB-MTV between patients with benign and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs.Thirty-six NF1 patients (18 patients with malignant PNSTs and 18 age- and sex-matched controls with benign PNSTs were examined by F-18-FDG PET/CT. WB-MTV, whole-body total lesion glycolysis (WB-TLG and a set of semi-quantitative imaging-based parameters were analyzed both on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis.On a per-lesion basis, malignant PNSTs demonstrated both a significantly higher MTV and TLG than benign PNSTs (p < 0.0001. On a per-patient basis, WB-MTV and WB-TLG were significantly higher in patients with malignant PNSTs compared to patients with benign PNSTs (p < 0.001. ROC analysis showed that MTV and TLG could be used to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors.WB-MTV and WB-TLG may identify malignant change and may have the potential to provide a basis for investigating molecular biomarkers that correlate with metabolically active disease manifestations. Further evaluation will determine the potential clinical impact of these PET-based parameters in NF1.

  18. Diagnostic performance of 68Ga-PSMA-11 (HBED-CC) PET/CT in patients with recurrent prostate cancer: evaluation in 1007 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afshar-Oromieh, Ali; Holland-Letz, Tim; Giesel, Frederik L; Kratochwil, Clemens; Mier, Walter; Haufe, Sabine; Debus, Nils; Eder, Matthias; Eisenhut, Michael; Schäfer, Martin; Neels, Oliver; Hohenfellner, Markus; Kopka, Klaus; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Debus, Jürgen; Haberkorn, Uwe

    2017-08-01

    Since the clinical introduction of 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, this imaging method has rapidly spread and is now regarded as a significant step forward in the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of several variables with possible influence on PSMA ligand uptake in a large cohort. We performed a retrospective analysis of 1007 consecutive patients who were scanned with 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT (1 h after injection) from January 2014 to January 2017 to detect recurrent disease. Patients with untreated primary PCa or patients referred for PSMA radioligand therapy were excluded. The possible effects of different variables including PSA level and PSA doubling time (PSA DT ), PSA velocity (PSA Vel ), Gleason score (GSC, including separate analysis of GSC 7a and 7b), ongoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), patient age and amount of injected activity were evaluated. In 79.5% of patients at least one lesion with characteristics suggestive of recurrent PCa was detected. A pathological (positive) PET/CT scan was associated with PSA level and ADT. GSC, amount of injected activity, patient age, PSA DT and PSA Vel were not associated with a positive PET/CT scan in multivariate analysis. 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT detects tumour lesions in a high percentage of patients with recurrent PCa. Tumour detection is clearly associated with PSA level and ADT. Only a tendency for an association without statistical significance was found between higher GSC and a higher probability of a pathological PET/CT scan. No associations were found between a pathological 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan and patient age, amount of injected activity, PSA DT or PSA Vel.

  19. Ga-68 DOTATOC PET/CT-Guided Biopsy and Cryoablation with Autoradiography of Biopsy Specimen for Treatment of Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maybody, Majid, E-mail: maybodym@mskcc.org [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Interventional Radiology Service (United States); Grewal, Ravinder K. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service, Department of Radiology (United States); Healey, John H. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Orthopedic Surgical Oncology Service, Department of Surgery (United States); Antonescu, Cristina R. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Pathology (United States); Fanchon, Louise [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Physics (United States); Hwang, Sinchun [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology (United States); Carrasquillo, Jorge A. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service, Department of Radiology (United States); Kirov, Assen [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Physics (United States); Farooki, Azeez [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medicine (United States)

    2016-09-15

    Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome caused by small benign tumors of mesenchymal origin also known as phosphaturic mesenchymal tumors mixed connective tissue variant. Excellent prognosis is expected with eradication of the culprit tumor. These small tumors are notoriously difficult to localize with conventional imaging studies; this often leads to an extensive work up and prolonged morbidity. We report a patient with clinical diagnosis of TIO whose culprit tumor was localized with Ga-68 DOTATOC PET/CT and MRI. Biopsy and cryoablation were performed under Ga-68 DOTATOC PET/CT guidance. Autoradiography of the biopsy specimen was performed and showed in situ correlation between Ga-68 DOTATOC uptake and histopathology with millimeter resolution.

  20. [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI and [18F]FDG PET/CT are complementary and superior to diffusion-weighted MR imaging for radioactive-iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vrachimis, Alexis; Stegger, Lars; Wenning, Christian; Noto, Benjamin; Konnert, Julia Renate; Riemann, Burkhard; Weckesser, Matthias; Burg, Matthias Christian; Allkemper, Thomas; Heindel, Walter; Schaefers, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can replace or complement [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT in patients with radioactive-iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The study population comprised 12 patients with elevated thyroglobulin and a negative RAI scan after thyroidectomy and RAI remnant ablation who underwent both [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT and [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI within 8 weeks of each other. The presence of recurrent cancer was evaluated on a per-patient, per-organ and per-lesion basis. Histology, and prior and follow-up examinations served as the standard of reference. Recurrent or metastatic tumour was confirmed in 11 of the 12 patients. [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) correctly identified the tumour burden in all 11 patients, whereas in one patient local relapse was missed by [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT. In the lesion-based analysis, overall lesion detection rates were 79/85 (93 %), 69/85 (81 %) and 27/82 (33 %) for [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT, [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI and DWI, respectively. [ 18 F]FDG PET(/CT) was superior to [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) in the overall evaluation and in the detection of pulmonary metastases. In the detection of extrapulmonary metastases, [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) showed a higher sensitivity than [ 18 F]FDG PET(/CT), at the cost of lower specificity. DWI achieved only poor sensitivity and was significantly inferior to [ 18 F]FDG PET in the lesion-based evaluation in the detection of both extrapulmonary and pulmonary metastases. [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT was more sensitive than [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI in the evaluation of RAI-refractory DTC, mostly because of its excellent ability to detect lung metastases. In the evaluation of extrapulmonary lesions, [ 68 Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) was more sensitive and [ 18 F]FDG PET(/CT) more specific. Furthermore, DWI did not provide additional information and cannot replace [ 18 F]FDG PET for postoperative monitoring of patients with

  1. Development of standardized image interpretation for 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT to detect prostate cancer recurrent lesions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fanti, Stefano; Ceci, Francesco; Castellucci, Paolo [University of Bologna, S. Orsola Hospital Bologna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Bologna (Italy); Minozzi, Silvia [Lazio Regional Health Service, Department of Epidemiology, Rome (Italy); Morigi, Joshua James; Emmett, Louise [St. Vincent' s Public Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Sydney (Australia); Giesel, Frederik; Haberkorn, Uwe [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Uprimny, Christian; Virgolini, Irene [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Hofman, Michael S.; Hicks, Rodney J. [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Centre for Molecular Imaging, Department of Cancer Imaging, Melbourne (Australia); Eiber, Matthias; Schwaiger, Markus [Technical University Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Munich (Germany); Schwarzenbock, Sarah; Krause, Bernd J. [University Medical Centre, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rostock (Germany); Bellisario, Cristina [University Hospital ' ' Citta della Salute e della Scienza di Torino' ' , Department of Cancer Screening, Centre for Epidemiology and Prevention in Oncology (CPO), Turin (Italy); Chauvie, Stephane; Bergesio, Fabrizio [Santa Croce e Carle Hospital, Medical Physics Division, Cuneo (Italy); Chiti, Arturo [Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, Nuclear Medicine, Humanitas Cancer Center, Rozzano, MI (Italy)

    2017-09-15

    After primary treatment, biochemical relapse (BCR) occurs in a substantial number of patients with prostate cancer (PCa). PET/CT imaging with prostate-specific membrane antigen based tracers (68Ga-PSMA) has shown promising results for BCR patients. However, a standardized image interpretation methodology has yet to be properly agreed. The aim of this study, which was promoted and funded by European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), is to define standardized image interpretation criteria for 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT to detect recurrent PCa lesions in patients treated with primary curative intent therapy (radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy) who presented a biochemical recurrence. In the first phase inter-rater agreement between seven readers from seven international centers was calculated on the reading of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT images of 49 patients with BCR. Each reader evaluated findings in five different sites of recurrence (local, loco-regional lymph nodes, distant lymph nodes, bone, and other). In the second phase the re-analysis was limited to cases with poor, slight, fair, or moderate agreement [Krippendorff's (K) alpha<0.61]. Finally, on the basis of the consensus readings, we sought to define a list of revised consensus criteria for 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT interpretation. Between-reader agreement for the presence of anomalous findings in any of the five sites was only moderate (K's alpha: 0.47). The agreement improved and became substantial when readers had to judge whether the anomalous findings were suggestive for a pathologic, uncertain, or non-pathologic image (K's alpha: 0.64). K's alpha calculations for each of the five sites of recurrence were also performed and evaluated. First Delphi round was thus conducted. A more detailed definition of the criteria was proposed by the project coordinator, which was then discussed and finally agreed by the seven readers. After the second Delphi round only four cases of disagreement still remained. These

  2. Early dynamic imaging in {sup 68}Ga- PSMA-11 PET/CT allows discrimination of urinary bladder activity and prostate cancer lesions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uprimny, Christian; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Decristoforo, Clemens; Warwitz, Boris; Scarpa, Lorenza; Roig, Llanos Geraldo; Kendler, Dorota; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Fritz, Josef [Medical University Innsbruck, Department for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Health Economics, Innsbruck (Austria); Bektic, Jasmin; Horninger, Wolfgang [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Urology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2017-05-15

    PET/CT with {sup 68}Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-ligands has been proven to establish a promising imaging modality in the work-up of prostate cancer (PC) patients with biochemical relapse. Despite a high overall detection rate, the visualisation of local recurrence may be hampered by high physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder on whole body imaging, usually starting 60 min after injection. This study sought to verify whether early dynamic {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 (HBED-CC)PET/CT can differentiate pathologic PC-related tracer uptake from physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder. Eighty consecutive PC patients referred to {sup 68}Ga -PSMA-11 PET/CT were included in this retrospective analysis (biochemical relapse: n = 64; primary staging: n = 8; evaluation of therapy response/restaging: n = 8). In addition to whole-body PET/CT acquisition 60 min post injection early dynamic imaging of the pelvis in the first 8 min after tracer injection was performed. SUV{sub max} of pathologic lesions was calculated and time-activity curves were generated and compared to those of urinary bladder and areas of physiologic tracer uptake. A total of 55 lesions consistent with malignancy on 60 min whole body imaging exhibited also pathologic {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 uptake during early dynamic imaging (prostatic bed/prostate gland: n = 27; lymph nodes: n = 12; bone: n = 16). All pathologic lesions showed tracer uptake within the first 3 min, whereas urinary bladder activity was absent within the first 3 min of dynamic imaging in all patients. Suv{sub max} was significantly higher in PC lesions in the first 6 min compared to urinary bladder accumulation (p < 0.001). In the subgroup of PC patients with biochemical relapse the detection rate of local recurrence could be increased from 20.3 to 29.7%. Early dynamic imaging in {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT reliably enables the differentiation of pathologic tracer uptake in PC lesions from physiologic

  3. Early dynamic imaging in "6"8Ga- PSMA-11 PET/CT allows discrimination of urinary bladder activity and prostate cancer lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uprimny, Christian; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Decristoforo, Clemens; Warwitz, Boris; Scarpa, Lorenza; Roig, Llanos Geraldo; Kendler, Dorota; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Virgolini, Irene Johanna; Fritz, Josef; Bektic, Jasmin; Horninger, Wolfgang

    2017-01-01

    PET/CT with "6"8Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-ligands has been proven to establish a promising imaging modality in the work-up of prostate cancer (PC) patients with biochemical relapse. Despite a high overall detection rate, the visualisation of local recurrence may be hampered by high physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder on whole body imaging, usually starting 60 min after injection. This study sought to verify whether early dynamic "6"8Ga-PSMA-11 (HBED-CC)PET/CT can differentiate pathologic PC-related tracer uptake from physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder. Eighty consecutive PC patients referred to "6"8Ga -PSMA-11 PET/CT were included in this retrospective analysis (biochemical relapse: n = 64; primary staging: n = 8; evaluation of therapy response/restaging: n = 8). In addition to whole-body PET/CT acquisition 60 min post injection early dynamic imaging of the pelvis in the first 8 min after tracer injection was performed. SUV_m_a_x of pathologic lesions was calculated and time-activity curves were generated and compared to those of urinary bladder and areas of physiologic tracer uptake. A total of 55 lesions consistent with malignancy on 60 min whole body imaging exhibited also pathologic "6"8Ga-PSMA-11 uptake during early dynamic imaging (prostatic bed/prostate gland: n = 27; lymph nodes: n = 12; bone: n = 16). All pathologic lesions showed tracer uptake within the first 3 min, whereas urinary bladder activity was absent within the first 3 min of dynamic imaging in all patients. Suv_m_a_x was significantly higher in PC lesions in the first 6 min compared to urinary bladder accumulation (p < 0.001). In the subgroup of PC patients with biochemical relapse the detection rate of local recurrence could be increased from 20.3 to 29.7%. Early dynamic imaging in "6"8Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT reliably enables the differentiation of pathologic tracer uptake in PC lesions from physiologic bladder accumulation

  4. Potential role of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in screening for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prasad, Vikas; Brenner, Winfried [Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin (Germany); Tiling, Nikolaus; Ploeckinger, Ursula [Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Interdisziplinaeren Stoffwechsel-Centrum, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin (Germany); Denecke, Timm [Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department of Radiology, Berlin (Germany)

    2016-10-15

    Neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas (pNET) are observed in 8 - 17 % of patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (vHLD), and 11 - 20 % of these patients develop metastatic disease. MRI and CT have a very high resolution; however, their sensitivity and specificity for the detection of pNET amongst cystic lesions in the pancreas of vHLD patients are generally considered insufficient. In contrast, {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT demonstrates a high sensitivity for the diagnosis and staging of neuroendocrine tumours. In this study we investigated the potential role of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in screening of patients with vHLD. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/three-phase contrast-enhanced CT was performed according to guidelines in all consecutive vHLD patients between January 2012 and November 2015. All patients underwent additional MRI imaging of the abdomen, spine, and head. Chromogranin A (CgA) was determined at the time of the PET/CT examination. A lesion seen on {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET in the pancreas was defined as positive if the uptake was visually higher than in the surrounding tissues. Lesions were quantified using maximum SUV. Overall, 20 patients (8 men, 12 women; mean age 44.7 ± 11.1 years) were prospectively examined. Genetically, 12 patients had type 1 vHLD and 8 had type 2 vHLD. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT detected more pNET than morphological imaging (CT or MRI): 11 patients (55 %; 8 type 1, 3 type 2) vs. 9 patients (45 %; 6 type 1, 3 type 2). The concentration of CgA was mildly elevated in 2 of 11 patients with pNET. The mean SUVmax of the pancreatic lesions was 18.9 ± 21.9 (range 5.0 - 65.6). Four patients (36.4 %) had multiple pNETs. The mean size of the lesions on CT and/or MRI was 10.4 ± 8.3 mm (range 4 - 38 mm), and 41.1 % were larger than 10 mm. In addition, somatostatin receptor-positive cerebellar and spinal haemangioblastomas were detected in three patients (SUVmax 2.1 - 10.1). One patient presented with a solitary somatostatin receptor-positive lymph

  5. Ga-68 Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT in von Hippel-Lindau Disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Jong-Ryool; Min, Jung-Joon [Chonnam National Univ. Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun (Korea, Republic of); Kulkarui, Harshad; Carreras, Cecilia; Schalch, Georg; Baum, Richard P. [Nuclear Medicine and Center for PET/CT, Zentralk Bad Berka, Bad Verka (Germany)

    2012-06-15

    Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a dominantly inherited familial cancer syndrome with a variety of benign and malignant tumors such as retinal and central nervous system hemangioblastomas, endolymphatic sac tumors, renalcysts and tumors, pancreatic cysts and tumors, pheochromo-cytomas, and epididymal cystadenomas. Cross-sectional mo-dalities (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) as well as ultrasound play a major role in the initial evaluation and follow-up of the various manifestations of VHL disease. Ga-68-labeled somatostatin receptor analogs already have a significant role in the diagnosis, staging, and therapy management of neuroendocrine neoplasms and neural crest tumors. Herein, we report a case presenting a variety of malignancies in VHL and showing the usefulness of Ga-68 somatostatin receptor PET/CT as a one-stop-shop imaging modality in the management of VHL disease.

  6. Ga-68 Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT in von Hippel-Lindau Disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Jong-Ryool; Min, Jung-Joon; Kulkarui, Harshad; Carreras, Cecilia; Schalch, Georg; Baum, Richard P.

    2012-01-01

    Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a dominantly inherited familial cancer syndrome with a variety of benign and malignant tumors such as retinal and central nervous system hemangioblastomas, endolymphatic sac tumors, renalcysts and tumors, pancreatic cysts and tumors, pheochromo-cytomas, and epididymal cystadenomas. Cross-sectional mo-dalities (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) as well as ultrasound play a major role in the initial evaluation and follow-up of the various manifestations of VHL disease. Ga-68-labeled somatostatin receptor analogs already have a significant role in the diagnosis, staging, and therapy management of neuroendocrine neoplasms and neural crest tumors. Herein, we report a case presenting a variety of malignancies in VHL and showing the usefulness of Ga-68 somatostatin receptor PET/CT as a one-stop-shop imaging modality in the management of VHL disease

  7. Influence of PET/CT 68Ga somatostatin receptor imaging on proceeding with patients, who were previously diagnosed with 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC SPECT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrzak, Dorota; Mikołajczak, Renata; Kamiński, Grzegorz

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was the assessment of utility of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) by SPECT imaging using 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-Tyr3-octreotide (99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC) in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) or suspected NEN, referred to Nuclear Medicine Dept. of Voivodship Specialty Center in Rzeszow. The selected group of patients was referred also to 68Ga PET/CT. The posed question was the ratio of patients for whom PET/CT with 68Ga would change their management. The distribution of somatostatin receptors was imaged using 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC in 61 planar and SPECT studies between 13/05/2010 and 04/02/2013 in Nuclear Medicine Dept. of Voivodship Specialty Center in Rzeszow. The patient age was within a range of 17-80, with the average age of 57.6. The average age of women (65% of patients over-all) was 55.6 and the average age of men (35% of patients overall) was 61.4. In 46 participants (75% of the study group), that underwent SRS, NEN was documented using pathology tests. Selected patients were referred to PET/CT with 68Ga labeled somatostatin analogs, DOTATATE or DOTANOC. This study group consisted of 14 female and 10 male participants with age range of 35-77 and average age of 55.5 years. Patients were classified into 3 groups, as follows: detection - referral due to clinical symptoms and/or biochemical markers (CgA-Chromogranin A, IAA-indoleacetic acid) with the aim of primary diagnosis, staging - referral with the aim of assessment of tumor spread, and follow-up - assessment of the therapy. Out of 61 patients, 24 underwent both 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-Tyr3-octreotide SPECT and 68Ga PET/CT. The result of PET/CT was used as a basis for further evaluation. Therefore, the patients were divided into groups; true positive TP (confirmed presence of tissue somatostatin receptors with 68Ga PET/CT) and TN (68Ga PET/CT did not detect any changes and the results were comparable and had the same influence on treatment protocol). In case of SPECT, the results

  8. Pituitary Adenoma Recurrence Suspected on Central Hyperthyroidism Despite Empty Sella and Confirmed by 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauthé, Mathieu; Sarfati, Julie; Bourcigaux, Nathalie; Christin-Maitre, Sophie; Talbot, Jean-Noël; Montravers, Françoise

    2017-06-01

    Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas are very rare tumors, known to present overexpression of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 and which may consequently demonstrate abnormal uptake on Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. A 67-year-old woman with a history of operated pituitary macroadenoma presented with symptoms of hyperthyroidism including a large goiter. Her serum thyroid hormone levels were in favor of central hyperthyroidism. Pituitary MRI depicted an empty sella but visualized an ambiguous lesion centered on the left sphenoidal sinus. Complementary Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT finally demonstrated intense uptake by the sphenoidal lesion, confirming recurrence of the pituitary adenoma.

  9. {sup 67}Ga-SPECT/CT with a hybrid system in the clinical management of lymphoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palumbo, Barbara; Sivolella, Silvio; Palumbo, Renato [University of Perugia, Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Radiological Sciences, Perugia (Italy); Palumbo, Isabella; Liberati, Anna Marina [University of Perugia, Internal Medicine and Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Perugia (Italy)

    2005-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the added value of co-registered fusion imaging using a hybrid system in patients with lymphoma. Twenty-four lymphoma patients underwent {sup 67}Ga-SPECT/CT using a hybrid tomograph consisting of a dual-head, variable-angle gamma camera and a low-dose X-ray tube. Results were compared with those of SPECT alone. Forty-five lesions were identified by SPECT alone, while 49 were detected by SPECT/CT. Forty out of the 45 lesions observed on SPECT were confirmed as lymphoma, but five were due to other causes (thoracic aorta blood pool activity, sialoadenitis in the submandibular gland, bowel activity, rib fracture and bone marrow activation due to radiotherapy). SPECT/CT identified nine more neoplastic lesions compared with SPECT alone: four areas of radiopharmaceutical accumulation were observed in para-aortic lymph nodes, three in the spleen, one in the liver and one in para-iliac lymph nodes. In five cases, SPECT/CT provided additional anatomical information over SPECT alone. In four patients, four large areas of {sup 67}Ga uptake (one mediastinal, two supraclavicular and one para-aortic) were better characterised; in one subject uptake was localised in the seventh thoracic vertebra only by SPECT/CT. Hybrid imaging provided additional data in 13 patients (54.2%), thus inducing oncologists to reconsider the therapeutic approach in eight subjects (33.2%): unnecessary treatment was avoided in four (16.6%) while therapy was altered in another four (16.6%). SPECT/CT hybrid system is able to provide information not obtained by SPECT alone. It allows the anatomical localisation of lymphoma and physiological radiopharmaceutical uptake, facilitates the diagnosis of tumours located in the abdomen (subdiaphragmatic lesions) and provides information that may cause a change in therapeutic strategy. (orig.)

  10. Diagnostic performance of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 (HBED-CC) PET/CT in patients with recurrent prostate cancer: evaluation in 1007 patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afshar-Oromieh, Ali; Haberkorn, Uwe [Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Research Centre, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Holland-Letz, Tim [German Cancer Research Center, Department of Biostatistics, Heidelberg (Germany); Giesel, Frederik L.; Kratochwil, Clemens; Mier, Walter; Haufe, Sabine; Debus, Nils [Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Eder, Matthias [German Cancer Research Centre, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Eisenhut, Michael; Schaefer, Martin; Neels, Oliver; Kopka, Klaus [German Cancer Research Center, Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Hohenfellner, Markus [Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich [Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Debus, Juergen [Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology and Therapy, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2017-08-15

    Since the clinical introduction of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, this imaging method has rapidly spread and is now regarded as a significant step forward in the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of several variables with possible influence on PSMA ligand uptake in a large cohort. We performed a retrospective analysis of 1007 consecutive patients who were scanned with {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT (1 h after injection) from January 2014 to January 2017 to detect recurrent disease. Patients with untreated primary PCa or patients referred for PSMA radioligand therapy were excluded. The possible effects of different variables including PSA level and PSA doubling time (PSA{sub DT}), PSA velocity (PSA{sub Vel}), Gleason score (GSC, including separate analysis of GSC 7a and 7b), ongoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), patient age and amount of injected activity were evaluated. In 79.5% of patients at least one lesion with characteristics suggestive of recurrent PCa was detected. A pathological (positive) PET/CT scan was associated with PSA level and ADT. GSC, amount of injected activity, patient age, PSA{sub DT} and PSA{sub Vel} were not associated with a positive PET/CT scan in multivariate analysis. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT detects tumour lesions in a high percentage of patients with recurrent PCa. Tumour detection is clearly associated with PSA level and ADT. Only a tendency for an association without statistical significance was found between higher GSC and a higher probability of a pathological PET/CT scan. No associations were found between a pathological {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan and patient age, amount of injected activity, PSA{sub DT} or PSA{sub Vel}. (orig.)

  11. The diagnostic value of PET/CT imaging with the {sup 68}Ga-labelled PSMA ligand HBED-CC in the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afshar-Oromieh, Ali; Giesel, Frederik L.; Kratochwil, Clemens; Haberkorn, Uwe [University Hospital of Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg (Germany); Avtzi, Eleni [University Hospital of Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Holland-Letz, Tim [German Cancer Research Center, Department of Biostatistics, Heidelberg (Germany); Linhart, Heinz G. [German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, National Centre for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg (Germany); Eder, Matthias; Eisenhut, Michael; Kopka, Klaus [German Cancer Research Center, Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Boxler, Silvan; Hadaschik, Boris A. [University Hospital of Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Weichert, Wilko [University Hospital of Heidelberg, Department of Pathology, Heidelberg (Germany); Debus, Juergen [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Radiation Oncology and Therapy, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2014-11-20

    Since the introduction of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC (={sup 68}Ga-DKFZ-PSMA-11), this method has been regarded as a significant step forward in the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). However, published data exist for small patient cohorts only. The aim of this evaluation was to analyse the diagnostic value of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/CT in a large cohort and the influence of several possibly interacting variables. We performed a retrospective analysis in 319 patients who underwent {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/CT from 2011 to 2014. Potential influences of several factors such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and doubling time (DT), Gleason score (GSC), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), age and amount of injected tracer were evaluated. Histological verification was performed in 42 patients after the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/CT. Tracer uptake was measured in 901 representative tumour lesions. In 82.8 % of the patients at least one lesion indicative of PCa was detected. Tumor-detection was positively associated with PSA level and ADT. GSC and PSA-DT were not associated with tumor-detection. The average maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) of tumour lesions was 13.3 ± 14.6 (0.7-122.5). Amongst lesions investigated by histology, 30 were false-negative in 4 different patients, and all other lesions (n = 416) were true-positive or true-negative. A lesion-based analysis of sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) revealed values of 76.6 %, 100 %, 91.4 % and 100 %. A patient-based analysis revealed a sensitivity of 88.1 %. Of 116 patients available for follow-up, 50 received local therapy after {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/CT. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/CT can detect recurrent PCa in a high number of patients. In addition, the radiotracer is highly specific for PCa. Tumour detection is positively associated with PSA and ADT. {sup 68}Ga

  12. Correlation between lactose absorption and the C/T-13910 and G/A-22018 mutations of the lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LCT gene in adult-type hypolactasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.C. Bulhões

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The C/T-13910 mutation is the major factor responsible for the persistence of the lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LCT gene expression. Mutation G/A-22018 appears to be only in co-segregation with C/T-13910. The objective of the present study was to assess the presence of these two mutations in Brazilian individuals with and without lactose malabsorption diagnosed by the hydrogen breath test (HBT. Ten milk-tolerant and 10 milk-intolerant individuals underwent the HBT after oral ingestion of 50 g lactose (equivalent to 1 L of milk. Analyses for C/T-13910 and G/A-22018 mutations were performed using a PCR-based method. Primers were designed for this study based on the GenBank sequence. The CT/GA, CT/AA, and TT/AA genotypes (lactase persistence were found in 10 individuals with negative HBT. The CC/GG genotype (lactase non-persistence was found in 10 individuals, 9 of them with positive HBT results. There was a significant agreement between the presence of mutations in the LCT gene promoter and HBT results (kappa = -0.9, P < 0.001. The CT/AA genotype has not been described previously and seems to be related to lactase persistence. The present study showed a significant agreement between the occurrence of mutations G/A-22018 and C/T-13910 and lactose absorption in Brazilian subjects, suggesting that the molecular test used here could be proposed for the laboratory diagnosis of adult-type primary hypolactasia.

  13. Comparison of hybrid {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/MRI and {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT in the evaluation of lymph node and bone metastases of prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freitag, Martin T.; Roethke, Matthias; Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter [German Cancer Research Center, Department of Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Radtke, Jan P. [German Cancer Research Center, Department of Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Hadaschik, Boris A. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Kopp-Schneider, A. [German Cancer Research Center, Department of Bioinformatics and Statistics, Heidelberg (Germany); Eder, Matthias; Kopka, Klaus [German Cancer Research Center, Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Haberkorn, Uwe [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Research Center, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Afshar-Oromieh, Ali [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2016-01-15

    To evaluate the reproducibility of the combination of hybrid PET/MRI and the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 tracer in depicting lymph node (LN) and bone metastases of prostate cancer (PC) in comparison with that of PET/CT. A retrospective analysis of 26 patients who were subjected to {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT{sub low-dose} (1 h after injection) followed by PET/MRI (3 h after injection) was performed. MRI sequences included T1-w native, T1-w contrast-enhanced, T2-w fat-saturated and diffusion-weighted sequences (DWI{sub b800}). Discordant PET-positive and morphological findings were evaluated. Standardized uptake values (SUV) of PET-positive LNs and bone lesions were quantified and their morphological size and conspicuity determined. Comparing the PET components, the proportion of discordant PSMA-positive suspicious findings was very low (98.5 % of 64 LNs concordant, 100 % of 28 bone lesions concordant). Two PET-positive bone metastases could not be confirmed morphologically using CT{sub low-dose}, but could be confirmed using MRI. In 12 of 20 patients, 47 PET-positive LNs (71.9 %) were smaller than 1 cm in short axis diameter. There were significant linear correlations between PET/MRI SUVs and PET/CT SUVs in the 64 LN metastases (p < 0.0001) and in the 28 osseous metastases (p < 0.0001) for SUV{sub mean} and SUV{sub max}, respectively. The LN SUVs were significantly higher on PET/MRI than on PET/CT (p{sub SUVmax} < 0.0001; p{sub SUVmean} < 0.0001) but there was no significant difference between the bone lesion SUVs (p{sub SUVmax} = 0.495; p{sub SUVmean} = 0.381). Visibility of LNs was significantly higher on MRI using the T1-w contrast-enhanced fat-saturated sequence (p = 0.013), the T2-w fat-saturated sequence (p < 0.0001) and the DWI sequence (p < 0.0001) compared with CT{sub low-dose}. For bone lesions, only the overall conspicuity was higher on MRI compared with CT{sub low-dose} (p < 0.006). Nodal and osseous metastases of PC are accurately and reliably depicted by hybrid PET

  14. Automated Whole-Body Bone Lesion Detection for Multiple Myeloma on 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT Imaging Using Deep Learning Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lina; Tetteh, Giles; Lipkova, Jana; Zhao, Yu; Li, Hongwei; Christ, Patrick; Piraud, Marie; Buck, Andreas; Shi, Kuangyu; Menze, Bjoern H

    2018-01-01

    The identification of bone lesions is crucial in the diagnostic assessment of multiple myeloma (MM). 68 Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT can capture the abnormal molecular expression of CXCR-4 in addition to anatomical changes. However, whole-body detection of dozens of lesions on hybrid imaging is tedious and error prone. It is even more difficult to identify lesions with a large heterogeneity. This study employed deep learning methods to automatically combine characteristics of PET and CT for whole-body MM bone lesion detection in a 3D manner. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs), V-Net and W-Net, were adopted to segment and detect the lesions. The feasibility of deep learning for lesion detection on 68 Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT was first verified on digital phantoms generated using realistic PET simulation methods. Then the proposed methods were evaluated on real 68 Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT scans of MM patients. The preliminary results showed that deep learning method can leverage multimodal information for spatial feature representation, and W-Net obtained the best result for segmentation and lesion detection. It also outperformed traditional machine learning methods such as random forest classifier (RF), k -Nearest Neighbors ( k -NN), and support vector machine (SVM). The proof-of-concept study encourages further development of deep learning approach for MM lesion detection in population study.

  15. Automated Whole-Body Bone Lesion Detection for Multiple Myeloma on 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT Imaging Using Deep Learning Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Xu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The identification of bone lesions is crucial in the diagnostic assessment of multiple myeloma (MM. 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT can capture the abnormal molecular expression of CXCR-4 in addition to anatomical changes. However, whole-body detection of dozens of lesions on hybrid imaging is tedious and error prone. It is even more difficult to identify lesions with a large heterogeneity. This study employed deep learning methods to automatically combine characteristics of PET and CT for whole-body MM bone lesion detection in a 3D manner. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs, V-Net and W-Net, were adopted to segment and detect the lesions. The feasibility of deep learning for lesion detection on 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT was first verified on digital phantoms generated using realistic PET simulation methods. Then the proposed methods were evaluated on real 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT scans of MM patients. The preliminary results showed that deep learning method can leverage multimodal information for spatial feature representation, and W-Net obtained the best result for segmentation and lesion detection. It also outperformed traditional machine learning methods such as random forest classifier (RF, k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN, and support vector machine (SVM. The proof-of-concept study encourages further development of deep learning approach for MM lesion detection in population study.

  16. Preclinical and first clinical experience with the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor-antagonist [68Ga]SB3 and PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maina, Theodosia; Charalambidis, David; Nock, Berthold A.; Bergsma, Hendrik; Krenning, Eric P.; Kulkarni, Harshad R.; Mueller, Dirk; Baum, Richard P.; Jong, Marion de

    2016-01-01

    Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) represent attractive targets for tumor diagnosis and therapy because of their overexpression in major human cancers. Internalizing GRPR agonists were initially proposed for prolonged lesion retention, but a shift of paradigm to GRPR antagonists has recently been made. Surprisingly, radioantagonists, such as [ 99m Tc]DB1 ( 99m Tc-N 4 '-DPhe 6 ,Leu-NHEt 13 BBN(6-13)), displayed better pharmacokinetics than radioagonists, in addition to their higher inherent biosafety. We introduce here [ 68 Ga]SB3, a [ 99m Tc]DB1 mimic-carrying, instead of the 99m Tc-binding tetraamine, the chelator DOTA for labeling with the PET radiometal 68 Ga. Competition binding assays of SB3 and [ nat Ga]SB3 were conducted against [ 125 I-Tyr 4 ]BBN in PC-3 cell membranes. Blood samples collected 5 min postinjection (pi) of the [ 67 Ga]SB3 surrogate in mice were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for degradation products. Likewise, biodistribution was performed after injection of [ 67 Ga]SB3 (37 kBq, 100 μL, 10 pmol peptide) in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice bearing PC-3 xenografts. Eventually, [ 68 Ga]SB3 (283 ± 91 MBq, 23 ± 7 nmol) was injected into 17 patients with breast (8) and prostate (9) cancer. All patients had disseminated disease and had received previous therapies. PET/CT fusion images were acquired 60-115 min pi. SB3 and [ nat Ga]SB3 bound to the human GRPR with high affinity (IC 50 : 4.6 ± 0.5 nM and 1.5 ± 0.3 nM, respectively). [ 67 Ga]SB3 displayed good in vivo stability (>85 % intact at 5 min pi). [ 67 Ga]SB3 showed high, GRPR-specific and prolonged retention in PC-3 xenografts (33.1 ± 3.9%ID/g at 1 h pi - 27.0 ± 0.9%ID/g at 24 h pi), but much faster clearance from the GRPR-rich pancreas (∼160%ID/g at 1 h pi to <17%ID/g at 24 h pi) in mice. In patients, [ 68 Ga]SB3 elicited no adverse effects and clearly visualized cancer lesions. Thus, 4 out of 8 (50 %) breast cancer and 5 out of 9

  17. Direct comparison of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the follow-up of patients with neuroendocrine tumour treated with the first full peptide receptor radionuclide therapy cycle

    OpenAIRE

    Nilica, Bernhard; Waitz, Dietmar; Stevanovic, Vlado; Uprimny, Christian; Kendler, Dorota; Buxbaum, Sabine; Warwitz, Boris; Gerardo, Llanos; Henninger, Benjamin; Virgolini, Irene; Rodrigues, Margarida

    2016-01-01

    Purpose To determine the value of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18F-FDG PET/CT for initial and follow-up evaluation of patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET) treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). Methods We evaluated 66 patients who had histologically proven NET and underwent both PRRT and three combined 68Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18F-FDG PET/CT studies. 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was performed before PRRT, 3?months after completion of PRRT and after a further 6???9 months. 18F-FDG PET/CT was do...

  18. Comparison of PET/CT and PET/MRI hybrid systems using a 68Ga-labelled PSMA ligand for the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer: initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afshar-Oromieh, A.; Haberkorn, U.; Schlemmer, H.P.; Fenchel, M.; Roethke, M.; Eder, M.; Eisenhut, M.; Hadaschik, B.A.; Kopp-Schneider, A.

    2014-01-01

    68 Ga-labelled HBED-CC-PSMA is a highly promising tracer for imaging recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). The intention of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of PET/MRI with this tracer. Twenty patients underwent PET/CT 1 h after injection of the 68 Ga-PSMA ligand followed by PET/MRI 3 h after injection. Data from the two investigations were first analysed separately and then compared with respect to tumour detection rate and radiotracer uptake in various tissues. To evaluate the quantification accuracy of the PET/MRI system, differences in SUVs between PET/CT and corresponding PET/MRI were compared with differences in SUVs between PET/CT 1 h and 3 h after injection in another patient cohort. This cohort was investigated using the same PET/CT system. With PET/MRI, different diagnostic sequences, higher contrast of lesions and higher resolution of MRI enabled a subjectively easier evaluation of the images. In addition, four unclear findings on PET/CT could be clarified as characteristic of PCa metastases by PET/MRI. However, in PET images of the PET/MRI, a reduced signal was observed at the level of the kidneys (in 11 patients) and around the urinary bladder (in 15 patients). This led to reduced SUVs in six lesions. SUV mean values provided by the PET/MRI system were different in muscles, blood pool, liver and spleen. PCa was detected more easily and more accurately with Ga-PSMA PET/MRI than with PET/CT and with lower radiation exposure. Consequently, this new technique could clarify unclear findings on PET/CT. However, scatter correction was challenging when the specific 68 Ga-PSMA ligand was used. Moreover, direct comparison of SUVs from PET/CT and PET/MR needs to be conducted carefully. (orig.)

  19. Correlation of 68Ga Ventilation-Perfusion PET/CT with Pulmonary Function Test Indices for Assessing Lung Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Roux, Pierre-Yves; Siva, Shankar; Steinfort, Daniel P; Callahan, Jason; Eu, Peter; Irving, Lou B; Hicks, Rodney J; Hofman, Michael S

    2015-11-01

    Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are routinely used to assess lung function, but they do not provide information about regional pulmonary dysfunction. We aimed to assess correlation of quantitative ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) PET/CT with PFT indices. Thirty patients underwent V/Q PET/CT and PFT. Respiration-gated images were acquired after inhalation of (68)Ga-carbon nanoparticles and administration of (68)Ga-macroaggregated albumin. Functional volumes were calculated by dividing the volume of normal ventilated and perfused (%NVQ), unmatched and matched defects by the total lung volume. These functional volumes were correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). All functional volumes were significantly different in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P volume of unmatched defects (r = -0.55). Considering %NVQ only, a cutoff value of 90% correctly categorized 28 of 30 patients with or without significant pulmonary function impairment. Our study demonstrates strong correlations between V/Q PET/CT functional volumes and PFT parameters. Because V/Q PET/CT is able to assess regional lung function, these data support the feasibility of its use in radiation therapy and preoperative planning and assessing pulmonary dysfunction in a variety of respiratory diseases. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  20. Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of {sup 111}In-pentetreotide SPECT and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT: A lesion-by-lesion analysis in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Binnebeek, S. van; Vanbilloen, B.; Baete, K.; Terwinghe, C.; Koole, M.; Mortelmans, L. [KU Leuven, Nuclear Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven and Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven (Belgium); Mottaghy, F.M. [Maastricht University Medical Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht (Netherlands); University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Clement, P.M. [KU Leuven, Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven and Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, Leuven (Belgium); Bogaerts, K. [KU Leuven and UHasselt, Department of Public Health and Primary Care (I-BioStat), Leuven (Belgium); Haustermans, K. [KU Leuven, Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven and Department of Oncology, Leuven (Belgium); Nackaerts, K. [University Hospitals Leuven, Pulmonology, Leuven (Belgium); Cutsem, E. van; Verslype, C. [KU Leuven, Division of Digestive Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven and Department of Oncology, Leuven (Belgium); Verbruggen, A. [KU Leuven, Laboratory for Radiopharmacy, Leuven (Belgium); Deroose, C.M. [KU Leuven, Nuclear Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven and Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven (Belgium); University Hospitals Leuven, Nuclear Medicine, Leuven (Belgium)

    2016-03-15

    To compare the diagnostic accuracy of {sup 111}In-pentetreotide-scintigraphy with {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in patients with metastatic-neuroendocrine tumour (NET) scheduled for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). Incremental lesions (ILs) were defined as lesions observed on only one modality. Fifty-three metastatic-NET-patients underwent {sup 111}In-pentetreotide-scintigraphy (24 h post-injection; planar+single-photon emission CT (SPECT) abdomen) and whole-body {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT. SPECT and PET were compared in a lesion-by-lesion and organ-by-organ analysis, determining the total lesions and ILs for both modalities. Significantly more lesions were detected on {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT versus {sup 111}In-pentetreotide-scintigraphy. More specifically, we observed 1,098 lesions on PET/CT (range: 1-105; median: 15) versus 660 on SPECT (range: 0-73, median: 9) (p<0.0001), with 439 PET-ILs (42/53 patients) and one SPECT-IL (1/53 patients). The sensitivity for PET/CT was 99.9 % (95 % CI, 99.3-100.0), for SPECT 60.0 % (95 % CI, 48.5-70.2). The organ-by-organ analysis showed that the PET-ILs were most frequently visualized in liver and skeleton. Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT is superior for the detection of NET-metastases compared to {sup 111}In-pentetreotide SPECT. (orig.)

  1. PET-CT and PET-MRI of the prostate. From {sup 18}F-FDG to {sup 68}Ga-PSMA; PET-CT/-MRT der Prostata. Von {sup 18}F-FDG zu {sup 68}Ga-PSMA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knorr, K.; Eiber, M.; Scheidhauer, K. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Muenchen (Germany); Maurer, T. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Urologische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Muenchen (Germany); Wester, H.J. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Pharmazeutische Radiochemie, Garching (Germany)

    2017-08-15

    In the last few years nuclear medical diagnostics have experienced a unprecedented renaissance in the diagnostics of prostate cancer, due to the availability of hybrid imaging with positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET/CT), PET magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) CT as well as the development of prostate-specific radiopharmaceuticals. The use of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which has been successfully implemented for many years in PET diagnostics, is only helpful in dedifferentiated tumors due to the biological characteristics of prostate cancer. New specific radiopharmaceuticals, such as choline-derivatives, which are incorporated into the prostate cancer cell and built into the cell membrane as well as the recently developed highly specific ligands for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) are revolutionizing prostate cancer imaging and (re-) staging. The {sup 68} Ga-labeled PSMA ligands for PET-CT and PET-MRI are highly specific tracers for primary diagnostics and detection of metastases of prostate carcinoma. In risk patients, which includes patients with intermediate and high-risk tumors, they have largely replaced choline-based PET-CT, especially in the case of very low PSA values <0.5 ng/ml in the diagnostics of recurrence. The use in the primary diagnostics as PET-MRI, also in combination with multiparametric MRI (mpMRI), is promising with respect to early diagnostics and image fusion-assisted biopsy as well as surgery and irradiation planning. (orig.) [German] Die nuklearmedizinische Diagnostik hat in den letzten Jahren bei der Bildgebung des Prostatakarzinoms eine rasante Entwicklung erlebt, sowohl aufgrund der verfuegbaren Hybridbildgebung mit der Positronenemissionstomographie(PET)-CT, PET-MRT sowie der Single-photon-emission-computed-tomography(SPECT)-CT als auch durch die Entwicklung prostataspezifischer Radiopharmaka. Die in der PET-Diagnostik seit Jahren erfolgreich eingesetzte

  2. Ectopic ACTH and CRH co-secreting tumor localized by 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakis, Georgios Z.; Bagci, Ulas; Sadowski, Samira M.; Patronas, Nicholas J.; Stratakis, Constantine A.

    2015-01-01

    Diagnosis of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) co-secreting tumors causing Cushing syndrome (CS) is challenging, since these tumors are rare and their diagnosis is frequently confused with Cushing disease (CD), due to the effect of CRH on the pituitary. We report a case of a 21-year-old male who was referred to our institution with persistent hypercortisolemia and CS after undergoing unnecessary transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT revealed increased tracer uptake in the thymus which was histologically proved to be neuroendocrine tumor (NET) staining positive for ACTH and CRH. Imaging with 18F-FDG PET/CT was not diagnostic. PMID:26018709

  3. Preclinical and first clinical experience with the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor-antagonist [⁶⁸Ga]SB3 and PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maina, Theodosia; Bergsma, Hendrik; Kulkarni, Harshad R; Mueller, Dirk; Charalambidis, David; Krenning, Eric P; Nock, Berthold A; de Jong, Marion; Baum, Richard P

    2016-05-01

    Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) represent attractive targets for tumor diagnosis and therapy because of their overexpression in major human cancers. Internalizing GRPR agonists were initially proposed for prolonged lesion retention, but a shift of paradigm to GRPR antagonists has recently been made. Surprisingly, radioantagonists, such as [(99m)Tc]DB1 ((99m)Tc-N4'-DPhe(6),Leu-NHEt(13)]BBN(6-13)), displayed better pharmacokinetics than radioagonists, in addition to their higher inherent biosafety. We introduce here [(68)Ga]SB3, a [(99m)Tc]DB1 mimic-carrying, instead of the (99m)Tc-binding tetraamine, the chelator DOTA for labeling with the PET radiometal (68)Ga. Competition binding assays of SB3 and [(nat)Ga]SB3 were conducted against [(125)I-Tyr(4)]BBN in PC-3 cell membranes. Blood samples collected 5 min postinjection (pi) of the [(67)Ga]SB3 surrogate in mice were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for degradation products. Likewise, biodistribution was performed after injection of [(67)Ga]SB3 (37 kBq, 100 μL, 10 pmol peptide) in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice bearing PC-3 xenografts. Eventually, [(68)Ga]SB3 (283 ± 91 MBq, 23 ± 7 nmol) was injected into 17 patients with breast (8) and prostate (9) cancer. All patients had disseminated disease and had received previous therapies. PET/CT fusion images were acquired 60-115 min pi. SB3 and [(nat)Ga]SB3 bound to the human GRPR with high affinity (IC50: 4.6 ± 0.5 nM and 1.5 ± 0.3 nM, respectively). [(67)Ga]SB3 displayed good in vivo stability (>85 % intact at 5 min pi). [(67)Ga]SB3 showed high, GRPR-specific and prolonged retention in PC-3 xenografts (33.1 ± 3.9%ID/g at 1 h pi - 27.0 ± 0.9%ID/g at 24 h pi), but much faster clearance from the GRPR-rich pancreas (≈160%ID/g at 1 h pi to <17%ID/g at 24 h pi) in mice. In patients, [(68)Ga]SB3 elicited no adverse effects and clearly visualized cancer lesions. Thus, 4 out of 8 (50 %) breast

  4. Comparison of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE and {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT imaging in the same patient group with neuroendocrine tumours

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kabasakal, Levent [Istanbul University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul (Turkey); Cerrahpasa Tip Fakultesi, Nukleer Tip Anabilim Dali, Aksaray, Istanbul (Turkey); Demirci, Emre; Uslu, Ilhami; Kanmaz, Bedii [Istanbul University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul (Turkey); Ocak, Meltem; Araman, Ahmet; Ozsoy, Yildiz [Istanbul University, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Pharmacy Faculty, Istanbul (Turkey); Decristoforo, Clemens [Medical University of Innsbruck, Clinical Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2012-08-15

    Recent studies have suggested that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with {sup 68}Ga-labelled DOTA-somatostatin analogues (SST) like octreotide and octreotate is useful in diagnosing neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and has superior value over both CT and planar and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-1-NaI{sup 3}-octreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC) in patients with SST receptor-expressing tumours and to compare the results of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-D-Phe{sup 1}-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotate ({sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE) in the same patient population. Twenty SRS were included in the study. Patients' age (n = 20) ranged from 25 to 75 years (mean 55.4 {+-} 12.7 years). There were eight patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumour (WDNET) grade1, eight patients with WDNET grade 2, one patient with poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (PDNEC) grade 3 and one patient with mixed adenoneuroendocrine tumour (MANEC). All patients had two consecutive PET studies with {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE and {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC. All images were evaluated visually and maximum standardized uptake values (SUV{sub max}) were also calculated for quantitative evaluation. On visual evaluation both tracers produced equally excellent image quality and similar body distribution. The physiological uptake sites of pituitary and salivary glands showed higher uptake in {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE images. Liver and spleen uptake values were evaluated as equal. Both {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE and {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC were negative in 6 (30 %) patients and positive in 14 (70 %) patients. In {sup 68}Ga-DOTANOC images only 116 of 130 (89 %) lesions could be defined and 14 lesions were missed because of lack of any uptake. SUV{sub max} values of lesions were significantly higher on {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE images. Our study demonstrated that the images obtained by {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE and {sup 68}Ga

  5. Comparison of PET/CT and PET/MRI hybrid systems using a {sup 68}Ga-labelled PSMA ligand for the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer: initial experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afshar-Oromieh, A. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Haberkorn, U. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Clinical Cooperation Unit of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Schlemmer, H.P.; Fenchel, M.; Roethke, M. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Eder, M.; Eisenhut, M. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Heidelberg (Germany); Hadaschik, B.A. [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Kopp-Schneider, A. [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Biostatistics, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2014-05-15

    {sup 68}Ga-labelled HBED-CC-PSMA is a highly promising tracer for imaging recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). The intention of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of PET/MRI with this tracer. Twenty patients underwent PET/CT 1 h after injection of the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA ligand followed by PET/MRI 3 h after injection. Data from the two investigations were first analysed separately and then compared with respect to tumour detection rate and radiotracer uptake in various tissues. To evaluate the quantification accuracy of the PET/MRI system, differences in SUVs between PET/CT and corresponding PET/MRI were compared with differences in SUVs between PET/CT 1 h and 3 h after injection in another patient cohort. This cohort was investigated using the same PET/CT system. With PET/MRI, different diagnostic sequences, higher contrast of lesions and higher resolution of MRI enabled a subjectively easier evaluation of the images. In addition, four unclear findings on PET/CT could be clarified as characteristic of PCa metastases by PET/MRI. However, in PET images of the PET/MRI, a reduced signal was observed at the level of the kidneys (in 11 patients) and around the urinary bladder (in 15 patients). This led to reduced SUVs in six lesions. SUV{sub mean} values provided by the PET/MRI system were different in muscles, blood pool, liver and spleen. PCa was detected more easily and more accurately with Ga-PSMA PET/MRI than with PET/CT and with lower radiation exposure. Consequently, this new technique could clarify unclear findings on PET/CT. However, scatter correction was challenging when the specific {sup 68}Ga-PSMA ligand was used. Moreover, direct comparison of SUVs from PET/CT and PET/MR needs to be conducted carefully. (orig.)

  6. Extent of disease in recurrent prostate cancer determined by [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT in relation to PSA levels, PSA doubling time and Gleason score.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verburg, Frederik A; Pfister, David; Heidenreich, Axel; Vogg, Andreas; Drude, Natascha I; Vöö, Stefan; Mottaghy, Felix M; Behrendt, Florian F

    2016-03-01

    To examine the relationship between the extent of disease determined by [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC-PET/CT and the important clinical measures prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA doubling time (PSAdt) and Gleason score. We retrospectively studied the first 155 patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PCA) referred to our university hospital for [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT. PET/CT was positive in 44%, 79% and 89% of patients with PSA levels of ≤1, 1-2 and ≥2 ng/ml, respectively. Patients with high PSA levels showed higher rates of local prostate tumours (p PSA and PSAdt were independent determinants of scan positivity and of extrapelvic lymph node metastases. PSAdt was the only independent marker of bone metastases (p = 0.001). Of 20 patients with a PSAdt PSA ≥2 ng/ml, 19 (95%) had a positive scan and 12 (60%) had M1a disease. Of 14 patients with PSA 6 months, only 5 (36%) had a positive scan and 1 (7%) had M1a disease. [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT will identify PCA lesions even in patients with very low PSA levels. Higher PSA levels and shorter PSAdt are independently associated with scan positivity and extrapelvic metastases, and can be used for patient selection for [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT.

  7. Colorectal cancer staging: comparison of whole-body PET/CT and PET/MR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catalano, Onofrio A; Coutinho, Artur M; Sahani, Dushyant V; Vangel, Mark G; Gee, Michael S; Hahn, Peter F; Witzel, Thomas; Soricelli, Andrea; Salvatore, Marco; Catana, Ciprian; Mahmood, Umar; Rosen, Bruce R; Gervais, Debra

    2017-04-01

    Correct staging is imperative for colorectal cancer (CRC) since it influences both prognosis and management. Several imaging methods are used for this purpose, with variable performance. Positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET/MR) is an innovative imaging technique recently employed for clinical application. The present study was undertaken to compare the staging accuracy of whole-body positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with whole-body PET/MR in patients with both newly diagnosed and treated colorectal cancer. Twenty-six patients, who underwent same day whole-body (WB) PET/CT and WB-PET/MR, were evaluated. PET/CT and PET/MR studies were interpreted by consensus by a radiologist and a nuclear medicine physician. Correlations with prior imaging and follow-up studies were used as the reference standard. Correct staging was compared between methods using McNemar's Chi square test. The two methods were in agreement and correct for 18/26 (69%) patients, and in agreement and incorrect for one patient (3.8%). PET/MR and PET/CT stages for the remaining 7/26 patients (27%) were discordant, with PET/MR staging being correct in all seven cases. PET/MR significantly outperformed PET/CT overall for accurate staging (P = 0.02). PET/MR outperformed PET/CT in CRC staging. PET/MR might allow accurate local and distant staging of CRC patients during both at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up.

  8. A Novel AMR-WB Speech Steganography Based on Diameter-Neighbor Codebook Partition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junhui He

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Steganography is a means of covert communication without revealing the occurrence and the real purpose of communication. The adaptive multirate wideband (AMR-WB is a widely adapted format in mobile handsets and is also the recommended speech codec for VoLTE. In this paper, a novel AMR-WB speech steganography is proposed based on diameter-neighbor codebook partition algorithm. Different embedding capacity may be achieved by adjusting the iterative parameters during codebook division. The experimental results prove that the presented AMR-WB steganography may provide higher and flexible embedding capacity without inducing perceptible distortion compared with the state-of-the-art methods. With 48 iterations of cluster merging, twice the embedding capacity of complementary-neighbor-vertices-based embedding method may be obtained with a decrease of only around 2% in speech quality and much the same undetectability. Moreover, both the quality of stego speech and the security regarding statistical steganalysis are better than the recent speech steganography based on neighbor-index-division codebook partition.

  9. Preclinical and first clinical experience with the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor-antagonist [{sup 68}Ga]SB3 and PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maina, Theodosia; Charalambidis, David; Nock, Berthold A. [INRASTES, NCSR ' ' Demokritos' ' , Molecular Radiopharmacy, Athens (Greece); Bergsma, Hendrik; Krenning, Eric P. [Erasmus MC, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Kulkarni, Harshad R.; Mueller, Dirk; Baum, Richard P. [Zentralklinik, Molecular Radiotherapy and Molecular Imaging, Bad Berka (Germany); Jong, Marion de [Erasmus MC, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus MC, Department of Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2016-05-15

    Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) represent attractive targets for tumor diagnosis and therapy because of their overexpression in major human cancers. Internalizing GRPR agonists were initially proposed for prolonged lesion retention, but a shift of paradigm to GRPR antagonists has recently been made. Surprisingly, radioantagonists, such as [{sup 99m}Tc]DB1 ({sup 99m}Tc-N{sub 4}'-DPhe{sup 6},Leu-NHEt{sup 13}BBN(6-13)), displayed better pharmacokinetics than radioagonists, in addition to their higher inherent biosafety. We introduce here [{sup 68}Ga]SB3, a [{sup 99m}Tc]DB1 mimic-carrying, instead of the {sup 99m}Tc-binding tetraamine, the chelator DOTA for labeling with the PET radiometal {sup 68}Ga. Competition binding assays of SB3 and [{sup nat}Ga]SB3 were conducted against [{sup 125}I-Tyr{sup 4}]BBN in PC-3 cell membranes. Blood samples collected 5 min postinjection (pi) of the [{sup 67}Ga]SB3 surrogate in mice were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for degradation products. Likewise, biodistribution was performed after injection of [{sup 67}Ga]SB3 (37 kBq, 100 μL, 10 pmol peptide) in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice bearing PC-3 xenografts. Eventually, [{sup 68}Ga]SB3 (283 ± 91 MBq, 23 ± 7 nmol) was injected into 17 patients with breast (8) and prostate (9) cancer. All patients had disseminated disease and had received previous therapies. PET/CT fusion images were acquired 60-115 min pi. SB3 and [{sup nat}Ga]SB3 bound to the human GRPR with high affinity (IC{sub 50}: 4.6 ± 0.5 nM and 1.5 ± 0.3 nM, respectively). [{sup 67}Ga]SB3 displayed good in vivo stability (>85 % intact at 5 min pi). [{sup 67}Ga]SB3 showed high, GRPR-specific and prolonged retention in PC-3 xenografts (33.1 ± 3.9%ID/g at 1 h pi - 27.0 ± 0.9%ID/g at 24 h pi), but much faster clearance from the GRPR-rich pancreas (∼160%ID/g at 1 h pi to <17%ID/g at 24 h pi) in mice. In patients, [{sup 68}Ga]SB3 elicited no adverse effects and

  10. Improved Frame Mode Selection for AMR-WB+ Based on Decision Tree

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong Kyu; Kim, Nam Soo

    In this letter, we propose a coding mode selection method for the AMR-WB+ audio coder based on a decision tree. In order to reduce computation while maintaining good performance, decision tree classifier is adopted with the closed loop mode selection results as the target classification labels. The size of the decision tree is controlled by pruning, so the proposed method does not increase the memory requirement significantly. Through an evaluation test on a database covering both speech and music materials, the proposed method is found to achieve a much better mode selection accuracy compared with the open loop mode selection module in the AMR-WB+.

  11. Effect of the positron range of 18F, 68Ga and 124I on PET/CT in lung-equivalent materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemerink, Gerrit J; Visser, Mariëlle G W; Franssen, Renee; Beijer, Emiel; Zamburlini, Mariangela; Halders, Servé G E A; Brans, Boudewijn; Mottaghy, Felix M; Teule, Gerrit J J

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of positron range on visualization and quantification in (18)F, (68)Ga and (124)I positron emission tomography (PET)/CT of lung-like tissue. Different sources were measured in air, in lung-equivalent foams and in water, using a clinical PET/CT and a microPET system. Intensity profiles and curves with the cumulative number of annihilations were derived and numerically characterized. (68)Ga and (124)I gave similar results. Their intensity profiles in lung-like foam had a peak similar to that for (18)F, and tails of very low intensity, but extending over distances of centimetres and containing a large fraction of all annihilations. For 90% recovery, volumes of interest with diameters up to 50 mm were required, and recovery within the 10% intensity isocontour was as low as 30%. In contrast, tailing was minor for (18)F. Lung lesions containing (18)F, (68)Ga or (124)I will be visualized similarly, and at least as sharp as in soft tissue. Nevertheless, for quantification of (68)Ga and (124)I large volumes of interest are needed for complete activity recovery. For clinical studies containing noise and background, new quantification approaches may have to be developed.

  12. Association Analysis between g.18873C>T and g.27522G>A Genetic Polymorphisms of OPG and Bone Mineral Density in Chinese Postmenopausal Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Several studies report that the OPG is an important candidate gene in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. This study aimed to detect the potential association of OPG gene polymorphisms with osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. We recruited 928 subjects containing 463 with primary postmenopausal osteoporosis and 465 healthy volunteers as controls. The BMD of neck hip, lumbar spine (L2–4, and total hip were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA. Through the created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (CRS-PCR, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP, and DNA sequencing methods, the g.18873C>T and g.27522G>A have been investigated. As for g.18873C>T, our data indicated that subjects with CC genotype have significantly higher BMD value than those of CT and TT genotypes (all P values A, the BMD values of subjects with GG genotype were significantly higher than those of GA and AA genotypes (all P values T and g.27522G>A genetic polymorphisms are associated with the decreased risk for osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women.

  13. Breath-hold [68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT in neuroendocrine tumors: detection of additional lesions and effects on quantitative parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zirnsak, Mariana; Bärwolf, Robert; Freesmeyer, Martin

    2016-11-08

    Respiratory motion during PET/CT acquisition generates artifacts in the form of breath-related blurring, which influences the lesion detectability and diagnostic accuracy. The goal of this study was to verify whether breath-hold [68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT (bhPET) allows detection of additional foci compared to free-breathing PET/CT (fbPET), and to assess the impact of breath-holding on standard uptake values (SUV) and isocontoured volume (Vic40) in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Patients with NET (n=39) were included in this study. BhPET and fbPET characteristics of 96 lesions were compared, and correlated with standard contrast-enhanced (ce) CT and MRI for lesion verification. Quantitative parameters SUV (max and mean) and Vic40 were assessed for both methods and evaluated by linear regression and Spearman's correlation. The impact of lesion size, localization and time interval between investigations was also analyzed. bhPET identified one additional metastasis not seen at fbPET but visible at ceMRI. Another additional bhPET focus did not have a morphological correlate. At bhPET, the SUVmax and SUVmean proved significantly higher and the Vic40 significantly lower than at fbPET. Lesion size, localization and time intervals did not impact significantly on SUV or Vic40. Currently, routine use of breath-hold [68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT cannot be recommended as only one additional lesion was identified. Therefore, bhPET has currently no indication in patients with NET. If technical improvements regarding PET/CT scanner sensitivity are available, bhPET should be reevaluated in the future.

  14. (68)Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 PET/CT imaging of peri-implant tissue responses and staphylococcal infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahtinen, Helena; Kulkova, Julia; Lindholm, Laura; Eerola, Erkki; Hakanen, Antti J; Moritz, Niko; Söderström, Mirva; Saanijoki, Tiina; Jalkanen, Sirpa; Roivainen, Anne; Aro, Hannu T

    2014-01-01

    Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) has emerged as one of the leading pathogens of biomaterial-related infections. Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is an inflammation-inducible endothelial molecule controlling extravasation of leukocytes. Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 9 (Siglec-9) is a leukocyte ligand of VAP-1. We hypothesized that (68)Ga-labeled 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid-conjugated Siglec-9 motif containing peptide ((68)Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9) could detect inflammatory response due to S. epidermidis peri-implant infection by positron emission tomography (PET). Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups. A sterile catheter was implanted into the medullary canal of the left tibia. In groups 1 and 2, the implantation was followed by peri-implant injection of S. epidermidis or Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) with adjunct injections of aqueous sodium morrhuate. In group 3, sterile saline was injected instead of bacteria and no aqueous sodium morrhuate was used. At 2 weeks after operation, (68)Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 PET coupled with computed tomography (CT) was performed with the measurement of the standardized uptake value (SUV). The presence of the implant-related infection was verified by microbiological analysis, imaging with fluorescence microscope, and histology. The in vivo PET results were verified by ex vivo measurements by gamma counter. In group 3, the tibias with implanted sterile catheters showed an increased local uptake of (68)Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 compared with the intact contralateral bones (SUVratio +29.5%). (68)Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 PET detected inflammation induced by S. epidermidis and S. aureus catheter-related bone infections (SUVratio +58.1% and +41.7%, respectively). The tracer uptake was significantly higher in the S. epidermidis group than in group 3 without bacterial inoculation, but the difference between S. epidermidis and S. aureus groups was not statistically significant. The

  15. Guideline for PET/CT imaging of neuroendocrine neoplasms with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-conjugated somatostatin receptor targeting peptides and {sup 18}F-DOPA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bozkurt, Murat Fani [Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ankara (Turkey); Virgolini, Irene; Decristoforo, Clemens [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Balogova, Sona [Comenius University and St. Elisabeth Oncology Institute, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bratislava (Slovakia); Tenon Hospital AP-HP and Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Paris (France); Beheshti, Mohsen [St. Vincent' s Hospital, PET-CT Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrinology, Linz (Austria); Paracelsus Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Salzburg (Austria); Rubello, Domenico [Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, PET Center and Medical Physics and Radiology, Rovigo (Italy); Ambrosini, Valentina; Fanti, Stefano [University of Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine-DIMES, Bologna (Italy); Kjaer, Andreas [National University Hospital and University of Copenhagen, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Delgado-Bolton, Roberto [San Pedro Hospital and Centre for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), Department of Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) and Nuclear Medicine, Logrono (Spain); Kunikowska, Jolanta [Medical University of Warsaw, Nuclear Medicine, Warsaw (Poland); Oyen, Wim J.G. [Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London (United Kingdom); Chiti, Arturo [Humanitas University, Nuclear Medicine Department, Rozzano, MI (Italy); Giammarile, Francesco [University of Lyon, Nuclear Medicine, Lyon (France)

    2017-08-15

    Neuroendocrine neoplasms are a heterogenous group of tumours, for which nuclear medicine plays an important role in the diagnostic work-up as well as in the targeted therapeutic options. This guideline is aimed to assist nuclear medicine physicians in recommending, performing, reporting and interpreting the results of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) PET/CT imaging using {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-conjugated peptides, as well as {sup 18}F-DOPA imaging for various neuroendocrine neoplasms. The previous procedural guideline by EANM regarding the use PET/CT tumour imaging with {sup 68}Ga-conjugated peptides has been revised and updated with the relevant and recent literature in the field with contribution of distinguished experts. (orig.)

  16. Validating and improving CT ventilation imaging by correlating with ventilation 4D-PET/CT using 68Ga-labeled nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kipritidis, John; Keall, Paul J.; Siva, Shankar; Hofman, Michael S.; Callahan, Jason; Hicks, Rodney J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: CT ventilation imaging is a novel functional lung imaging modality based on deformable image registration. The authors present the first validation study of CT ventilation using positron emission tomography with 68 Ga-labeled nanoparticles (PET-Galligas). The authors quantify this agreement for different CT ventilation metrics and PET reconstruction parameters. Methods: PET-Galligas ventilation scans were acquired for 12 lung cancer patients using a four-dimensional (4D) PET/CT scanner. CT ventilation images were then produced by applying B-spline deformable image registration between the respiratory correlated phases of the 4D-CT. The authors test four ventilation metrics, two existing and two modified. The two existing metrics model mechanical ventilation (alveolar air-flow) based on Hounsfield unit (HU) change (V HU ) or Jacobian determinant of deformation (V Jac ). The two modified metrics incorporate a voxel-wise tissue-density scaling (ρV HU and ρV Jac ) and were hypothesized to better model the physiological ventilation. In order to assess the impact of PET image quality, comparisons were performed using both standard and respiratory-gated PET images with the former exhibiting better signal. Different median filtering kernels (σ m = 0 or 3 mm) were also applied to all images. As in previous studies, similarity metrics included the Spearman correlation coefficient r within the segmented lung volumes, and Dice coefficient d 20 for the (0 − 20)th functional percentile volumes. Results: The best agreement between CT and PET ventilation was obtained comparing standard PET images to the density-scaled HU metric (ρV HU ) with σ m = 3 mm. This leads to correlation values in the ranges 0.22 ⩽ r ⩽ 0.76 and 0.38 ⩽ d 20 ⩽ 0.68, with r ¯ =0.42±0.16 and d ¯ 20 =0.52±0.09 averaged over the 12 patients. Compared to Jacobian-based metrics, HU-based metrics lead to statistically significant improvements in r ¯ and d ¯ 20 (p ¯ than for unscaled

  17. WB to Lend $441m for Energy Efficiency in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    @@ The World Bank (WB) has approved loans of $441 million to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from power plants in China. The loans, which account for almost one third of planned loans for China in fiscal 2008, would go to three projects, according to the lender.The energy efficiency project, co-financed by the WB and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), would get a loan of $200 million. The project, which would also receive a grant of 13.5 million U.S. dollars from the GEF, aims to boost large-scale loans for energy efficiency programs in China. China's commercial banks are also reported to participate in the project, such as the Export-Import Bank of China and Huaxia Bank, to offer loans ranging from 5 million to 10 million U. S. dollars for energy conservation projects, especially in heavy industries.

  18. Diagnostic potential of PET/CT using a {sup 68}Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen ligand in whole-body staging of renal cell carcinoma: initial experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sawicki, Lino M.; Buchbender, Christian; Boos, Johannes; Antoch, Gerald [University Dusseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Dusseldorf (Germany); Giessing, Markus [University Dusseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Urology, Dusseldorf (Germany); Ermert, Johannes [Juelich Research Center, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-5: Nuclear Chemistry, Juelich (Germany); Antke, Christina; Hautzel, Hubertus [University Dusseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Dusseldorf (Germany)

    2017-01-15

    To evaluate the diagnostic potential of whole-body PET/CT using a {sup 68}Ga-labelled PSMA ligand in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Six patients with histopathologically proven RCC underwent {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT. Each PET/CT scan was evaluated in relation to lesion count, location and dignity. SUVmax was measured in primary tumours and PET-positive metastases. Tumour-to-background SUVmax ratios (TBR{sub SUVmax}) were calculated for primary RCCs in relation to the surrounding normal renal parenchyma. Metastasis-to-background SUVmax ratios (MBR{sub SUVmax}) were calculated for PET-positive metastases in relation to gluteal muscle. Five primary RCCs and 16 metastases were evaluated. The mean SUVmax of the primary RCCs was 9.9 ± 9.2 (range 1.7 - 27.2). Due to high uptake in the surrounding renal parenchyma, the mean TBR{sub SUVmax} of the primary RCCs was only 0.2 ± 0.3 (range 0.02 - 0.7). Eight metastases showed focal {sup 68}Ga-PSMA uptake (SUVmax 9.9 ± 8.3, range 3.4 - 25.6). The mean MBR{sub SUVmax} of these PET-positive metastases was 11.7 ± 0.2 (range 4.4 - 28.1). All PET-negative metastases were subcentimetre lung metastases. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT appears to be a promising method for detecting RCC metastases. However, no additional diagnostic value in assessing the primary tumour was found. (orig.)

  19. Avascular necrosis of the hips with increased activity on 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakis, Georgios Z.; Millo, Corina; Karantanas, Apostolos H.; Bagci, Ulas; Patronas, Nicholas J.

    2016-01-01

    Prolonged exposure to cortisol is one of the major causes of avascular bone necrosis (AVN). We report on a case of a woman with Cushing’s syndrome attributed to ectopic ACTH secreting tumor who was evaluated with whole body PET/CT study using 68Ga-DOTATATE. The scan showed increased activity by both femoral heads, corresponding to the margins of bilateral AVN seen on MRI. The presented data suggests AVN-induced reactive inflammatory alterations adjacent to the necrotic segment of the bone which can be effectively targeted using radiolabeled somatostatin (SST) analogues. PMID:28033218

  20. The effect of X-ray irradiation on a red cell component in WB, WRC and LPRC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tayama, Tatsuya; Toyota, Kuroh; Nagahashi, Hisakata; Masuyama, Tetsuya; Haneda, Kenji; Juji, Takeo.

    1990-01-01

    In spite of the use of X-ray irradiation on blood products, few data about its effect on components are reported. We need more informations about a quality of irradiated red cell components. This study shows in vitro changes of irradiated red cell component in WB, WRC and LPRC as the minimum dose of 1,500, 3,000, and 5,000 rads. The fact as follows were observed in response to irradiated doses: 1) increased fragility of red cell membrane, 2) increased amount of plasma K and plasma Hb, and 3) decrease of ATP in WB.2,3-DPG, glucose, pH, Ht and Cl. The numbers of RBC, WBC and Platelet were not affected by irradiation with doses between 1,500 and 5,000 rads. According to these results, the followings are recommended: 1) irradiation with 1,500 rads is a proper method for WB, 2) in order to avoid the risk of increased plasma K, WB should be used within 1 week after irradiation, and WRC and LPRC should be used 24 hours after irradiation. (author)

  1. Meningiomas: A Comparative Study of 68Ga-DOTATOC, 68Ga-DOTANOC and 68Ga-DOTATATE for Molecular Imaging in Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soto-Montenegro, María Luisa; Peña-Zalbidea, Santiago; Mateos-Pérez, Jose María; Oteo, Marta; Romero, Eduardo; Morcillo, Miguel Ángel; Desco, Manuel

    2014-01-01

    Purpose The goal of this study was to compare the tumor uptake kinetics and diagnostic value of three 68Ga-DOTA-labeled somatostatin analogues (68Ga-DOTATOC, 68Ga-DOTANOC, and 68Ga-DOTATATE) using PET/CT in a murine model with subcutaneous meningioma xenografts. Methods The experiment was performed with 16 male NUDE NU/NU mice bearing xenografts of a human meningioma cell line (CH-157MN). 68Ga-DOTATOC, 68Ga-DOTANOC, and 68Ga-DOTATATE were produced in a FASTLab automated platform. Imaging was performed on an Argus small-animal PET/CT scanner. The SUVmax of the liver and muscle, and the tumor-to-liver (T/L) and tumor-to-muscle (T/M) SUV ratios were computed. Kinetic analysis was performed using Logan graphical analysis for a two-tissue reversible compartmental model, and the volume of distribution (Vt) was determined. Results Hepatic SUVmax and Vt were significantly higher with 68Ga-DOTANOC than with 68Ga-DOTATOC and 68Ga-DOTATATE. No significant differences between tracers were found for SUVmax in tumor or muscle. No differences were found in the T/L SUV ratio between 68Ga-DOTATATE and 68Ga-DOTATOC, both of which had a higher fraction than 68Ga-DOTANOC. The T/M SUV ratio was significantly higher with 68Ga-DOTATATE than with 68Ga-DOTATOC and 68Ga-DOTANOC. The Vt for tumor was higher with 68Ga-DOTATATE than with 68Ga-DOTANOC and relatively similar to that of 68Ga-DOTATOC. Conclusions This study demonstrates, for the first time, the ability of the three radiolabeled somatostatin analogues tested to image a human meningioma cell line. Although Vt was relatively similar with 68Ga-DOTATATE and 68Ga-DOTATOC, uptake was higher with 68Ga-DOTATATE in the tumor than with 68Ga-DOTANOC and 68Ga-DOTATOC, suggesting a higher diagnostic value of 68Ga-DOTATATE for detecting meningiomas. PMID:25369268

  2. Meningiomas: a comparative study of 68Ga-DOTATOC, 68Ga-DOTANOC and 68Ga-DOTATATE for molecular imaging in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Luisa Soto-Montenegro

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to compare the tumor uptake kinetics and diagnostic value of three (68Ga-DOTA-labeled somatostatin analogues ((68Ga-DOTATOC, (68Ga-DOTANOC, and (68Ga-DOTATATE using PET/CT in a murine model with subcutaneous meningioma xenografts.The experiment was performed with 16 male NUDE NU/NU mice bearing xenografts of a human meningioma cell line (CH-157MN. (68Ga-DOTATOC, (68Ga-DOTANOC, and (68Ga-DOTATATE were produced in a FASTLab automated platform. Imaging was performed on an Argus small-animal PET/CT scanner. The SUVmax of the liver and muscle, and the tumor-to-liver (T/L and tumor-to-muscle (T/M SUV ratios were computed. Kinetic analysis was performed using Logan graphical analysis for a two-tissue reversible compartmental model, and the volume of distribution (Vt was determined.Hepatic SUVmax and Vt were significantly higher with (68Ga-DOTANOC than with (68Ga-DOTATOC and (68Ga-DOTATATE. No significant differences between tracers were found for SUVmax in tumor or muscle. No differences were found in the T/L SUV ratio between (68Ga-DOTATATE and (68Ga-DOTATOC, both of which had a higher fraction than (68Ga-DOTANOC. The T/M SUV ratio was significantly higher with (68Ga-DOTATATE than with (68Ga-DOTATOC and (68Ga-DOTANOC. The Vt for tumor was higher with (68Ga-DOTATATE than with (68Ga-DOTANOC and relatively similar to that of (68Ga-DOTATOC.This study demonstrates, for the first time, the ability of the three radiolabeled somatostatin analogues tested to image a human meningioma cell line. Although Vt was relatively similar with (68Ga-DOTATATE and (68Ga-DOTATOC, uptake was higher with (68Ga-DOTATATE in the tumor than with (68Ga-DOTANOC and (68Ga-DOTATOC, suggesting a higher diagnostic value of (68Ga-DOTATATE for detecting meningiomas.

  3. Up-regulation of serotonergic binding sites labeled by (3H) WB4101 following fimbrial transection and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine-induced lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrow, A.L.; Norman, A.B.; Battaglia, G.; Loy, R.; Creese, I.

    1985-01-01

    Lesions of the serotonergic afferents to the hippocampus, by fimbrial transection or by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine treatment, produce an increase in the Bmax of ( 3 H)WB4101 to its nanomolar affinity binding site, with no effect on its picomolar affinity binding site or on ( 3 H)prazosin binding. The nanomolar site is serotonergic as the serotonergic agonists, serotonin and 8-hydroxy-dipropylaminotetraline (8-OH-DPAT) have nanomolar affinity for ( 3 H)WB4101 binding when studied in the presence of a prazosin mask (30nM) of the alpha-1 component of ( 3 H)WB4101 binding. The serotonin receptor antagonists metergoline, lysergic acid diethylamide and lisuride also have high nanomolar affinities while ketanserin, yohimbine, prazosin and noradrenergic agonists have affinities in the micromolar range. Fimbrial transection or 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine injections produced 32% and 44% increases in the Bmax of ( 3 H)WB4101 binding in the presence of a prazosin mask. Serotonin competition for ( 3 H)WB4101 binding was identical in control and experimental tissues from each lesion experiment. Although specific binding of ( 3 H)WB4101 was increased, there was no change in the affinities or the percentages of the two binding components for serotonin competition with ( 3 H)WB4101. These data suggest that removal of the serotonergic input to the hippocampus produces an increase in the Bmax of serotonin receptor binding sites labeled by ( 3 H)WB4101. 33 references, 3 figures, 3 tables

  4. [3H]WB4101 labels the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor subtype in rat brain. Guanine nucleotide and divalent cation sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, A.B.; Battaglia, G.; Creese, I.

    1985-01-01

    In the presence of a 30 nM prazosin mask, [ 3 H]-2-(2,6-dimethoxyphenoxyethyl) aminomethyl-1,4-benzodioxane ([ 3 H]WB4101) can selectively label 5-HT1 serotonin receptors. Serotonin exhibits high affinity (Ki = 2.5 nM) and monophasic competition for [ 3 H] WB4101 binding in cerebral cortex. We have found a significant correlation (r = 0.96) between the affinities of a number of serotonergic and nonserotonergic compounds at [ 3 H]WB4101-binding sites in the presence of 30 nM prazosin and [ 3 H] lysergic acid diethylamide ([ 3 H]LSD)-labeled 5-HT1 serotonin receptors in homogenates of rat cerebral cortex. Despite similar pharmacological profiles, distribution studies indicate that, in the presence of 5 mM MgSO4, the Bmax of [ 3 H]WB4101 is significantly lower than the Bmax of [ 3 H]LSD in various brain regions. WB4101 competition for [ 3 H] LSD-labeled 5-HT1 receptors fits best to a computer-derived model assuming two binding sites, with the KH for WB4101 being similar to the KD of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding derived from saturation experiments. This suggests that [ 3 H]WB4101 labels only one of the subtypes of the 5-HT1 serotonin receptors labeled by [ 3 H]LSD. The selective 5-HT1A serotonin receptor antagonist, spiperone, and the selective 5-HT1A agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetraline, exhibit high affinity and monophasic competition for [ 3 H]WB4101 but compete for multiple [ 3 H]LSD 5-HT1 binding sites. These data indicate that [ 3 H]WB4101 selectively labels the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor, whereas [ 3 H] LSD appears to label both the 5-HT1A and the 5-HT1B serotonin receptor subtypes. The divalent cations, Mn2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ were found to markedly increase the affinity and Bmax of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding in cerebral cortex. Conversely, the guanine nucleotides guanylylimidodiphosphate and GTP, but not the adenosine nucleotide ATP, markedly reduce the Bmax of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding

  5. An Efficient VQ Codebook Search Algorithm Applied to AMR-WB Speech Coding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng-Yu Yeh

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The adaptive multi-rate wideband (AMR-WB speech codec is widely used in modern mobile communication systems for high speech quality in handheld devices. Nonetheless, a major disadvantage is that vector quantization (VQ of immittance spectral frequency (ISF coefficients takes a considerable computational load in the AMR-WB coding. Accordingly, a binary search space-structured VQ (BSS-VQ algorithm is adopted to efficiently reduce the complexity of ISF quantization in AMR-WB. This search algorithm is done through a fast locating technique combined with lookup tables, such that an input vector is efficiently assigned to a subspace where relatively few codeword searches are required to be executed. In terms of overall search performance, this work is experimentally validated as a superior search algorithm relative to a multiple triangular inequality elimination (MTIE, a TIE with dynamic and intersection mechanisms (DI-TIE, and an equal-average equal-variance equal-norm nearest neighbor search (EEENNS approach. With a full search algorithm as a benchmark for overall search load comparison, this work provides an 87% search load reduction at a threshold of quantization accuracy of 0.96, a figure far beyond 55% in the MTIE, 76% in the EEENNS approach, and 83% in the DI-TIE approach.

  6. Role of combined DWIBS/3D-CE-T1w whole-body MRI in tumor staging: Comparison with PET-CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manenti, Guglielmo; Cicciò, Carmelo; Squillaci, Ettore; Strigari, Lidia; Calabria, Ferdinando; Danieli, Roberta

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) by diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) in malignant tumor detection and the potential diagnostic advantages in generating fused DWIBS/3D-contrast enhanced T1w (3D-CE-T1w) images. Methods: 45 cancer patients underwent 18F-FDG PET-CT and WB-MRI for staging purpose. Fused DWIBS/3D-CE T1w images were generated off-line. 3D-CE-T1w, DWIBS images alone and fused with 3D-CE T1w were compared by two readers groups for detection of primary diseases and local/distant metastases. Diagnostic performance between the three WB-MRI data sets was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Imaging exams and histopathological results were used as standard of references. Results: Areas under the ROC curves of DWIBS vs. 3D-CE-T1w vs. both sequences in fused fashion were 0.97, 0.978, and 1.00, respectively. The diagnostic performance in tumor detection of fused DWIBS/3D-CE-T1w images were statistically superior to DWIBS (p < 0.001) and 3D-CE-T1w (p ≤ 0.002); while the difference between DWIBS and 3D-CE-T1w did not show statistical significance difference. Detection rates of malignancy did not differ between WB-MRI with DWIBS and 18F-FDG PET-CT. Conclusion: WB-MRI with DWIBS is to be considered as alternative tool to conventional whole-body methods for tumor staging and during follow-up in cancer patients.

  7. Observations of Stratospheric Gravity Waves During the WB57F Aerosol Mission and Modeling with Mesoscale Model 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, M.; Hicke, J.; Rosenlof, K.; Tuck, A.; Hovde, S.

    2000-01-01

    On April 11, 1998 WB57F aircraft flew northwest at lower stratospheric altitudes from Houston, Texas, over eastern Wyoming as part of the WB57F Aerosol Mission to sample a vortex filament forecast to pass over that region.

  8. Direct comparison of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the follow-up of patients with neuroendocrine tumour treated with the first full peptide receptor radionuclide therapy cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilica, Bernhard; Waitz, Dietmar; Uprimny, Christian; Kendler, Dorota; Buxbaum, Sabine; Warwitz, Boris; Gerardo, Llanos; Virgolini, Irene; Rodrigues, Margarida; Stevanovic, Vlado; Henninger, Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    To determine the value of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18 F-FDG PET/CT for initial and follow-up evaluation of patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET) treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). We evaluated 66 patients who had histologically proven NET and underwent both PRRT and three combined 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and 18 F-FDG PET/CT studies. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was performed before PRRT, 3 months after completion of PRRT and after a further 6 - 9 months. 18 F-FDG PET/CT was done within 2 months of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Follow-up ranged from 11.8 to 80.0 months (mean 34.5 months). All patients were 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET-positive initially and at follow-up after the first full PRRT cycle. Overall, 62 of the 198 18 F-FDG PET studies (31 %) were true-positive in 38 of the 66 patients (58 %). Of the 66 patients, 28 (5 grade 1, 23 grade 2) were 18 F-FDG-negative initially and during follow-up (group 1), 24 (5 grade 1, 13 grade 2, 6 grade 3) were 18 F-FDG-positive initially and during follow-up (group 2), 9 patients (2 grade 1, 6 grade 2, 1 grade 3) were 18 F-FDG-negative initially but 18 F-FDG-positive during follow-up (group 3), and 5 patients (all grade 2) were 18 F-FDG-positive initially but 18 F-FDG-negative during follow-up (group 4). 18 F-FDG PET showed more and/or larger metastases than 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET in five patients of group 2 and four patients of group 3, all with progressive disease. In three patients with progressive disease who died during follow-up tumour SUVmax increased by 41 - 82 % from the first to the last follow-up investigation. In NET patients, the presence of 18 F-FDG-positive tumours correlates strongly with a higher risk of progression. Initially, patients with 18 F-FDG-negative NET may show 18 F-FDG-positive tumours during follow-up. Also patients with grade 1 and grade 2 NET may have 18 F-FDG-positive tumours. Therefore, 18 F-FDG PET/CT is a complementary tool to 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT with clinical relevance for molecular investigation

  9. Direct comparison of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-FDG PET/CT in the follow-up of patients with neuroendocrine tumour treated with the first full peptide receptor radionuclide therapy cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilica, Bernhard; Waitz, Dietmar; Stevanovic, Vlado; Uprimny, Christian; Kendler, Dorota; Buxbaum, Sabine; Warwitz, Boris; Gerardo, Llanos; Henninger, Benjamin; Virgolini, Irene; Rodrigues, Margarida

    2016-08-01

    To determine the value of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-FDG PET/CT for initial and follow-up evaluation of patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET) treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). We evaluated 66 patients who had histologically proven NET and underwent both PRRT and three combined (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was performed before PRRT, 3 months after completion of PRRT and after a further 6 - 9 months. (18)F-FDG PET/CT was done within 2 months of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Follow-up ranged from 11.8 to 80.0 months (mean 34.5 months). All patients were (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET-positive initially and at follow-up after the first full PRRT cycle. Overall, 62 of the 198 (18)F-FDG PET studies (31 %) were true-positive in 38 of the 66 patients (58 %). Of the 66 patients, 28 (5 grade 1, 23 grade 2) were (18)F-FDG-negative initially and during follow-up (group 1), 24 (5 grade 1, 13 grade 2, 6 grade 3) were (18)F-FDG-positive initially and during follow-up (group 2), 9 patients (2 grade 1, 6 grade 2, 1 grade 3) were (18)F-FDG-negative initially but (18)F-FDG-positive during follow-up (group 3), and 5 patients (all grade 2) were (18)F-FDG-positive initially but (18)F-FDG-negative during follow-up (group 4).(18)F-FDG PET showed more and/or larger metastases than (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET in five patients of group 2 and four patients of group 3, all with progressive disease. In three patients with progressive disease who died during follow-up tumour SUVmax increased by 41 - 82 % from the first to the last follow-up investigation. In NET patients, the presence of (18)F-FDG-positive tumours correlates strongly with a higher risk of progression. Initially, patients with (18)F-FDG-negative NET may show (18)F-FDG-positive tumours during follow-up. Also patients with grade 1 and grade 2 NET may have (18)F-FDG-positive tumours. Therefore, (18)F-FDG PET/CT is a complementary tool to (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT with clinical

  10. Validating and improving CT ventilation imaging by correlating with ventilation 4D-PET/CT using {sup 68}Ga-labeled nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kipritidis, John, E-mail: john.kipritidis@sydney.edu.au; Keall, Paul J. [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 (Australia); Siva, Shankar [Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3052 (Australia); Hofman, Michael S.; Callahan, Jason; Hicks, Rodney J. [Centre for Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC 3002 (Australia)

    2014-01-15

    Purpose: CT ventilation imaging is a novel functional lung imaging modality based on deformable image registration. The authors present the first validation study of CT ventilation using positron emission tomography with{sup 68}Ga-labeled nanoparticles (PET-Galligas). The authors quantify this agreement for different CT ventilation metrics and PET reconstruction parameters. Methods: PET-Galligas ventilation scans were acquired for 12 lung cancer patients using a four-dimensional (4D) PET/CT scanner. CT ventilation images were then produced by applying B-spline deformable image registration between the respiratory correlated phases of the 4D-CT. The authors test four ventilation metrics, two existing and two modified. The two existing metrics model mechanical ventilation (alveolar air-flow) based on Hounsfield unit (HU) change (V{sub HU}) or Jacobian determinant of deformation (V{sub Jac}). The two modified metrics incorporate a voxel-wise tissue-density scaling (ρV{sub HU} and ρV{sub Jac}) and were hypothesized to better model the physiological ventilation. In order to assess the impact of PET image quality, comparisons were performed using both standard and respiratory-gated PET images with the former exhibiting better signal. Different median filtering kernels (σ{sub m} = 0 or 3 mm) were also applied to all images. As in previous studies, similarity metrics included the Spearman correlation coefficient r within the segmented lung volumes, and Dice coefficient d{sub 20} for the (0 − 20)th functional percentile volumes. Results: The best agreement between CT and PET ventilation was obtained comparing standard PET images to the density-scaled HU metric (ρV{sub HU}) with σ{sub m} = 3 mm. This leads to correlation values in the ranges 0.22 ⩽ r ⩽ 0.76 and 0.38 ⩽ d{sub 20} ⩽ 0.68, with r{sup ¯}=0.42±0.16 and d{sup ¯}{sub 20}=0.52±0.09 averaged over the 12 patients. Compared to Jacobian-based metrics, HU-based metrics lead to statistically significant

  11. Assessment of Bone Metastases in Patients with Prostate Cancer—A Comparison between 99mTc-Bone-Scintigraphy and [68Ga]Ga-PSMA PET/CT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lena Thomas

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Bone scintigraphy is the standard of reference in bone metastases in prostate cancer patients. However, new radiotracers employed in prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA-ligands has led to the growing importance of PET/CT as diagnostic tool. The aim of our study was to investigate the difference between bone scan and PSMA-PET/CT for the detection of bone metastases in prostate cancer. Methods: Thirty patients with bone metastases originating from prostate cancer were examined by 99mTc-MDP bone scan and 68Ga-PSMA-PET/CT within an average of 21 days. Bone scans were analyzed visually according to the number of lesions and using the software package ExiniBONE by Exini Diagnostics. PET/CT data was analyzed visually. Numbers of detected lesions were compared for the different methods for the whole patient and for different regions. In addition, results were compared to serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, bone alkaline phosphatase (bALP, pro gastrin releasing peptide (pGRP and eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG performance status. Results: In the bone scans, visual and semiautomatic lesion detection showed similar results with an average of 19.4 and 17.8 detected bone lesion per patient. However, in PSMA-PET/CT, on average double the numbers of lesions (40.0 were detected. The largest differences were found in the thorax and pelvis, which can be explained by the advantages of tomographic imaging. Bland-Altman analysis showed greater differences in patients with large numbers of bone metastases. Conclusion: No significant difference was found when using semiautomatic analysis compared to visual reading for bone scans. Fewer bone metastases were detected in bone scans than in PSMA-PET/CT. However, in none of our patients would the difference have led to clinical consequences. Therefore, it seems that for patients undergoing PSMA-PET/CT, there is no need to perform additional bone scans if the appropriate

  12. Rare Case of Intratracheal Metastasis Detected on 68Ga-Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET/CT Scan in a Case of Thyroglobulin Elevated Negative Iodine Scan Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasikumar, Arun; Joy, Ajith; Pillai, M R A; Oommen, Karuna Elza; Jayakumar, R

    2018-04-01

    A 64-year-old woman underwent completion thyroidectomy with upper tracheal ring resection and right-sided neck dissection for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid infiltrating the trachea and was given I radioiodine treatment. Three years later, she presented with hemoptysis. On evaluation, she had increased serum thyroglobulin and negative iodine scan (TENIS). F-FDG PET/CT scan did not identify any site of disease. One year later, Ga-PSMA scan done revealed a moderate focal tracer-avid intratracheal soft tissue; biopsy revealed it to be metastatic papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. This case kindles the possibility of using Ga-PSMA PET/CT to reveal occult disease in cases of TENIS.

  13. UK quantitative WB-DWI technical workgroup: consensus meeting recommendations on optimisation, quality control, processing and analysis of quantitative whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging for cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Anna; Alonzi, Roberto; Blackledge, Matthew; Charles-Edwards, Geoff; Collins, David J; Cook, Gary; Coutts, Glynn; Goh, Vicky; Graves, Martin; Kelly, Charles; Koh, Dow-Mu; McCallum, Hazel; Miquel, Marc E; O'Connor, James; Padhani, Anwar; Pearson, Rachel; Priest, Andrew; Rockall, Andrea; Stirling, James; Taylor, Stuart; Tunariu, Nina; van der Meulen, Jan; Walls, Darren; Winfield, Jessica; Punwani, Shonit

    2018-01-01

    Application of whole body diffusion-weighted MRI (WB-DWI) for oncology are rapidly increasing within both research and routine clinical domains. However, WB-DWI as a quantitative imaging biomarker (QIB) has significantly slower adoption. To date, challenges relating to accuracy and reproducibility, essential criteria for a good QIB, have limited widespread clinical translation. In recognition, a UK workgroup was established in 2016 to provide technical consensus guidelines (to maximise accuracy and reproducibility of WB-MRI QIBs) and accelerate the clinical translation of quantitative WB-DWI applications for oncology. A panel of experts convened from cancer centres around the UK with subspecialty expertise in quantitative imaging and/or the use of WB-MRI with DWI. A formal consensus method was used to obtain consensus agreement regarding best practice. Questions were asked about the appropriateness or otherwise on scanner hardware and software, sequence optimisation, acquisition protocols, reporting, and ongoing quality control programs to monitor precision and accuracy and agreement on quality control. The consensus panel was able to reach consensus on 73% (255/351) items and based on consensus areas made recommendations to maximise accuracy and reproducibly of quantitative WB-DWI studies performed at 1.5T. The panel were unable to reach consensus on the majority of items related to quantitative WB-DWI performed at 3T. This UK Quantitative WB-DWI Technical Workgroup consensus provides guidance on maximising accuracy and reproducibly of quantitative WB-DWI for oncology. The consensus guidance can be used by researchers and clinicians to harmonise WB-DWI protocols which will accelerate clinical translation of WB-DWI-derived QIBs.

  14. Comparison of the utility of whole-body MRI with and without contrast-enhanced Quick 3D and double RF fat suppression techniques, conventional whole-body MRI, PET/CT and conventional examination for assessment of recurrence in NSCLC patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohno, Yoshiharu; Nishio, Mizuho; Koyama, Hisanobu; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Takenaka, Daisuke; Seki, Shinichiro; Tsubakimoto, Maho; Sugimura, Kazuro

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare diagnostic capabilities for assessment of recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by contrast-enhanced whole-body MRI (CE-WB-MRI) with and without CE-Quick 3D and double RF fat suppression technique (DFS), FDG-PET/CT and conventional radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 134 pathologically proven and completely resected NSCLC patients (78 males, 56 females; mean age: 72 years) underwent FDG-PET/CT, CE-WB-MRI with and without Quick 3D and DFS at 3 T as well as conventional radiological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with a 5-point scoring system on a per-patient basis, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. The capability for overall recurrence assessment by all the methods was compared by means of ROC analysis and their sensitivity, specificity and accuracy by means of McNemar's test. Results: Although areas under the curve did not show any significant differences, specificity (100%) and accuracy (95.5%) of CE-WB-MRI with CE-Quick 3D and DFS were significantly higher than those of FDG-PET/CT (specificity: 93.6%, p = 0.02; accuracy: 89.6%, p = 0.01) and conventional radiological examinations (specificity: 92.7%, p = 0.01; accuracy: 91.0%, p = 0.03). In addition, specificity of CE-WB-MRI without CE-Quick 3D and DFS (100%) was significantly higher than that of FDG-PET/CT (p = 0.02) and conventional radiological examinations (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Specificity and accuracy of CE-WB-MRI with CE-Quick 3D and DFS for assessment of recurrence in NSCLC patients are at least as high as, or higher than those of others

  15. Comparison of the utility of whole-body MRI with and without contrast-enhanced Quick 3D and double RF fat suppression techniques, conventional whole-body MRI, PET/CT and conventional examination for assessment of recurrence in NSCLC patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohno, Yoshiharu, E-mail: yosirad@kobe-u.ac.jp [Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research Center, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Division of Functional and Diagnostic Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Nishio, Mizuho [Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research Center, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Division of Functional and Diagnostic Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Koyama, Hisanobu [Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki [Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research Center, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Division of Functional and Diagnostic Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Takenaka, Daisuke [Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Department of Radiology, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi (Japan); Seki, Shinichiro [Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Tsubakimoto, Maho [Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan); Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa (Japan); Sugimura, Kazuro [Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe (Japan)

    2013-11-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare diagnostic capabilities for assessment of recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by contrast-enhanced whole-body MRI (CE-WB-MRI) with and without CE-Quick 3D and double RF fat suppression technique (DFS), FDG-PET/CT and conventional radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 134 pathologically proven and completely resected NSCLC patients (78 males, 56 females; mean age: 72 years) underwent FDG-PET/CT, CE-WB-MRI with and without Quick 3D and DFS at 3 T as well as conventional radiological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with a 5-point scoring system on a per-patient basis, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. The capability for overall recurrence assessment by all the methods was compared by means of ROC analysis and their sensitivity, specificity and accuracy by means of McNemar's test. Results: Although areas under the curve did not show any significant differences, specificity (100%) and accuracy (95.5%) of CE-WB-MRI with CE-Quick 3D and DFS were significantly higher than those of FDG-PET/CT (specificity: 93.6%, p = 0.02; accuracy: 89.6%, p = 0.01) and conventional radiological examinations (specificity: 92.7%, p = 0.01; accuracy: 91.0%, p = 0.03). In addition, specificity of CE-WB-MRI without CE-Quick 3D and DFS (100%) was significantly higher than that of FDG-PET/CT (p = 0.02) and conventional radiological examinations (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Specificity and accuracy of CE-WB-MRI with CE-Quick 3D and DFS for assessment of recurrence in NSCLC patients are at least as high as, or higher than those of others.

  16. Peptide synthesis, characterization and 68Ga-radiolabeling of NOTA-conjugated ubiquicidin fragments for prospective infection imaging with PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebenhan, Thomas; Chadwick, Nicholas; Sathekge, Mike M.; Govender, Patrick; Govender, Thavendran; Kruger, Hendrik G.; Marjanovic-Painter, Biljana; Zeevaart, Jan Rijn

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Human antimicrobial peptides are of interest for the development of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers as they exhibit desirable characteristics that make them good candidates for targeting vectors. Due to their natural role in the innate immune system they selectively bind to pathogenic bacteria and yeast, whilst remaining minimally immunogenic and cytotoxic to humans. Research into ubiquicidin (UBI)-based tracers has focused on 99m Tc as a radionuclide, however, the use of bi-functional chelators such as 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA), in combination with 68 Ga as a radionuclide, allows for a simple radiolabeling procedure which is preferable in a clinical setting using PET/CT. Methods: The peptides fragments UBI29-41, UBI30-41 were synthesized by standard microwave Fmoc/tert-butyl (tBu)-solid phase synthetic protocols. Characterizations were performed using analytical HPLC and LC/MS. Both NOTA-conjugated peptides were exposed to nat Ga 3+ ; their complexed form was quantified by direct LC/MS injection. This complexation was utilized to testify bacterial and mammalian cell binding potential of fluorophore-linked NOTA-UBI29-41/30-41. 68 Ga labeled NOTA-UBI fragments were also tested for competitive interaction to Staphylococcus aureus to proof the binding target. 68 Ga was eluted from SnO 2 - and TiO 2 -based 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generators using fractionated elution and anion exchanged-based post-procession. NOTA-peptide radiolabeling was carried out including optimization of buffer molarity, NOTA-peptide concentration(s), incubation temperature and –duration as well as considering various SPE purification cartridges. Results: Pure UBI29-41, UBI30-41 and NOTA-UBI30-41 were successfully characterized. Both, NOTA-UBI fragments exhibited complexation rates to nat Ga 3+ ≥ 99%. The percentage binding was significantly higher to Staphylococcus aureus bacilli over Mt4 human leucocytes (P > 0.05) for NOTA-UBI29-41[Lys(Abz)] < NOTA

  17. Response Assessment of 68Ga-DOTA-E-[c(RGDfK)]2 PET/CT in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients Treated with Nintedanib Plus Docetaxel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrieta, Oscar; Garcia-Perez, Francisco O; Michel-Tello, David; Ramírez-Tirado, Laura-Alejandra; Pitalua-Cortes, Quetzali; Cruz-Rico, Graciela; Macedo-Pérez, Eleazar-Omar; Cardona, Andrés F; Garza-Salazar, Jaime de la

    2018-03-01

    Nintedanib is an oral angiokinase inhibitor used as second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. New radiotracers, such as 68 Ga-DOTA-E-[c(RGDfK)] 2 , that target α v β 3 integrin might have an impact as a noninvasive method for assessing angiogenesis inhibitors. Methods: From July 2011 through October 2015, 38 patients received second-line nintedanib plus docetaxel. All patients underwent PET/CT with 68 Ga-DOTA-E-[c(RGDfK)] 2 radiotracer and blood-sample tests to quantify angiogenesis factors (fibroblast growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor AB) before and after completing 2 therapy cycles. Results: Of the 38 patients, 31 had available baseline and follow-up PET/CT. Baseline lung tumor volume addressed with 68 Ga-DOTA-E-[c(RGDfK)] 2 PET/CT correlated with serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels, whereas baseline lung/liver SUV max index correlated with platelet-derived growth factor AB. After treatment, the overall response rate and disease control rate were 7.9% and 47.3%, respectively. A greater decrease in lung tumor volume (-37.2% vs. -27.6%) was associated with a better disease control rate in patients ( P = 0.005). Median progression-free survival was 3.7 mo. Nonsmokers and patients with a higher baseline lung tumor volume were more likely to have a higher progression-free survival (6.4 vs. 3.74 [ P = 0.023] and 6.4 vs. 2.1 [ P = 0.003], respectively). Overall survival was not reached. Patients with a greater decrease in lung SUV max (not reached vs. 7.1 mo; P = 0.016) and a greater decrease in the lung/spleen SUV max index (not reached vs. 7.1; P = 0.043) were more likely to have a longer overall survival. Conclusion: 68 Ga-DOTA-E-[c(RGDfK)] 2 PET/CT is a potentially useful tool for assessing responses to angiogenesis inhibitors. Further analysis and novel studies are warranted to identify patients who might benefit from this therapy. © 2018 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular

  18. Study on the usefulness of whole body SPECT coronal image, MIP image in 67Ga scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Seiji

    2002-01-01

    In this study, we examined the usefulness of whole body coronal images and whole body cine display MIP images (CMIP) upon which image processing was carried out after whole body SPECT in comparison to the usefulness of whole body images (WB/SC) compensated by scattered radiation in tumor/inflammation scintigraphy with 67 Ga-citrate ( 67 Ga). Image interpretation was performed for the 120 patients with confirmed diagnoses, and the accuracy of their diagnoses was studied by three nuclear medical physicians and two clinical radiological technologists by means of sensitivity, specificity and ROC analysis. The resultant data show that sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and the area under the ROC curve Az in the WB/SC were approximately 65%, 86%, 74% and 0.724, respectively, whereas sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and Az of the image reading system in which CMIP is combined with whole body coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method were approximately 93%, 95%, 94% and 0.860, respectively. Furthermore, coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method tended to be superior to those produced by the FBP method in both diagnostic accuracy and ROC analysis. In conclusion, the image reading system in which CMIP is combined with whole body coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method was shown to be superior in diagnostic accuracy and ROC analysis. Our data suggest that whole body SPECT is an excellent technique as an alternative to WB/SC. (author)

  19. Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Standardizing Therapy Monitoring with 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT Using the Example of Somatostatin Receptor Radionuclide Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang Luboldt

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to standardize therapy monitoring of hepatic metastases from gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs during the course of somatostatin receptor radionuclide therapy (SRRT. In 21 consecutive patients with nonresectable hepatic metastases of GEP-NETs, chromogranin A (CgA and 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT were compared before and after the last SRRT. On 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT, the maximum standard uptake values (SUVmax of normal liver and hepatic metastases were calculated. In addition, the volumes of hepatic metastases (volume of interest [VOI] were measured using four cut-offs to separate normal liver tissue from metastases (SUVmax of the normal liver plus 10% [VOIliver+10%], 20% [VOIliver+20%], 30% [VOIliver+30%] and SUV = 10 [VOI10SUV]. The SUVmaxof the normal liver was below 10 (7.2 ± 1.3 in all patients and without significant changes. Overall therapy changes (Δ per patient (mean [95% CI] were statistically significant with p < .01 for ΔCgA = −43 (−69 to −17, ΔSUVmax = −22 (−29 to −14, and ΔVOI10SUV = −53 (−68 to −38% and significant with p < .05 for ΔVOIliver+10% = −29 (−55 to −3%, ΔVOIliver+20% = −32 (−62 to −2 and ΔVOIliver+30% = −37 (−66 to −8. Correlations were found only between ΔCgA and ΔVOI10SUV (r = .595; p < .01, ΔSUVmax and ΔVOI10SUV (0.629, p < .01, and SUVmax and ΔSUVmax (r = .446; p < .05. 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT allows volumetric therapy monitoring via an SUV-based cut-off separating hepatic metastases from normal liver tissue (10 SUV recommended.

  20. 68Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in neuroendocrine tumour and healthy tissue: differentiation of physiological uptake and pathological processes in PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kroiss, A.; Putzer, D.; Decristoforo, C.; Uprimny, C.; Warwitz, B.; Nilica, B.; Gabriel, M.; Kendler, D.; Waitz, D.; Virgolini, I.J.; Widmann, G.

    2013-01-01

    We wanted to establish the range of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in liver and bone metastases of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET) and to establish the range of its uptake in pancreatic NET. This would allow differentiation between physiological uptake and tumour-related somatostatin receptor expression in the pancreas (including the uncinate process), liver and bone. Finally, we wanted to test for differences in patients with NET, either treated or not treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). In 249 patients, 390 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT studies were performed. The clinical indications for PET/CT were gastroenteropancreatic NET (194 studies), nongastroenteropancreatic NET (origin in the lung and rectum; 46 studies), NET of unknown primary (111 studies), phaeochromocytoma/glomus tumours (18 studies), and radioiodine-negative metastatic thyroid carcinoma (21 studies). SUV max (mean ± standard deviation) values of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC were 29.8 ± 16.5 in 162 liver metastases, 19.8 ± 18.8 in 89 bone metastases and 34.6 ± 17.1 in 43 pancreatic NET (33.6 ± 14.3 in 30 tumours of the uncinate process and 36.3 ± 21.5 in 13 tumours of the pancreatic tail). A significant difference in SUV max (p max between nonmalignant and malignant tissue for both bone and liver metastases and for pancreatic NET including the uncinate process (p max for differentiating tumours in the uncinate process were 93.6 % and 90.0 %, respectively (p 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC is an excellent tracer for the imaging of tumours expressing somatostatin receptors on the tumour cell surface, facilitating the detection of even small tumour lesions. The noninvasive PET/CT approach by measurement of regional SUV max can offer important clinical information to distinguish between physiological and pathological somatostatin receptor expression, especially in the uncinate process. PRRT does not significantly influence SUV max , except in liver metastases of patients with NET. (orig.)

  1. Somatostatin receptor PET in neuroendocrine tumours: 68Ga-DOTA0,Tyr3-octreotide versus 68Ga-DOTA0-lanreotide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Putzer, Daniel; Kroiss, Alexander; Waitz, Dietmar; Gabriel, Michael; Uprimny, Christian; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Decristoforo, Clemens; Warwitz, Boris; Virgolini, Irene Johanna; Traub-Weidinger, Tatjana; Widmann, Gerlig

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 68 Ga-labelled DOTA 0 -lanreotide ( 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN) on the diagnostic assessment of neuroendocrine tumour (NET) patients with low to moderate uptake on planar somatostatin receptor (SSTR) scintigraphy or 68 Ga-labelled DOTA 0 ,Tyr 3 -octreotide ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC) positron emission tomography (PET). Fifty-three patients with histologically confirmed NET and clinical signs of progressive disease, who had not qualified for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) on planar SSTR scintigraphy or 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET (n = 38) due to lack of tracer uptake, underwent 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN PET to evaluate a treatment option with 90 Y-labelled lanreotide according to the MAURITIUS trial. The included patients received 150 ± 30 MBq of each radiopharmaceutical intravenously. PET scans were acquired 60-90 min after intravenous bolus injection. Image results from both PET scans were compared head to head, focusing on the intensity of tracer uptake in terms of treatment decision. CT was used for morphologic correlation of tumour lesions. To further evaluate the binding affinities of each tracer, quantitative and qualitative values were calculated for target lesions. 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN and 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC both showed equivalent findings in 24/38 patients when fused PET/CT images were interpreted. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN in comparison to CT were 0.63, 0.5 and 0.62 (n = 53; p 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC in comparison to CT 0.78, 0.5 and 0.76 (n = 38; p 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC showed a significantly higher maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) regarding the primary tumour in 25 patients (p 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN. Corresponding values of both PET scans for tumour and liver did not show any significant correlation. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC revealed more tumour sites than 68 Ga-DOTA-LAN (106 vs 53). The tumour to background ratios for tumour and liver calculated from SUV max measurements were significantly higher for 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC than 68 Ga

  2. Groundwater impact assessment report for the 284-WB Powerplant Ponds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, D.J.; Johnson, V.G.; Lindsey, K.A.

    1993-09-01

    As required by the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-17-00A), this report assesses the impact of wastewater discharged to the 284-WB Powerplant Ponds on groundwater quality. The assessment reported herein expands upon the initial analysis conducted between 1989 and 1990 for the Liquid Effluent Study Final Project Plan

  3. Evaluation of the whole body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (WB-PBPK) modeling of drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munir, Anum; Azam, Shumaila; Fazal, Sahar; Bhatti, A I

    2018-08-14

    The Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling is a supporting tool in drug discovery and improvement. Simulations produced by these models help to save time and aids in examining the effects of different variables on the pharmacokinetics of drugs. For this purpose, Sheila and Peters suggested a PBPK model capable of performing simulations to study a given drug absorption. There is a need to extend this model to the whole body entailing all another process like distribution, metabolism, and elimination, besides absorption. The aim of this scientific study is to hypothesize a WB-PBPK model through integrating absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination processes with the existing PBPK model.Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination models are designed, integrated with PBPK model and validated. For validation purposes, clinical records of few drugs are collected from the literature. The developed WB-PBPK model is affirmed by comparing the simulations produced by the model against the searched clinical data. . It is proposed that the WB-PBPK model may be used in pharmaceutical industries to create of the pharmacokinetic profiles of drug candidates for better outcomes, as it is advance PBPK model and creates comprehensive PK profiles for drug ADME in concentration-time plots. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Diagnostic value of whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for detection of primary and metastatic malignancies: A meta-analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Bin, E-mail: lllb146@163.com [Department of Radiology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003 (China); Li, Qiong [Department of Radiology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003 (China); Nie, Wei [Department of Respiratory Disease, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003 (China); Liu, Shiyuan, E-mail: lsy20112077@163.com [Department of Radiology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003 (China)

    2014-02-15

    Purpose: To perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic performance of whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (WB-DWI) technique in detection of primary and metastatic malignancies compared with that of whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (WB-PET/CT). Materials and methods: Search Pubmed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library database from January 1984 to July 2013 for studies comparing WB-DWI with WB-PET/CT for detection of primary and metastatic malignancies. Methodological quality was assessed by the quality assessment of diagnostic studies (QUADAS) instrument. Sensitivities, specificities, predictive values, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and areas under the summary receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated. Potential threshold effect, heterogeneity and publication bias were investigated. Result: Thirteen eligible studies were included, with a total of 1067 patients. There was no significant threshold effect. WB-DWI had a similar AUC (0.966 (95% CI, 0.940–0.992) versus 0.984 (95% CI, 0.965–0.999)) with WB-PET/CT. No significant difference was detected between AUC of WB-DWI and WB-PET/CT. WB-DWI had a pooled sensitivity of 0.897 (95% CI, 0.876–0.916) and a pooled specificity of 0.954 (95% CI, 0.944–0.962). WB-PET/CT had a pooled sensitivity of 0.895 (95% CI, 0.865–0.920) and a pooled specificity of 0.975 (95% CI, 0.966–0.981). Heterogeneity was found to stem primarily from data type (per lesion versus per patient), MR sequence (DWIBS only and DWIBS with other sequence), and primary lesion type (single type and multiple type). The Deeks's funnel plots suggested the absence of publication bias. Conclusion: WB-DWI has similar, good diagnostic performance for the detection of primary and metastatic malignancies compared with WB-PET/CT. DWIBS with other MR sequences could further improve the diagnostic performance. More high-quality studies regarding comparison of WB-DWI and WB-PET/CT

  5. Study on the usefulness of whole body SPECT coronal image, MIP image in {sup 67}Ga scintigraphy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawamura, Seiji [Kurume Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Hospital; Ishibashi, Masatoshi; Kurata, Seiji; Morita, Seiichirou; Hayabuchi, Naofumi [Kurume Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). School of Medicine; Fukushima, Shigehiro [Kyushu Inst. of Design, Fukuoka (Japan). Graduate School of Auditory and Visual Communication Sciences; Umezaki, Noriyoshi [Daiichi Coll. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan)

    2002-05-01

    In this study, we examined the usefulness of whole body coronal images and whole body cine display MIP images (CMIP) upon which image processing was carried out after whole body SPECT in comparison to the usefulness of whole body images (WB/SC) compensated by scattered radiation in tumor/inflammation scintigraphy with {sup 67}Ga-citrate ({sup 67}Ga). Image interpretation was performed for the 120 patients with confirmed diagnoses, and the accuracy of their diagnoses was studied by three nuclear medical physicians and two clinical radiological technologists by means of sensitivity, specificity and ROC analysis. The resultant data show that sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and the area under the ROC curve Az in the WB/SC were approximately 65%, 86%, 74% and 0.724, respectively, whereas sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and Az of the image reading system in which CMIP is combined with whole body coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method were approximately 93%, 95%, 94% and 0.860, respectively. Furthermore, coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method tended to be superior to those produced by the FBP method in both diagnostic accuracy and ROC analysis. In conclusion, the image reading system in which CMIP is combined with whole body coronal images reconstructed by the OS-EM method was shown to be superior in diagnostic accuracy and ROC analysis. Our data suggest that whole body SPECT is an excellent technique as an alternative to WB/SC. (author)

  6. Grazing incidence Fe-line telescopes using W/B4C multilayers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joensen, K. D.; Gorenstein, P.; Christensen, Finn Erland

    1995-01-01

    The loss of throughput observed at higher energies for traditional grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes coated with high-Z elements can be partly countered by employing multilayers on the outermost reflectors. Using 8-keV reflectivity data from a periodic W/B4C multilayer, the expected performance...

  7. Polymorphisms -1082 G/A and -819 C/T in the interleukin-10 gene are not associated with gout susceptibility in the Chinese Han male population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shiguo; Zhang, Kun; Yin, Congcong; Han, Lin; Sun, Yuping; Ren, Wei; Chu, Nan; Li, Changgui

    2012-08-01

    Gout is caused by monosodium urate crystal-induced inflammation of the joints and periarticular tissues. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine, levels of which can be influenced by functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter. To investigate the association of -1082 G/A and -819 C/T polymorphisms in the IL-10 promoter with gout susceptibility in the Chinese Han male population. A case-control study was performed in 302 patients and 284 controls. Genotyping of IL-10 -1082 G/A and -819 C/T polymorphisms was performed by DNA sequencing techniques. An association analysis was analyzed by the χ(2) test. No significant differences were found in -819T/C and -1082 A/G genotypic and allelic frequencies between gout cases and controls (for -819T/C, χ(2)=0.212, df=1, p=0.645 by genotype; χ(2)=0.079, df=1, p=0.779 by allele; for -1082 A/G, χ(2)=2.116, df=1, p=0.146 by genotype; χ(2)=1.854, df=1, p=0.173 by allele). IL-10 -1082 G/A and -819 C/T polymorphisms may not be associated with susceptibility to gout and thus do not play a major role in the development of gout in the Chinese Han male population.

  8. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in primary staging of prostate cancer: PSA and Gleason score predict the intensity of tracer accumulation in the primary tumour

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uprimny, Christian; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Decristoforo, Clemens; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Kendler, Dorota; Scarpa, Lorenza; Di Santo, Gianpaolo; Roig, Llanos Geraldo; Maffey-Steffan, Johanna; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Fritz, Josef [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Health Economics, Innsbruck (Austria); Horninger, Wolfgang [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Urology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2017-06-15

    Prostate cancer (PC) cells typically show increased expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which can be visualized by {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT. The aim of this study was to assess the intensity of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 uptake in the primary tumour and metastases in patients with biopsy-proven PC prior to therapy, and to determine whether a correlation exists between the primary tumour-related {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 accumulation and the Gleason score (GS) or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Ninety patients with transrectal ultrasound biopsy-proven PC (GS 6-10; median PSA: 9.7 ng/ml) referred for {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT were retrospectively analysed. PET images were analysed visually and semiquantitatively by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}). The SUV{sub max} of the primary tumour and pathologic lesions suspicious for lymphatic or distant metastases were then compared to the physiologic background activity of normal prostate tissue and gluteal muscle. The SUV{sub max} of the primary tumour was assessed in relation to both PSA level and GS. Eighty-two patients (91.1%) demonstrated pathologic tracer accumulation in the primary tumour that exceeded physiologic tracer uptake in normal prostate tissue (median SUV{sub max}: 12.5 vs. 3.9). Tumours with GS of 6, 7a (3+4) and 7b (4+3) showed significantly lower {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 uptake, with median SUV{sub max} of 5.9, 8.3 and 8.2, respectively, compared to patients with GS >7 (median SUV{sub max}: 21.2; p < 0.001). PC patients with PSA ≥10.0 ng/ml exhibited significantly higher uptake than those with PSA levels <10.0 ng/ml (median SUV{sub max}: 17.6 versus 7.7; p < 0.001). In 24 patients (26.7%), 82 lymph nodes with pathologic tracer accumulation consistent with metastases were detected (median SUV{sub max}: 10.6). Eleven patients (12.2%) revealed 55 pathologic osseous lesions suspicious for bone metastases (median SUV{sub max}: 11.6). The GS and PSA level correlated with

  9. Hydrogen peroxide stimulates cell motile activity through LPA receptor-3 in liver epithelial WB-F344 cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shibata, Ayano; Tanabe, Eriko; Inoue, Serina; Kitayoshi, Misaho; Okimoto, Souta; Hirane, Miku; Araki, Mutsumi [Division of Cancer Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kinki University, 3-4-1, Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502 (Japan); Fukushima, Nobuyuki [Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kinki University, 3-4-1, Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502 (Japan); Tsujiuchi, Toshifumi, E-mail: ttujiuch@life.kindai.ac.jp [Division of Cancer Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kinki University, 3-4-1, Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502 (Japan)

    2013-04-12

    Highlights: •Hydrogen peroxide stimulates cell motility of WB-F344 cells. •LPA{sub 3} is induced by hydrogen peroxide in WB-F344 cells. •Cell motility by hydrogen peroxide is inhibited in LPA{sub 3} knockdown cells. •LPA signaling is involved in cell migration by hydrogen peroxide. -- Abstract: Hydrogen peroxide which is one of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediates a variety of biological responses, including cell proliferation and migration. In the present study, we investigated whether lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling is involved in cell motile activity stimulated by hydrogen peroxide. The rat liver epithelial WB-F344 cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide at 0.1 or 1 μM for 48 h. In cell motility assays, hydrogen peroxide treated cells showed significantly high cell motile activity, compared with untreated cells. To measure the expression levels of LPA receptor genes, quantitative real time RT-PCR analysis was performed. The expressions of LPA receptor-3 (Lpar3) in hydrogen peroxide treated cells were significantly higher than those in control cells, but not Lpar1 and Lpar2 genes. Next, to assess the effect of LPA{sub 3} on cell motile activity, the Lpar3 knockdown cells from WB-F344 cells were also treated with hydrogen peroxide. The cell motile activity of the knockdown cells was not stimulated by hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, in liver cancer cells, hydrogen peroxide significantly activated cell motility of Lpar3-expressing cells, but not Lpar3-unexpressing cells. These results suggest that LPA signaling via LPA{sub 3} may be mainly involved in cell motile activity of WB-F344 cells stimulated by hydrogen peroxide.

  10. Somatostatin receptor PET in neuroendocrine tumours: 68Ga-DOTA0,Tyr3-octreotide versus 68Ga-DOTA0-lanreotide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putzer, Daniel; Kroiss, Alexander; Waitz, Dietmar; Gabriel, Michael; Traub-Weidinger, Tatjana; Uprimny, Christian; von Guggenberg, Elisabeth; Decristoforo, Clemens; Warwitz, Boris; Widmann, Gerlig; Virgolini, Irene Johanna

    2013-02-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of (68)Ga-labelled DOTA(0)-lanreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-LAN) on the diagnostic assessment of neuroendocrine tumour (NET) patients with low to moderate uptake on planar somatostatin receptor (SSTR) scintigraphy or (68)Ga-labelled DOTA(0),Tyr(3)-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC) positron emission tomography (PET). Fifty-three patients with histologically confirmed NET and clinical signs of progressive disease, who had not qualified for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) on planar SSTR scintigraphy or (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET (n = 38) due to lack of tracer uptake, underwent (68)Ga-DOTA-LAN PET to evaluate a treatment option with (90)Y-labelled lanreotide according to the MAURITIUS trial. The included patients received 150 ± 30 MBq of each radiopharmaceutical intravenously. PET scans were acquired 60-90 min after intravenous bolus injection. Image results from both PET scans were compared head to head, focusing on the intensity of tracer uptake in terms of treatment decision. CT was used for morphologic correlation of tumour lesions. To further evaluate the binding affinities of each tracer, quantitative and qualitative values were calculated for target lesions. (68)Ga-DOTA-LAN and (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC both showed equivalent findings in 24/38 patients when fused PET/CT images were interpreted. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of (68)Ga-DOTA-LAN in comparison to CT were 0.63, 0.5 and 0.62 (n = 53; p < 0.0001) and for (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC in comparison to CT 0.78, 0.5 and 0.76 (n = 38; p < 0.013), respectively. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC showed a significantly higher maximum standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) regarding the primary tumour in 25 patients (p < 0.003) and regarding the liver in 30 patients (p < 0.009) compared to (68)Ga-DOTA-LAN. Corresponding values of both PET scans for tumour and liver did not show any significant correlation. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC revealed more tumour sites than (68)Ga

  11. Comparison of standard and delayed imaging to improve the detection rate of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT in patients with biochemical recurrence or prostate-specific antigen persistence after primary therapy for prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmuck, Sebastian; Nordlohne, Stefan; Sohns, Jan M.; Ross, Tobias L.; Bengel, Frank M.; Derlin, Thorsten [Hannover Medical School, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover (Germany); Klot, Christoph A. von [Hannover Medical School, Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Hannover (Germany); Henkenberens, Christoph; Christiansen, Hans [Hannover Medical School, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hannover (Germany); Wester, Hans-Juergen [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry, Garching (Germany)

    2017-06-15

    The aim of this study was to assess the value of dual-time point imaging in PET/CT for detection of biochemically recurrent or persistent prostate cancer, using the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligand [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T. 240 patients who underwent a [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT in the context of biochemical relapse of prostate cancer were included in this retrospective analysis. Imaging consisted of a standard whole-body PET/CT (1 h p.i.), followed by delayed (3 h p.i.) imaging of the abdomen. PSA-stratified proportions of positive PET/CT results, standardized uptake values and target-to-background ratios were analyzed, and compared between standard and delayed imaging. The overall detection rates of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT were 94.2, 71.8, 58.6, 55.9 and 38.9% for PSA levels of ≥2, 1 to <2, 0.5 to <1, >0.2 to <0.5, and 0.01 to 0.2 ng/mL, respectively. Although the target-to-background ratio improved significantly over time (P < 0.0001), the majority (96.6%) of all lesions suggestive of recurrent disease could already be detected in standard imaging. Delayed imaging at 3 h p.i. exclusively identified pathologic findings in 5.4% (10/184) of abnormal [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT scans, and exclusively detected 3.4% (38/1134) of all lesions suggestive of recurrent disease. [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT shows high detection rates in patients with prostate-specific antigen persistence or biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. Delayed imaging can detect lesions with improved contrast compared to standard imaging. However, the impact on detection rates was limited in this study. (orig.)

  12. Comparison of standard and delayed imaging to improve the detection rate of ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT in patients with biochemical recurrence or prostate-specific antigen persistence after primary therapy for prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmuck, Sebastian; Nordlohne, Stefan; Sohns, Jan M.; Ross, Tobias L.; Bengel, Frank M.; Derlin, Thorsten; Klot, Christoph A. von; Henkenberens, Christoph; Christiansen, Hans; Wester, Hans-Juergen

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the value of dual-time point imaging in PET/CT for detection of biochemically recurrent or persistent prostate cancer, using the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligand ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T. 240 patients who underwent a ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT in the context of biochemical relapse of prostate cancer were included in this retrospective analysis. Imaging consisted of a standard whole-body PET/CT (1 h p.i.), followed by delayed (3 h p.i.) imaging of the abdomen. PSA-stratified proportions of positive PET/CT results, standardized uptake values and target-to-background ratios were analyzed, and compared between standard and delayed imaging. The overall detection rates of ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT were 94.2, 71.8, 58.6, 55.9 and 38.9% for PSA levels of ≥2, 1 to 0.2 to <0.5, and 0.01 to 0.2 ng/mL, respectively. Although the target-to-background ratio improved significantly over time (P < 0.0001), the majority (96.6%) of all lesions suggestive of recurrent disease could already be detected in standard imaging. Delayed imaging at 3 h p.i. exclusively identified pathologic findings in 5.4% (10/184) of abnormal ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT scans, and exclusively detected 3.4% (38/1134) of all lesions suggestive of recurrent disease. ["6"8Ga]PSMA I and T PET/CT shows high detection rates in patients with prostate-specific antigen persistence or biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. Delayed imaging can detect lesions with improved contrast compared to standard imaging. However, the impact on detection rates was limited in this study. (orig.)

  13. 68Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in neuroendocrine tumour and healthy tissue: differentiation of physiological uptake and pathological processes in PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroiss, A; Putzer, D; Decristoforo, C; Uprimny, C; Warwitz, B; Nilica, B; Gabriel, M; Kendler, D; Waitz, D; Widmann, G; Virgolini, I J

    2013-04-01

    We wanted to establish the range of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in liver and bone metastases of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET) and to establish the range of its uptake in pancreatic NET. This would allow differentiation between physiological uptake and tumour-related somatostatin receptor expression in the pancreas (including the uncinate process), liver and bone. Finally, we wanted to test for differences in patients with NET, either treated or not treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). In 249 patients, 390 (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT studies were performed. The clinical indications for PET/CT were gastroenteropancreatic NET (194 studies), nongastroenteropancreatic NET (origin in the lung and rectum; 46 studies), NET of unknown primary (111 studies), phaeochromocytoma/glomus tumours (18 studies), and radioiodine-negative metastatic thyroid carcinoma (21 studies). SUVmax (mean ± standard deviation) values of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC were 29.8 ± 16.5 in 162 liver metastases, 19.8 ± 18.8 in 89 bone metastases and 34.6 ± 17.1 in 43 pancreatic NET (33.6 ± 14.3 in 30 tumours of the uncinate process and 36.3 ± 21.5 in 13 tumours of the pancreatic tail). A significant difference in SUVmax (p TOC is an excellent tracer for the imaging of tumours expressing somatostatin receptors on the tumour cell surface, facilitating the detection of even small tumour lesions. The noninvasive PET/CT approach by measurement of regional SUVmax can offer important clinical information to distinguish between physiological and pathological somatostatin receptor expression, especially in the uncinate process. PRRT does not significantly influence SUVmax, except in liver metastases of patients with NET.

  14. Differential diagnosis of the pelvic masses by computed tomography and 67Ga-scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakai, Kiyoshi; Kamiya, Hirofumi; Nagai, Soichiro

    1986-01-01

    To differentiate between malignant and benign tumors, computed tomography (CT) and 67 Ga-scintigraphy were carried out on 40 patients having pelvic masses. The uptake of 67 Ga-citrate was divided into three groups: negative, suspicious and positive. Contrast enhancement (CE) was employed with CT. The increases in CT numbers after contrast enhancement were divided into three groups: no enhancement (0 to 20 HU), low enhancement (21 to 40 HU) and high enhancement (over 41 HU). The results were as follows: 1) 67 Ga negative group: out of 18 patients, there was only one patient with ovarian carcinoma. The lesion was too small to detect by CT. All the remaining 17 patients had benign tumors. The increased CT numbers in benign ovarian tumors were all within the range of no enhancement. On the other hand, the increases in CT number in myoma uteri were in the range of high enhancement. 2) 67 Ga suspicious group: in 3 of 10 patients, ovarian carcinomas were detected. Because the carcinoma tissues had low enhanced CT numbers after CE, they were easily differentiated from the benign tumors. 3) 67 Ga positive group: out of 12 patients, there were 3 patients with inflammatory disease. The increases in CT numbers in the inflammatory tissue were in the range of high enhancement, so they could be clearly differentiated from malignant tissues which ranged in low enhanced CT numbers. There were no benign tumors in this group. (author)

  15. Failure Investigation of WB-57 Aircraft Engine Cowling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, J. E.; Gafka, T.; Figert, J.

    2014-01-01

    The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas is the home of the NASA WB-57 High Altitude Research Program. Three fully operational WB-57 aircraft are based near JSC at Ellington Field. The aircraft have been flying research missions since the early 1960's, and continue to be an asset to the scientific community with professional, reliable, customer-oriented service designed to meet all scientific objectives. The NASA WB-57 Program provides unique, high-altitude airborne platforms to US Government agencies, academic institutions, and commercial customers in order to support scientific research and advanced technology development and testing at locations around the world. Mission examples include atmospheric and earth science, ground mapping, cosmic dust collection, rocket launch support, and test bed operations for future airborne or spaceborne systems. During the return from a 6 hour flight, at 30,000 feet, in the clean configuration, traveling at 175 knots indicated airspeed, in un-accelerated flight with the auto pilot engaged, in calm air, the 2-man crew heard a mechanical bang and felt a slight shudder followed by a few seconds of high frequency vibration. The crew did not notice any other abnormalities leading up to, or for the remaining 1 hour of flight and made an uneventful landing. Upon taxi into the chocks, the recovery ground crew noticed the high frequency long wire antenna had become disconnected from the vertical stabilizer and was trailing over the left inboard wing, and that the left engine upper center removable cowling panel was missing, with noticeable damage to the left engine inboard cowling fixed structure. The missing cowling panel was never recovered. Each engine cowling panel is attached to the engine nacelle using six bushings made of 17-4 PH steel. The cylinder portions of four of the six bushings were found still attached to the aircraft (Fig 1). The other two bushings were lost with the panel. The other four bushings exhibited

  16. Negative predictive value of 124I-PET/CT imaging in patients affected by metastatic thyroid cancer and treated with 131I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pettinato, C.; Civollani, S.; Nanni, C.; Celli, M.; Allegri, V.; Zagni, P.; Fanti, S.; Monari, F.; Cima, S.; Mazzarotto, R.; Spezi, E.

    2015-01-01

    Full text of publication follows. Aim: patients affected by metastatic Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (mDTC) are treated with 131 I even in presence of negative diagnostic 131 I whole body (WB) scan. Actually, very often, these patients present positive post therapy 131 I whole body scan, showing iodine avid metastases that were not seen with the diagnostic imaging. The aim of this work was the evaluation of the feasibility to use 124 I PET/CT images to predict patients who will not benefit from the iodine therapy, because of the absence of avidity, avoiding useless treatments. Material and methods: 25 patients affected by mDTC were enrolled in the study approved by the ethical Committee of our Institution, with the aim to evaluate the usefulness of 124 I PET/CT sequential scans to predict absorbed doses to metastatic thyroid cancer patients undergoing 131 I therapy. Patients (pts) were divided into 4 groups, based on their histology: group A, 4 pts with follicular cancer; group B, 13 pts with papillary cancer; group C, 2 pts with papillary tall cells cancer; group D, 6 patients with papillary cancer with follicular variant. Patients showing negative 124 I-PET/CT were treated with a reduced dose of 131 I (3700 MBq) and post treatment WB scans were acquired 96 hours after the therapeutic administration. Results: 12 patients showed at least one metastatic lesion at 124 I PET/CT imaging, and most of the lesions were visible at the 24 hours scan (4 pts group A, 3 pts group B, 5 pts group D). The remaining 13 patients did not show any uptake of all known metastatic lesions at each PET/CT time points (10 pts group B, 2 pts group C, 1 pt group D). Negative PET/CT findings were confirmed by post therapy WB scan. Discussion and Conclusion: 124 I-PET/CT scan is a useful diagnostic tool to discriminate patients with iodine avid metastases. Actually, when they are present, the superiority of PET/CT resolution and sensitivity, compared to standard 131 I planar imaging, allow the

  17. 11C-Acetate as a new biomarker for PET/CT in patients with multiple myeloma: initial staging and postinduction response assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Chieh; Tsai, Shu-Fan; Yen, Tzu-Chen; Ho, Chi-Lai; Ng, Shu-Hang; Lin, Yu-Chun; Wang, Po-Nan; Tang, Tzung-Chih; Huang, Yenlin; Rahmouni, Alain

    2014-01-01

    We investigated the potential value of 11 C-acetate (ACT) PET/CT in characterizing multiple myeloma (MM) compared with 18 F-FDG PET/CT. Bone marrow histological and whole-body (WB) MRI findings served as the reference standards. In this prospective study, 15 untreated MM patients (10 men and 5 women, age range 48-69 years) underwent dual-tracer 11 C-ACT and 18 F-FDG PET/CT and WB MRI for pretreatment staging, and 13 of them had repeated examinations after induction therapy. Diffuse and focal bone marrow uptake was assessed by visual and quantitative analyses, including measurement of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ). Between-group differences and correlations were assessed with the Mann-Whitney U test and the Pearson test. At staging, all 15 patients had diffuse myeloma involvement upon bone marrow examination with 30-90 % of plasma cell infiltrates. Diffuse infiltration was detected in all of them (100 %) using 11 C-ACT with a positive correlation between bone marrow uptake values and percentages of plasma cell infiltrates (r = +0.63, p = 0.01). In contrast, a diagnosis of diffuse infiltration could be established using 18 F-FDG in only six patients (40 %). Focal lesions were shown in 13 patients on both 11 C-ACT PET/CT and WB MRI, and in 10 patients on 18 F-FDG PET/CT. Focal lesions demonstrated 11 C-ACT uptake with a mean SUV max of 11.4 ± 3.3 (range 4.6-19.6, n = 59), which was significantly higher than the 18 F-FDG uptake (mean SUV max 6.6 ± 3.1, range 2.3-13.7, n = 29; p 11 C-ACT uptake showed a mean SUV max reduction of 66 % in patients with at least a very good partial response versus 34 % in those with at most a partial response only (p = 0.01). PET/CT using 11 C-ACT as a biomarker showed a higher detection rate for both diffuse and focal myeloma lesions at diagnosis than using 18 F-FDG, and may be valuable for response assessment. (orig.)

  18. WholeBbody Positron-Emission-Tomography (WB-PET) in oncology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feine, U.; Lietzenmayer, R.; Mueller-Schauenburg, W.; Geiger, L.; Hanke, J.P.; Weisser, G.; Woehrle, H.

    1996-01-01

    The new generation of high sensitive PET-Scanners with an FOV of about 15 cm allows to recognize with high sensitivity and good spezificity malign tumors and their metastases with 18F-FDG in a Whole-Body-Scan in 35 to 50 min scan time. 357 FDG-WB-PET-Scans have been performed in Tuebingen during 1 1/2 years since January 1994 in tumor patients and have been compared and evaluated to the results of other imaging methods performed in the same time together with clinics and in follow-up. In 4 groups of tumors - Melanoma - malign Lymphoma -Breast Cancer - Thyroid Cancer - and a fifth group of 24 various types of malign tumors we found a sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 80% and an accuracy of 90%. Foci smaller than 6-8 mm diametre - mostly lung metastases or lymphomas - and also tumors of low malignancy such as 131l-trapping Tyroid Carcinomas and Ganglioneuroblastomas have been found false negative. Flase positive we found inflammated lymph nodes, abscesses and also benign thyroid adenomas. This high sensitivity makes 18F-FDG-WB-PET an important method for tumor searching and diagnosis of tumor spreading, esp. for primary and secondary staging in the future, but also as the unique imaging method which allows determination of resting tumor vitality after therapy. Further multi-center studies will be necessary before this method can be introduced to routine, that also is limited by the high costs of the procedure. (orig.) [de

  19. Double-target Antisense U1snRNAs Correct Mis-splicing Due to c.639+861C>T and c.639+919G>A GLA Deep Intronic Mutations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorenzo Ferri

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Fabry disease is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficiency of the α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A enzyme, which is encoded by the GLA gene. GLA transcription in humans produces a major mRNA encoding α-Gal A and a minor mRNA of unknown function, which retains a 57-nucleotide-long cryptic exon between exons 4 and 5, bearing a premature termination codon. NM_000169.2:c.639+861C>T and NM_000169.2:c.639+919G>A GLA deep intronic mutations have been described to cause Fabry disease by inducing overexpression of the alternatively spliced mRNA, along with a dramatic decrease in the major one. Here, we built a wild-type GLA minigene and two minigenes that carry mutations c.639+861C>T and c.639+919G>A. Once transfected into cells, the minigenes recapitulate the molecular patterns observed in patients, at the mRNA, protein, and enzymatic level. We constructed a set of specific double-target U1asRNAs to correct c.639+861C>T and c.639+919G>A GLA mutations. Efficacy of U1asRNAs in inducing the skipping of the cryptic exon was evaluated upon their transient co-transfection with the minigenes in COS-1 cells, by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR, western blot analysis, and α-Gal A enzyme assay. We identified a set of U1asRNAs that efficiently restored α-Gal A enzyme activity and the correct splicing pathways in reporter minigenes. We also identified a unique U1asRNA correcting both mutations as efficently as the mutation-specific U1asRNAs. Our study proves that an exon skipping-based approach recovering α-Gal A activity in the c.639+861C>T and c.639+919G>A GLA mutations is active.

  20. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in neuroendocrine tumour and healthy tissue: differentiation of physiological uptake and pathological processes in PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kroiss, A.; Putzer, D.; Decristoforo, C.; Uprimny, C.; Warwitz, B.; Nilica, B.; Gabriel, M.; Kendler, D.; Waitz, D.; Virgolini, I.J. [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Widmann, G. [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2013-04-15

    We wanted to establish the range of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in liver and bone metastases of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NET) and to establish the range of its uptake in pancreatic NET. This would allow differentiation between physiological uptake and tumour-related somatostatin receptor expression in the pancreas (including the uncinate process), liver and bone. Finally, we wanted to test for differences in patients with NET, either treated or not treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). In 249 patients, 390 {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT studies were performed. The clinical indications for PET/CT were gastroenteropancreatic NET (194 studies), nongastroenteropancreatic NET (origin in the lung and rectum; 46 studies), NET of unknown primary (111 studies), phaeochromocytoma/glomus tumours (18 studies), and radioiodine-negative metastatic thyroid carcinoma (21 studies). SUV{sub max} (mean {+-} standard deviation) values of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC were 29.8 {+-} 16.5 in 162 liver metastases, 19.8 {+-} 18.8 in 89 bone metastases and 34.6 {+-} 17.1 in 43 pancreatic NET (33.6 {+-} 14.3 in 30 tumours of the uncinate process and 36.3 {+-} 21.5 in 13 tumours of the pancreatic tail). A significant difference in SUV{sub max} (p < 0.02) was found in liver metastases of NET patients treated with PRRT. There were significant differences in SUV{sub max} between nonmalignant and malignant tissue for both bone and liver metastases and for pancreatic NET including the uncinate process (p < 0.0001). At a cut-off value of 17.1 the specificity and sensitivity of SUV{sub max} for differentiating tumours in the uncinate process were 93.6 % and 90.0 %, respectively (p < 0.0001). {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC is an excellent tracer for the imaging of tumours expressing somatostatin receptors on the tumour cell surface, facilitating the detection of even small tumour lesions. The noninvasive PET/CT approach by measurement of regional SUV{sub max} can offer important clinical

  1. Studies on the characterization and regulation of alpha-1 adrenergic receptors and [3H]WB4101 binding sites in the central nervous system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrow, A.L.

    1985-01-01

    The purpose of these studies has been to resolve the anomalous binding characteristics of two alpha adrenergic receptor ligands, [ 3 H]WB4101 and [ 3 H]prazosin and to study the regulation of the receptors labeled by these compounds after surgical denervation and chronic drug treatments. Preliminary studies indicated that [ 3 H]WB4101 binding sites, which were believed to represent alpha-1 adrenergic receptors, were increased in number following removal of the fimbrial afferents to the hippocampus. This increase was not due to removal of the adrenergic input into this structure since destruction of the locus coeruleus or the dorsal noradrenergic bundle did not produce the up-regulation. Characterization of alpha-1 adrenergic receptors using [ 3 H]prazosin and [ 3 H]WB4101 revealed evidence for subtypes of alpha-1 receptors designated alpha-1A and alpha-1B. The nanomolar affinity component of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding is not adrenergic but serotonergic. The serotonergic agonists, serotonin and 8-hydroxy-dipropylaminotetraline have affinities of 1.5 and 3.0 nM for this site, when studied in the presence of a 30 nM prazosin mask of the alpha-1 component of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding. Fimbria transection or 5,7 dihydroxytryptamine injections produced increases in the Bmax of the nanomolar affinity component of [ 3 H]WB4101 binding in the presence of a prazosin mask. The up-regulated site showed identical serotonergic pharmacology compared to control tissue. Thus, the author concluded that serotonergic denervation of the hippocampus produces the increase in serotonergic binding sites labeled by [ 3 H]WB4101

  2. {sup 11}C-Acetate as a new biomarker for PET/CT in patients with multiple myeloma: initial staging and postinduction response assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Chieh; Tsai, Shu-Fan; Yen, Tzu-Chen [Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Gueishan (China); Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan (China); Ho, Chi-Lai [Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Positron Emission Tomography, Hong Kong (China); Ng, Shu-Hang; Lin, Yu-Chun [Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan (China); Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Taoyuan (China); Wang, Po-Nan; Tang, Tzung-Chih [Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan (China); Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Taoyuan (China); Huang, Yenlin [Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan (China); Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Department of Anatomic Pathology, Taoyuan (China); Rahmouni, Alain [AP-HP, Groupe Henri-Mondor Albert-Chenevier, CHU Henri Mondor, Department of Radiology, Creteil (France)

    2014-01-15

    We investigated the potential value of {sup 11}C-acetate (ACT) PET/CT in characterizing multiple myeloma (MM) compared with {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT. Bone marrow histological and whole-body (WB) MRI findings served as the reference standards. In this prospective study, 15 untreated MM patients (10 men and 5 women, age range 48-69 years) underwent dual-tracer {sup 11}C-ACT and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and WB MRI for pretreatment staging, and 13 of them had repeated examinations after induction therapy. Diffuse and focal bone marrow uptake was assessed by visual and quantitative analyses, including measurement of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}). Between-group differences and correlations were assessed with the Mann-Whitney U test and the Pearson test. At staging, all 15 patients had diffuse myeloma involvement upon bone marrow examination with 30-90 % of plasma cell infiltrates. Diffuse infiltration was detected in all of them (100 %) using {sup 11}C-ACT with a positive correlation between bone marrow uptake values and percentages of plasma cell infiltrates (r = +0.63, p = 0.01). In contrast, a diagnosis of diffuse infiltration could be established using {sup 18}F-FDG in only six patients (40 %). Focal lesions were shown in 13 patients on both {sup 11}C-ACT PET/CT and WB MRI, and in 10 patients on {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT. Focal lesions demonstrated {sup 11}C-ACT uptake with a mean SUV{sub max} of 11.4 ± 3.3 (range 4.6-19.6, n = 59), which was significantly higher than the {sup 18}F-FDG uptake (mean SUV{sub max} 6.6 ± 3.1, range 2.3-13.7, n = 29; p < 0.0001). After treatment, the diffuse bone marrow {sup 11}C-ACT uptake showed a mean SUV{sub max} reduction of 66 % in patients with at least a very good partial response versus 34 % in those with at most a partial response only (p = 0.01). PET/CT using {sup 11}C-ACT as a biomarker showed a higher detection rate for both diffuse and focal myeloma lesions at diagnosis than using {sup 18}F-FDG, and may be

  3. SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues in the evaluation of systemic granulomatous infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, Paulo Henrique Silva; de Souza, Thiago Ferreira; Moretti, Maria Luiza; Resende, Mariangela Ribeiro; Mengatti, Jair; de Lima, Mariana da Cunha Lopes; Santos, Allan Oliveira; Ramos, Celso Darío

    2017-01-01

    To evaluate SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues (RSAs) in systemic granulomatous infections in comparison with gallium-67 ( 67 Ga) citrate scintigraphy. We studied 28 patients with active systemic granulomatous infections, including tuberculosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, pneumocystosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, leishmaniasis, infectious vasculitis, and an unspecified opportunistic infection. Of the 28 patients, 23 had started specific treatment before the study outset. All patients underwent whole-body SPECT/CT imaging: 7 after injection of 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC, and 21 after injection of 111 In-DTPA-octreotide. All patients also underwent 67 Ga citrate imaging, except for one patient who died before the 67 Ga was available. In 20 of the 27 patients who underwent imaging with both tracers, 27 sites of active disease were detected by 67 Ga citrate imaging and by SPECT/CT with an RSA. Both tracers had negative results in the other 7 patients. RSA uptake was visually lower than 67 Ga uptake in 11 of the 20 patients with positive images and similar to 67 Ga uptake in the other 9 patients. The only patient who did not undergo 67 Ga scintigraphy underwent 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT-guided biopsy of a lung cavity with focal RSA uptake, which turned to be positive for aspergillosis. SPECT/CT with 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC or 111 In-DTPA-octreotide seems to be a good alternative to 67 Ga citrate imaging for the evaluation of patients with systemic granulomatous disease.

  4. Multiple Time-Point 68Ga-PSMA I&T PET/CT for Characterization of Primary Prostate Cancer: Value of Early Dynamic and Delayed Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmuck, Sebastian; Mamach, Martin; Wilke, Florian; von Klot, Christoph A; Henkenberens, Christoph; Thackeray, James T; Sohns, Jan M; Geworski, Lilli; Ross, Tobias L; Wester, Hans-Juergen; Christiansen, Hans; Bengel, Frank M; Derlin, Thorsten

    2017-06-01

    The aims of this study were to gain mechanistic insights into prostate cancer biology using dynamic imaging and to evaluate the usefulness of multiple time-point Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) I&T PET/CT for the assessment of primary prostate cancer before prostatectomy. Twenty patients with prostate cancer underwent Ga-PSMA I&T PET/CT before prostatectomy. The PET protocol consisted of early dynamic pelvic imaging, followed by static scans at 60 and 180 minutes postinjection (p.i.). SUVs, time-activity curves, quantitative analysis based on a 2-tissue compartment model, Patlak analysis, histopathology, and Gleason grading were compared between prostate cancer and benign prostate gland. Primary tumors were identified on both early dynamic and delayed imaging in 95% of patients. Tracer uptake was significantly higher in prostate cancer compared with benign prostate tissue at any time point (P ≤ 0.0003) and increased over time. Consequently, the tumor-to-nontumor ratio within the prostate gland improved over time (2.8 at 10 minutes vs 17.1 at 180 minutes p.i.). Tracer uptake at both 60 and 180 minutes p.i. was significantly higher in patients with higher Gleason scores (P dynamic and static delayed Ga-PSMA ligand PET images. The tumor-to-nontumor ratio in the prostate gland improves over time, supporting a role of delayed imaging for optimal visualization of prostate cancer.

  5. Comparison of {sup 68}Ga-labelled PSMA-11 and {sup 11}C-choline in the detection of prostate cancer metastases by PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schwenck, Johannes [Eberhard Karls University, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Molecular Imaging, Tuebingen (Germany); Eberhard Karls University, Department of Preclinical Imaging and Radiopharmacy, Tuebingen (Germany); Rempp, Hansjoerg; Nikolaou, Konstantin; Pfannenberg, Christina [Eberhard Karls University, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Tuebingen (Germany); Reischl, Gerald [Eberhard Karls University, Department of Preclinical Imaging and Radiopharmacy, Tuebingen (Germany); Kruck, Stephan; Stenzl, Arnulf [Eberhard Karls University, Department of Urology, Tuebingen (Germany); La Fougere, Christian [Eberhard Karls University, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Molecular Imaging, Tuebingen (Germany); German Cancer Consortium, German Cancer Research Center Partner Site, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2017-01-15

    Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is expressed ubiquitously on the membrane of most prostate tumors and its metastasis. While PET/CT using {sup 11}C-choline was considered as the gold standard in the staging of prostate cancer, PET with radiolabelled PSMA ligands was introduced into the clinic in recent years. Our aim was to compare the PSMA ligand {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 with {sup 11}C-choline in patients with primary and recurrent prostate cancer. 123 patients underwent a whole-body PET/CT examination using {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 and {sup 11}C-choline. Suspicious lesions were evaluated visually and semiquantitatively (SUVavg). Out of these, 103 suffered from a confirmed biochemical relapse after prostatectomy and/or radiotherapy (mean PSA level of 4.5 ng/ml), while 20 patients underwent primary staging. In 67 patients with biochemical relapse, we detected 458 lymph nodes suspicious for metastasis. PET using {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 showed a significantly higher uptake and detection rate than {sup 11}C-choline PET. Also {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET identified significantly more patients with suspicious lymph nodes as well as affected lymph nodes regions especially at low PSA levels. Bone lesions suspicious for prostate cancer metastasis were revealed in 36 patients' biochemical relapse. Significantly more bone lesions were detected by {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11, but only 3 patients had only PSMA-positive bone lesions. Nevertheless, we detected also 29 suspicious lymph nodes and 8 bone lesions, which were only positive as per {sup 11}C-choline PET. These findings led to crucial differences in the TNM classification and the identification of oligometastatic patients. In the patients who underwent initial staging, all primary tumors showed uptake of both tracers. Although significantly more suspicious lymph nodes and bone lesions were identified, only 2 patients presented with bone lesions only detected by {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET. Thus, PET using {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 showed a higher

  6. (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET in juvenile angiofibroma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronkiewicz, Zuzanna; Kukwa, Wojciech; Krolicki, Leszek; Cyran-Chlebicka, Agata; Pawlak, Dariusz; Stankiewicz, Czeslaw; Krzeski, Antoni; Górnicka, Barbara; Wolosz, Dominika; Kunikowska, Jolanta

    2016-06-01

    As somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) may be overexpressed in rapidly growing vessels, the aim of this study was the analysis of in vivo and in vitro SSTR2A expression in juvenile angiofibroma (JA). A group of six male adolescents with a diagnosis of primary, recurrent/residual JA was enrolled in the study. All patients underwent (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/computed tomography (CT) followed by immunohistochemical staining for SSTR expression. (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed accumulation in areas matching the pathologic tissue in the nasopharynx of all patients studied with SUVmax of 5.1 ± 0.9 (ranging from 3.6 to 6.4). In all cases, the immunohistochemical examination showed a presence of SSTR2A with a high staining index. In vitro SSTR2A cytoplasm expression was found to be high in all tumor specimens. However, the uptake of (68)Ga-DOTATATE was weak in the PET/CT studies. We postulate that the intracellular localization of the SSTR2A in JA may cause this discrepancy.

  7. Optimized production, quality control, biological evaluation and PET/CT imaging of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-617 in breast adenocarcinoma model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharifi, Mehdi; Yousefnia, Hassan; Bahrami-Samani, Ali; Zolghadri, Samaneh; Alirezapour, Behrouz [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Jalilian, Amir Reza; Geramifa, Parham; Beiki, Davood [Tehran Univ. of Medical Sciences (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Research Center for Nuclear Medicine; Maus, Stephan [Univ. Medical Centre Mainz (Germany). Clinic of Nuclear Medicine

    2017-08-01

    Optimized production, quality control and preclinical evaluation of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-617 as a PET radiotracer for PSMA-positive malignancies as well as successful application in imaging of breast adenocarcinomas are reported. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-617 radiolabeling and QC optimization, stability, log P, biodistribution in breast adenocarcinomas-bearing mice (direct and blockade studies) and also PET/CT imaging was performed. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-617 complex was prepared in high radiochemical purity (>96%, ITLC, HPLC) and specific activity of 300-310 GBq/mM at 95 C using 2-4 micrograms of the peptide in 10 min followed by solid phase purification. The tracer was stable in serum and final formulation for at least 120 min. The log P was -1.98. Western blot test on the tumor cell homogenates demonstrated distinct existence of the PSMA on the surface. The biodistribution of the tracer demonstrated specific kidney and tumor significant uptake using blocking study. Significant tumor:blood and tumor:muscle ratio uptake observed at 30 min post-injection (2.69 and 19.1, respectively). A reduction of 40-80% off tumor uptake in the study time period observed using blocking test. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-617 can be proposing a possible tracer for PET imaging of breast adenocarcinomas and other breast malignancies.

  8. SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues in the evaluation of systemic granulomatous infections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monteiro, Paulo Henrique Silva; Souza, Thiago Ferreira de; Moretti, Maria Luiza; Resende, Mariangela Ribeiro; Lima, Mariana da Cunha Lopes de; Santos, Allan Oliveira; Ramos, Celso Darío

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues (RSAs) in systemic granulomatous infections in comparison with gallium-67 ( 67 Ga) citrate scintigraphy. Materials And Methods: We studied 28 patients with active systemic granulomatous infections, including tuberculosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, pneumocystosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, leishmaniasis, infectious vasculitis, and an unspecified opportunistic infection. Of the 28 patients, 23 had started specific treatment before the study outset. All patients underwent whole-body SPECT/CT imaging: 7 after injection of 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC, and 21 after injection of 111 In-DTPA-octreotide. All patients also underwent 67 Ga citrate imaging, except for one patient who died before the 67 Ga was available. Results: In 20 of the 27 patients who underwent imaging with both tracers, 27 sites of active disease were detected by 67 Ga citrate imaging and by SPECT/CT with an RSA. Both tracers had negative results in the other 7 patients. RSA uptake was visually lower than 67 Ga uptake in 11 of the 20 patients with positive images and similar to 67 Ga uptake in the other 9 patients. The only patient who did not undergo 67 Ga scintigraphy underwent 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT-guided biopsy of a lung cavity with focal RSA uptake, which turned to be positive for aspergillosis. Conclusion: SPECT/CT with 99m Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC or 111 In-DTPA-octreotide seems to be a good alternative to 67 Ga citrate imaging for the evaluation of patients with systemic granulomatous disease. (author)

  9. SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues in the evaluation of systemic granulomatous infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Henrique Silva Monteiro

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective: To evaluate SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues (RSAs in systemic granulomatous infections in comparison with gallium-67 (67Ga citrate scintigraphy. Materials and Methods: We studied 28 patients with active systemic granulomatous infections, including tuberculosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, pneumocystosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, leishmaniasis, infectious vasculitis, and an unspecified opportunistic infection. Of the 28 patients, 23 had started specific treatment before the study outset. All patients underwent whole-body SPECT/CT imaging: 7 after injection of 99mTc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC, and 21 after injection of 111In-DTPA-octreotide. All patients also underwent 67Ga citrate imaging, except for one patient who died before the 67Ga was available. Results: In 20 of the 27 patients who underwent imaging with both tracers, 27 sites of active disease were detected by 67Ga citrate imaging and by SPECT/CT with an RSA. Both tracers had negative results in the other 7 patients. RSA uptake was visually lower than 67Ga uptake in 11 of the 20 patients with positive images and similar to 67Ga uptake in the other 9 patients. The only patient who did not undergo 67Ga scintigraphy underwent 99mTc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT-guided biopsy of a lung cavity with focal RSA uptake, which turned to be positive for aspergillosis. Conclusion: SPECT/CT with 99mTc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC or 111In-DTPA-octreotide seems to be a good alternative to 67Ga citrate imaging for the evaluation of patients with systemic granulomatous disease.

  10. Qualitative and quantitative image analysis of CT and MR imaging in patients with neuroendocrine liver metastases in comparison to 68Ga-DOTATOC PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flechsig, Paul; Zechmann, Christian M.; Schreiweis, Julian; Kratochwil, Clemens; Rath, Daniel; Schwartz, Lawrence H.; Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Haberkorn, Uwe; Giesel, Frederik L.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Qualitative analysis revealed significantly higher results for spatial lesion detectability of liver metastasis in CE-MRI as compared to DW-imaging (p < 0.05). • Primary visibility of liver metastases was scored equally in CE-MRI and DW-imaging. • Contrast-enhancement ratios in liver metastases reached highest values for DW-imaging (p < 0.05). • Staging of liver metastases in patients with GEP-NETs should rather be performed using a combination of PET and MRI than of PET and CT. • The combination of functional and morphologic native MR-sequences seems to be sufficient for follow-up imaging in clinical routine, especially in post-interventional follow-up. - Abstract: Purpose: To compare lesion conspicuity in patients with liver metastases arising from gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) using MRI, PET and CT. Materials and methods: 16 patients with GEP-NETs were evaluated using non-contrast MRI, contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI using Gd-EOB-DTPA and CE- 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET. Quantitative analyses were performed by two blinded readers using ROI-analyses quantifying contrast ratios (CR) between normal liver-tissue and GEP-NET-metastases. Qualitative analyses were performed evaluating primary visibility and spatial detectability of all lesions. Results: 103 of the same liver metastases were detected on all modalities. Qualitatively, lesion conspicuity was superior on CE-MRI imaging compared to non-contrast MR-sequences (T2, DWI, fl2D, fl3D), as well as arterial- and portal-venous phase CT. Concerning detectability of lesions, CE-MRI was superior to all other modalities. The quantitative ROI-analysis demonstrated improved CR for DWI compared to all other non-contrast MR-sequences (p < 0.001). CE-MRI presented with higher CR-values compared to CE- 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Anatomic imaging using non contrast MRI with fl2D-and fl3D-sequences in combination with the molecular imaging modality 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET is

  11. Somatostatin receptor PET in neuroendocrine tumours: {sup 68}Ga-DOTA{sup 0},Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide versus {sup 68}Ga-DOTA{sup 0}-lanreotide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Putzer, Daniel; Kroiss, Alexander; Waitz, Dietmar; Gabriel, Michael; Uprimny, Christian; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Decristoforo, Clemens; Warwitz, Boris; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Traub-Weidinger, Tatjana [Vienna Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vienna (Austria); Widmann, Gerlig [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2013-03-15

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of {sup 68}Ga-labelled DOTA{sup 0}-lanreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-LAN) on the diagnostic assessment of neuroendocrine tumour (NET) patients with low to moderate uptake on planar somatostatin receptor (SSTR) scintigraphy or {sup 68}Ga-labelled DOTA{sup 0},Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC) positron emission tomography (PET). Fifty-three patients with histologically confirmed NET and clinical signs of progressive disease, who had not qualified for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) on planar SSTR scintigraphy or {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET (n = 38) due to lack of tracer uptake, underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-LAN PET to evaluate a treatment option with {sup 90}Y-labelled lanreotide according to the MAURITIUS trial. The included patients received 150 {+-} 30 MBq of each radiopharmaceutical intravenously. PET scans were acquired 60-90 min after intravenous bolus injection. Image results from both PET scans were compared head to head, focusing on the intensity of tracer uptake in terms of treatment decision. CT was used for morphologic correlation of tumour lesions. To further evaluate the binding affinities of each tracer, quantitative and qualitative values were calculated for target lesions. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-LAN and {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC both showed equivalent findings in 24/38 patients when fused PET/CT images were interpreted. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-LAN in comparison to CT were 0.63, 0.5 and 0.62 (n = 53; p < 0.0001) and for {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC in comparison to CT 0.78, 0.5 and 0.76 (n = 38; p < 0.013), respectively. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC showed a significantly higher maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) regarding the primary tumour in 25 patients (p < 0.003) and regarding the liver in 30 patients (p < 0.009) compared to {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-LAN. Corresponding values of both PET scans for tumour and liver did not show any significant correlation. {sup 68}Ga

  12. Effect of long-term propranolol administration on specific binding of 3H-WB-4101 with rat mesenteric vascular membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismailov, S.I.; Rozhanets, V.V.; Val'dman, A.V.

    1985-01-01

    The aim of this investigation was, first, to study the affinity of certain beta-adrenoblockers for specific binding sites of 3 H-WB-4101 (identifiable as alpha-adrenoreceptors) of brain membranes and, second, to study the characteristics of these same receptors in membranes of mesenteric vessels of rats during long-term administration of propranolol. Isotherms of specific binding, because of the limited quantity of vascular membranes, were determined by the use of three concentrations of 3 H-WB-4101: 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 nM. It is shown that some beta-adrenoblockers have weak affinity for alpha-adrenoreceptors of brain synaptic membranes exhibited only when these compounds are present in relatively high concentrations. It is also shown that administration of propranolol for 15 days led to a significant decrease in affinity of the alpha-adrenorecptors for their specific antagonist WB-4101

  13. PSA-stratified detection rates for [68Ga]THP-PSMA, a novel probe for rapid kit-based 68Ga-labeling and PET imaging, in patients with biochemical recurrence after primary therapy for prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derlin, Thorsten; Schmuck, Sebastian; Juhl, Cathleen; Zörgiebel, Johanna; Schneefeld, Sophie M; Walte, Almut C A; Hueper, Katja; von Klot, Christoph A; Henkenberens, Christoph; Christiansen, Hans; Thackeray, James T; Ross, Tobias L; Bengel, Frank M

    2018-06-01

    [ 68 Ga]Tris(hydroxypyridinone)(THP)-PSMA is a novel radiopharmaceutical for one-step kit-based radiolabelling, based on direct chelation of 68 Ga 3+ at low concentration, room temperature and over a wide pH range, using direct elution from a 68 Ge/ 68 Ga-generator. We evaluated the clinical detection rates of [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA PET/CT in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer after prostatectomy. Consecutive patients (n=99) referred for evaluation of biochemical relapse of prostate cancer by [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA PET/CT were analyzed retrospectively. Patients underwent a standard whole-body PET/CT (1 h p.i.), followed by delayed (3 h p.i.) imaging of the abdomen. PSA-stratified cohorts of positive PET/CT results, standardized uptake values (SUVs) and target-to-background ratios (TBRs) were analyzed, and compared between standard and delayed imaging. At least one lesion suggestive of recurrent or metastatic prostate cancer was identified on PET images in 52 patients (52.5%). Detection rates of [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA PET/CT increased with increasing PSA level: 94.1% for a PSA value of ≥10 ng/mL, 77.3% for a PSA value of 2 to PSA value of 1 to PSA value of 0.5 to PSA value of >0.2 to PSA value of 0.01 to 0.2 ng/mL. [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA uptake (SUVs) in metastases decreased over time, whereas TBRs improved. Delayed imaging at 3 h p.i. exclusively identified pathologic findings in 2% of [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA PET/CT scans. Detection rate was higher in patients with a Gleason score ≥8 (P=0.02) and in patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (P=0.003). In this study, [ 68 Ga]THP-PSMA PET/CT showed suitable detection rates in patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer and PSA levels ≥ 2 ng /mL. Detections rates were lower than in previous studies evaluating other PSMA ligands, though prospective direct radiotracer comparison studies are mandatory particularly in patients with low PSA levels to evaluate the relative performance of different PSMA ligands.

  14. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA I and T PET/CT for assessment of prostate cancer: evaluation of image quality after forced diuresis and delayed imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Derlin, Thorsten; Weiberg, Desiree; Ross, Tobias L.; Bengel, Frank M. [Hannover Medical School, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover (Germany); Klot, Christoph von [Hannover Medical School, Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Hannover (Germany); Wester, Hans-Juergen [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry, Garching (Germany); Henkenberens, Christoph; Christiansen, Hans [Hannover Medical School, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hannover (Germany); Merseburger, Axel S. [University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Department of Urology, Campus Luebeck, Luebeck (Germany)

    2016-12-15

    Urinary radiotracer excretion of {sup 68}Ga-Labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands may complicate the assessment of the prostate region and differentiation of lymph nodes from ureteral activity. The aim of this study was to assess the value of delayed imaging after forced diuresis. Sixty-six patients underwent {sup 68}Ga-PSMA I and T PET/CT for evaluation of prostate cancer at 60 min post-injection. In subgroups of patients, this was amended by delayed imaging after 180 min post-injection, preceded by furosemide and oral hydration early, at the time of tracer injection, or delayed, at 100 min post-injection. Urinary tracer activity within the bladder and focal ureteral activity was analyzed. After forced diuresis, linear and focal visualization of ureters was significantly reduced. After delayed furosemide, mean and peak bladder activity decreased (p < 0.001), and image quality of the prostate region improved on delayed images (p < 0.001). Early furosemide co-injection with tracer resulted in increased mean and peak bladder activity (p < 0.001) and in deteriorated image quality of the prostate region on delayed images (p = 0.008). Ga-PSMA I and T PET/CT delayed imaging after forced diuresis can improve the assessment of prostate region and pelvic lymph nodes by removing excreted tracer from the lower urinary tract. (orig.)

  15. The accuracy of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT in primary lymph node staging in high-risk prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oebek, Can; Doganca, Tuenkut [Acibadem Taksim Hospital, Department of Urology, Istanbul (Turkey); Demirci, Emre [Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Istanbul (Turkey); Ocak, Meltem [Istanbul University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Istanbul (Turkey); Kural, Ali Riza [Acibadem University, Department of Urology, Istanbul (Turkey); Yildirim, Asif [Istanbul Medeniyet University, Department of Urology, Istanbul (Turkey); Yuecetas, Ugur [Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Istanbul (Turkey); Demirdag, Cetin [Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Department of Urology, Istanbul (Turkey); Erdogan, Sarper M. [Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Istanbul (Turkey); Kabasakal, Levent [Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Istanbul (Turkey); Collaboration: Members of Urooncology Association, Turkey

    2017-10-15

    To assess the diagnostic accuracy of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET in predicting lymph node (LN) metastases in primary N staging in high-risk and very high-risk nonmetastatic prostate cancer in comparison with morphological imaging. This was a multicentre trial of the Society of Urologic Oncology in Turkey in conjunction with the Nuclear Medicine Department of Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University. Patients were accrued from eight centres. Patients with high-risk and very high-risk disease scheduled to undergo surgical treatment with extended LN dissection between July 2014 and October 2015 were included. Either MRI or CT was used for morphological imaging. PSMA PET/CT was performed and evaluated at a single centre. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated for the detection of lymphatic metastases by PSMA PET/CT and morphological imaging. Kappa values were calculated to evaluate the correlation between the numbers of LN metastases detected by PSMA PET/CT and by histopathology. Data on 51 eligible patients are presented. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PSMA PET in detecting LN metastases in the primary setting were 53%, 86% and 76%, and increased to 67%, 88% and 81% in the subgroup with of patients with ≥15 LN removed. Kappa values for the correlation between imaging and pathology were 0.41 for PSMA PET and 0.18 for morphological imaging. PSMA PET/CT is superior to morphological imaging for the detection of metastatic LNs in patients with primary prostate cancer. Surgical dissection remains the gold standard for precise lymphatic staging. (orig.)

  16. A Population WB-PBPK Model of Colistin and its Prodrug CMS in Pigs: Focus on the Renal Distribution and Excretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viel, Alexis; Henri, Jérôme; Bouchène, Salim; Laroche, Julian; Rolland, Jean-Guy; Manceau, Jacqueline; Laurentie, Michel; Couet, William; Grégoire, Nicolas

    2018-03-12

    The objective was the development of a whole-body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (WB-PBPK) model for colistin, and its prodrug colistimethate sodium (CMS), in pigs to explore their tissue distribution, especially in kidneys. Plasma and tissue concentrations of CMS and colistin were measured after systemic administrations of different dosing regimens of CMS in pigs. The WB-PBPK model was developed based on these data according to a non-linear mixed effect approach and using NONMEM software. A detailed sub-model was implemented for kidneys to handle the complex disposition of CMS and colistin within this organ. The WB-PBPK model well captured the kinetic profiles of CMS and colistin in plasma. In kidneys, an accumulation and slow elimination of colistin were observed and well described by the model. Kidneys seemed to have a major role in the elimination processes, through tubular secretion of CMS and intracellular degradation of colistin. Lastly, to illustrate the usefulness of the PBPK model, an estimation of the withdrawal periods after veterinary use of CMS in pigs was made. The WB-PBPK model gives an insight into the renal distribution and elimination of CMS and colistin in pigs; it may be further developed to explore the colistin induced-nephrotoxicity in humans.

  17. A first-in-man study of 68Ga-nanocolloid PET-CT sentinel lymph node imaging in prostate cancer demonstrates aberrant lymphatic drainage pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doughton, Jacki A; Hofman, Michael S; Eu, Peter; Hicks, Rodney J; Williams, Scott G

    2018-05-04

    Purpose: To assess feasibility, safety and utility of a novel 68 Ga-nanocolloid radio-tracer with PET-CT lymphoscintigraphy for identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). Methods: Pilot study of patients from a tertiary cancer hospital who required insertion of gold fiducials for prostate cancer radiation therapy. Participation did not affect cancer management. Ultrasound-guided transperineal intra-prostatic injection of PET tracer (iron oxide nanocolloid labelled with gallium-68) after placement of fiducials. PET-CT lymphoscintigraphy imaging at approximately 45 and 100 minutes after in-jection of tracer. The study was monitored using Bayesian trial design with the as-sumption that at least one sentinel lymph node (SLN) could be identified in at least two-thirds of cases with >80% confidence. Results: SLN identification was successful in all 5 participants, allowing completion of the pilot study as per protocol. No adverse effects were observed. Unexpected po-tential pathways for transit of malignant cells as well as expected regional drainage pathways were discovered. Rapid tracer drainage to pelvic bone, perivesical, mesorec-tal, inguinal and Virchow's nodes was identified. Conclusion: SLN identification using 68 Ga-nanocolloid PET-CT can be successfully performed. Non-traditional pathways of disease spread were identified including drainage to pelvic bone as well as perivesical, mesorectal, inguinal and Virchow's nodes. Prevalence of both aberrant and non-lymphatic pathways of spread should be further investigated with this technique. Copyright © 2018 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  18. Effect of Whole Body Low Dose Radiation (WB-LDR) on diabetic rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, B.G.

    2014-01-01

    Exposure of type II diabetic mice to LDR has been shown to significantly up regulate pancreatic antioxidants along with reduction of glucose levels. Present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of WB-LDR on type II diabetic rats. Sprague-Dawley male rats (n=18) were pre-treated with Alloxan Monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight, IP) to induce hyperglycemia. Elevated level of blood glucose was monitored for consecutive 10 days by Glucometer (Accu-Chek, Active) before irradiation. Two group of rats (n=12) were exposed to single dose of 0.25 Gy and 0.5 Gy of gamma radiation at the rate of 1.02 Gy/minute. Blood glucose level, feed, water intake and body weight was monitored for 10 days post irradiation. Results revealed weight loss, polydipsia, polyphagia and elevated blood glucose level up to 10th day in diabetic control, whereas; reverse trend was observed from 7th day post irradiation in two treated groups. However, no significant difference was found between two treated groups. The results indicate that treatment with WB-LDR reduces the blood-glucose level and so its complications in diabetic rats. (author)

  19. 68Ga-DOTA-TOC Uptake in Pleomorphic Adenoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurens, S Tom; Netea-Maier, Romana T; Aarntzen, Erik J H G

    2018-07-01

    A 56-year-old man who was recently diagnosed with a carcinoid tumor of the os petrosum was referred for a Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT scan. Besides the moderately increased Ga-DOTA-TOC accumulation in the carcinoid tumor, the scan showed strongly increased and focal Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake in an additional lesion in the right parotid gland. The markedly different Ga-DOTA-TOC avidity suggested a different etiology, and histological examination demonstrated a pleomorphic adenoma.

  20. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET imaging in breast carcinoma patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sathekge, Mike; Lengana, Thabo; Modiselle, Moshe; Vorster, Mariza; Zeevaart, JanRijn; Ebenhan, Thomas [University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); Maes, Alex [University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); AZ Groeninge, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kortrijk (Belgium); Wiele, Christophe van de [University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); University Ghent, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium)

    2017-04-15

    To report on imaging findings using {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET in a series of 19 breast carcinoma patients. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET imaging results obtained were compared to routinely performed staging examinations and analyzed as to lesion location and progesterone receptor status. Out of 81 tumor lesions identified, 84% were identified on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC SUVmean values of distant metastases proved significantly higher (mean, 6.86, SD, 5.68) when compared to those of primary or local recurrences (mean, 2.45, SD, 2.55, p = 0.04) or involved lymph nodes (mean, 3.18, SD, 1.79, p = 0.011). SUVmean values of progesterone receptor-positive lesions proved not significantly different from progesterone receptor-negative lesions. SUV values derived from FDG PET/CT, available in seven patients, and {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT imaging proved weakly correlated (r = 0.407, p = 0.015). {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT imaging in breast carcinoma confirms the reported considerable variation of PSMA expression on human solid tumors using immunohistochemistry. (orig.)

  1. SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues in the evaluation of systemic granulomatous infections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monteiro, Paulo Henrique Silva; Souza, Thiago Ferreira de; Moretti, Maria Luiza; Resende, Mariangela Ribeiro; Lima, Mariana da Cunha Lopes de; Santos, Allan Oliveira; Ramos, Celso Darío, E-mail: paulohsm42@gmail.com [Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Escola de Medicina; Mengatti Jair [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-11-15

    Objective: To evaluate SPECT/CT with radiolabeled somatostatin analogues (RSAs) in systemic granulomatous infections in comparison with gallium-67 ({sup 67}Ga) citrate scintigraphy. Materials And Methods: We studied 28 patients with active systemic granulomatous infections, including tuberculosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, pneumocystosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, leishmaniasis, infectious vasculitis, and an unspecified opportunistic infection. Of the 28 patients, 23 had started specific treatment before the study outset. All patients underwent whole-body SPECT/CT imaging: 7 after injection of {sup 99m}Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC, and 21 after injection of {sup 111}In-DTPA-octreotide. All patients also underwent {sup 67}Ga citrate imaging, except for one patient who died before the {sup 67}Ga was available. Results: In 20 of the 27 patients who underwent imaging with both tracers, 27 sites of active disease were detected by {sup 67}Ga citrate imaging and by SPECT/CT with an RSA. Both tracers had negative results in the other 7 patients. RSA uptake was visually lower than {sup 67}Ga uptake in 11 of the 20 patients with positive images and similar to {sup 67}Ga uptake in the other 9 patients. The only patient who did not undergo {sup 67}Ga scintigraphy underwent {sup 99m}Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT-guided biopsy of a lung cavity with focal RSA uptake, which turned to be positive for aspergillosis. Conclusion: SPECT/CT with {sup 99m}Tc-EDDA-HYNIC-TOC or {sup 111}In-DTPA-octreotide seems to be a good alternative to {sup 67}Ga citrate imaging for the evaluation of patients with systemic granulomatous disease. (author)

  2. Comparison of abdominal MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging to {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in detection of neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmid-Tannwald, Christine; Schmid-Tannwald, Christoph M.; Neumann, Ralph; Nikolaou, Konstantin; Schramm, Nicolai; Reiser, Maximilian F.; Rist, Carsten [Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Morelli, John N. [Scott and White Hospital Temple, Department of Radiology, Temple, TX (United States); Haug, Alexander R.; Jansen, Nathalie [Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital Munich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Munich (Germany)

    2013-06-15

    The aim of the study was to evaluate contrast-enhanced MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI (DW MRI), and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography (PET)/CT in the detection of intermediate to well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of the pancreas. Eighteen patients with pathologically proven pancreatic NET who underwent MRI including DW MRI and PET/CT within 6 weeks of each other were included in this retrospective study. Two radiologists evaluated T2-weighted (T2w), T2w + DW MRI, T2w + contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (CE T1w) MR images, and PET/CT for NET detection. The sensitivity and level of diagnostic confidence were compared among modalities using McNemar's test and a Wilcoxon signed rank test. Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of pancreatic NETs and normal pancreatic tissue were compared with Student's t test. Of the NETs, 8/23 (34.8 %) and 9/23 (39.1 %) were detected on T2w images by observers 1 and 2, respectively. Detection rates improved significantly by combining T2w images with DW MRI (observer 1: 14/23 = 61 %; observer 2: 15/23 = 65.2 %; p < 0.05) or CE T1w images (observer 1: 14/23 = 61 %; observer 2: 15/23 = 65.2 %; p < 0.05). Detection rates of pancreatic NET with PET/CT (both observers: 23/23 = 100 %) were statistically significantly higher than with MRI (p < 0.05). The mean ADC value of NET (1.02 {+-} 0.26 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s) was statistically significantly lower than that of normal pancreatic tissue (1.48 {+-} 0.39 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s). DW MRI is a valuable adjunct to T2w imaging and comparable to CE T1w imaging in pancreatic NET detection, quantitatively differentiating between NET and normal pancreatic tissue with ADC measurements. {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is more sensitive than MRI in the detection of pancreatic NET. (orig.)

  3. Electron magnetotransport in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices with weak and strong inter-well coupling

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Smrčka, Ludvík; Goncharuk, Natalya; Svoboda, Pavel; Vašek, Petr; Krupko, Yuriy; Wegscheider, W.

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 39, 3-4 (2008), s. 411-413 ISSN 0026-2692 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC510; GA AV ČR KAN400100652 Grant - others:EC(XE) RITA -CT-2003-505474 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : superlattice * Fermi surface * magnetoresistance * Hall effect * Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.859, year: 2008

  4. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in primary staging of prostate carcinoma. Preliminary results on differences between black and white South-Africans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sathekge, Mike [University of Pretoria, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); Lengana, Thabo; Vorster, Mariza; Lawal, Ismaheel; Ebenhan, Thomas [University of Pretoria, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); Maes, Alex [University of Pretoria, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); AZ Groeninge, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kortrijk (Belgium); KULAK, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Pathology, Kortrijk (Belgium); Zeevaart, JanRijn [University of Pretoria, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); Radiochemistry, The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd (Necsa), Pelindaba, Pretoria (South Africa); Wiele, Christophe van de [University of Pretoria, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pretoria (South Africa); AZ Groeninge, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kortrijk (Belgium); University Ghent, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium)

    2018-02-15

    The incidence of prostate cancer is 60% higher and the mortality rate is two- to three-times greater in black versus white men. We report on differences in {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging findings in 77 black South-African (BSAs) and 18 white South-African (WSAs) treatment-naive primary prostate carcinoma (PPC) patients. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging findings were compared to histological, biochemical and morphological imaging data. Patients were grouped into three Gleason grade groups (GG), GG 1 (scores 3 + 3 and 3 + 4), GG2 (scores 4 + 3 and 4 + 4) and GG3 (scores 9 and 10), and the PSA difference among the groups was determined. Inter-racial difference in SUVmax of the primary tumor as well as its correlation with serum PSA were also determined. Ninety-three out of 95 PPC where readily identified on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging. Median PPC SUVmax and serum PSA values proved significantly higher (p = 0.033 and p = 0.003) in GG3 patients (median 16.4 and 180 ng/ml) when compared to GG1 patients (median 9.6 and 25.1 ng/ml) or GG2 patients (median 8.8 and 46.2 ng/ml). SUVmax significantly correlated with serum PSA-values (r = 0.377 (p = 0.0001)). Age, frequency of lymph node involvement and distant metastases, and GGs (p ≥ 0.153) were similar in BSAs and WSAs, both median serum PSA-values as well as SUVmax values proved significantly higher in BSAs when compared to WSAs, respectively, 81.6 ng/ml versus 14.5 ng/ml (p = 0.0001) and 11.9 versus 4.38 (p = 0.004). Moreover, Gleason-score normalized median SUVmax values proved 2.5 times higher in BSAs when compared to WSAs (p = 0.005). SUVmax values proved significantly related to GG and to be significantly higher in BSAs when compared to WSAs. Also, SUVmax significantly correlated with serum PSA values, which was significantly higher in BSAs when compared with WSAs. (orig.)

  5. 68Ga-DOTA0-Tyr3-octreotide positron emission tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schartinger, Volker H.; Dudas, Jozsef; Url, Christoph; Riechelmann, Herbert; Reinold, Susanne; Virgolini, Irene J.; Kroiss, Alexander; Uprimny, Christian

    2015-01-01

    PET/CT with 68 Ga-labelled [DOTA 0 ,Tyr 3 ]-octreotide ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT) is a routinely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Recent studies have shown SSTR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, albeit lower than in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. We sought to determine whether nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a rare subtype of head and neck cancer, shows increased 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake indicating expression of SSTR. Five patients with untreated, histologically proven EBV-positive NPC were referred for 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Tracer uptake in tumour lesions was assessed visually and semiquantitatively measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and tumour to background ratios. Increased tumour-specific uptake was detected in all five patients with a median SUVmax of 10.6 (range 3.6 - 17.1) in the primary tumour and 13.2 (range 6.1 - 14.5) in cervical lymph node metastases. 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT demonstrated tracer uptake in EBV-positive NPC comparable to that in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. This observation is consistent with increased SSTR expression in EBV-positive NPC and may open new diagnostic and therapeutic windows in NPC. (orig.)

  6. (68)Ga-DOTA (0)-Tyr (3)-octreotide positron emission tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schartinger, Volker H; Dudás, József; Url, Christoph; Reinold, Susanne; Virgolini, Irene J; Kroiss, Alexander; Riechelmann, Herbert; Uprimny, Christian

    2015-01-01

    PET/CT with (68)Ga-labelled [DOTA(0),Tyr(3)]-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT) is a routinely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Recent studies have shown SSTR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, albeit lower than in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. We sought to determine whether nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a rare subtype of head and neck cancer, shows increased (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake indicating expression of SSTR. Five patients with untreated, histologically proven EBV-positive NPC were referred for (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Tracer uptake in tumour lesions was assessed visually and semiquantitatively measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and tumour to background ratios. Increased tumour-specific uptake was detected in all five patients with a median SUVmax of 10.6 (range 3.6 - 17.1) in the primary tumour and 13.2 (range 6.1 - 14.5) in cervical lymph node metastases. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT demonstrated tracer uptake in EBV-positive NPC comparable to that in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. This observation is consistent with increased SSTR expression in EBV-positive NPC and may open new diagnostic and therapeutic windows in NPC.

  7. Influence of Palm Oil Fuel Ash and W/B Ratios on Compressive Strength, Water Permeability, and Chloride Resistance of Concrete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wachilakorn Sanawung

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This research studies the effects of W/B ratios and palm oil fuel ash (POFA on compressive strength, water permeability, and chloride resistance of concrete. POFA was ground until the particles retained on sieve number 325 were less than 5% by weight. POFA was used to partially replace OPC at rates of 15, 25, and 35% by weight of binder. The water to binder (W/B ratios of concrete were 0.40 and 0.50. The compressive strength, water permeability, and chloride resistance of concrete were investigated up to 90 days. The results showed that POFA concrete with W/B ratio of 0.40 had the compressive strengths ranging from 45.8 to 55.9 MPa or 82–94% of OPC concrete at 90 days, while POFA concrete with W/B ratio of 0.50 had the compressive strengths of 33.9–41.9 MPa or 81–94% of OPC concrete. Furthermore, the compressive strength of concrete incorporation of ground POFA at 15% was the same as OPC concrete. The water permeability coefficient and the chloride ion penetration of POFA concrete were lower than OPC concrete when both types of concrete had the same compressive strengths. The findings also indicated that water permeability and chloride ion penetration of POFA concrete were significantly reduced compared to OPC concrete.

  8. Susceptibility of 169 USA300 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates to two copper-based biocides, CuAL42 and CuWB50.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luna, Vicki Ann; Hall, Tony J; King, Debbie S; Cannons, Andrew C

    2010-05-01

    To test the activity of two copper-based biocides, CuAL42 and CuWB50, and benzalkonium chloride against 169 isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pulsotype USA300, a virulent, multiply resistant, widespread clone in the USA. Tests including MIC, MBC and time-kill studies were performed multiple times. The MIC range, MIC(50) and MIC(90) (0.59-18.75, 4.69 and 4.69 ppm, respectively) and the MBC range, MBC(50) and MBC(90) (1.17-18.75, 4.69 and 9.38 ppm, respectively) for CuAL42 were identical with those obtained with CuWB50, except that the MBC range for CuWB50 was wider (0.59-37.5 ppm). In time-kill studies, a 6 log(10) reduction of cfu was achieved within 1 h (150 ppm) and 0.5 h (300 ppm) for CuAL42, and 1.5 h (150 ppm) and 0.75 h (300 ppm) for CuWB50. Both copper-based biocides can effectively kill USA300 MRSA and may facilitate the eradication of the organism from healthcare settings.

  9. Whole-body-MR imaging including DWIBS in the work-up of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A feasibility study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noij, Daniel P., E-mail: d.noij@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Boerhout, Els J., E-mail: e.boerhout@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Pieters-van den Bos, Indra C., E-mail: i.pieters@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Comans, Emile F., E-mail: efi.comans@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Oprea-Lager, Daniela, E-mail: d.oprea-lager@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Reinhard, Rinze, E-mail: r.reinhard@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hoekstra, Otto S., E-mail: os.hoekstra@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bree, Remco de, E-mail: r.debree@vumc.nl [Department Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Graaf, Pim de, E-mail: p.degraaf@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Castelijns, Jonas A., E-mail: j.castelijns@vumc.nl [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2014-07-15

    Objectives: To assess the feasibility of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) including diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background-body-signal-suppression (DWIBS) for the evaluation of distant malignancies in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); and to compare WB-MRI findings with {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ({sup 18}F-FDG-PET/CT) and chest-CT. Methods: Thirty-three patients with high risk for metastatic spread (26 males; range 48–79 years, mean age 63 ± 7.9 years (mean ± standard deviation) years) were prospectively included with a follow-up of six months. WB-MRI protocol included short-TI inversion recovery and T1-weighted sequences in the coronal plane and half-fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo T2 and contrast-enhanced-T1-weighted sequences in the axial plane. Axial DWIBS was reformatted in the coronal plane. Interobserver variability was assessed using weighted kappa and the proportion specific agreement (PA). Results: Two second primary tumors and one metastasis were detected on WB-MRI. WB-MRI yielded seven clinically indeterminate lesions which did not progress at follow-up. The metastasis and one second primary tumor were found when combining {sup 18}F-FDG-PET/CT and chest-CT findings. Interobserver variability for WB-MRI was κ = 0.91 with PA ranging from 0.82 to 1.00. For {sup 18}F-FDG-PET/CT κ could not be calculated due to a constant variable in the table and PA ranged from 0.40 to 0.99. Conclusions: Our WB-MRI protocol with DWIBS is feasible in the work-up of HNSCC patients for detection and characterization of distant pathology. WB-MRI can be complementary to {sup 18}F-FDG-PET/CT, especially in the detection of non {sup 18}F-FDG avid second primary tumors.

  10. MicroPET/CT imaging of {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} integrin via a novel {sup 68}Ga-NOTA-RGD peptidomimetic conjugate in rat myocardial infarction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menichetti, Luca; Kusmic, Claudia; Panetta, Daniele; Petroni, Debora; Salvadori, Piero A. [CNR-Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), Pisa (Italy); Arosio, Daniela; Manzoni, Leonardo [CNR-Institute of Molecular Science and Technologies (ISTM), Milan (Italy); Matteucci, Marco [Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Pisa (Italy); Casagrande, Cesare [University of Milan, Department of Chemistry, Milan (Italy); L' Abbate, Antonio [CNR-Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), Pisa (Italy); Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Pisa (Italy)

    2013-08-15

    The {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} integrin is expressed in angiogenic vessels and is a potential target for molecular imaging of evolving pathological processes. Its expression is upregulated in cancer lesions and metastases as well as in acute myocardial infarction (MI) as part of the infarct healing process. The purpose of our study was to determine the feasibility of a new imaging approach with a novel {sup 68}Ga-2,2',2''-(1,4,7-triazonane-1,4,7-triyl)triacetic acid (NOTA)-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) construct to assess integrin expression in the evolving MI. A straightforward labelling chemistry to attach the radionuclide {sup 68}Ga to a NOTA-based chelating agent conjugated with a cyclic RGD peptidomimetic is described. Affinity for {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} integrin was assessed by in vitro receptor binding assay. The proof-of-concept in vivo studies combined the {sup 68}Ga-NOTA-RGD with the flow tracer {sup 13}N-NH{sub 3} imaging in order to obtain positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging of both integrin expression and perfusion defect at 4 weeks after infarction. Hearts were then processed for immunostaining of integrin {beta}{sub 3}. NOTA-RGD conjugate displayed a binding affinity for {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} integrin of 27.9 {+-} 6.8 nM. {sup 68}Ga-NOTA-RGD showed stability without detectable degradation or formation of by-products in urine up to 2 h following injection in the rat. MI hearts exhibited {sup 68}Ga-NOTA-RGD uptake in correspondence to infarcted and border zone regions. The tracer signal drew a parallel with vascular remodelling due to ischaemia-induced angiogenesis as assessed by immunohistochemistry. As compared to similar imaging approaches using the {sup 18}F-galacto-derivative, we documented for the first time with microPET/CT imaging the {sup 68}Ga-NOTA-RGD derivative that appears eligible for PET imaging in animal models of vascular remodelling during evolving MI. The simple chemistry employed to

  11. Local recurrence of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy is at risk to be missed in {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-PET of PET/CT and PET/MRI: comparison with mpMRI integrated in simultaneous PET/MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freitag, Martin T. [Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Radtke, Jan P. [Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Afshar-Oromieh, Ali; Flechsig, Paul; Giesel, Frederik; Haberkorn, Uwe [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg (Germany); Roethke, Matthias C.; Bonekamp, David; Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter [Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Hadaschik, Boris A.; Hohenfellner, Markus [University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Urology, Heidelberg (Germany); Gleave, Martin [University of British Columbia, The Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver (Canada); Kopka, Klaus; Eder, Matthias [Division of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Heusser, Thorsten; Kachelriess, Marc [Department of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Wieczorek, Kathrin [University Hospital Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg (Germany); Sachpekidis, Christos; Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, A. [Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2017-05-15

    The positron emission tomography (PET) tracer {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11, targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), is rapidly excreted into the urinary tract. This leads to significant radioactivity in the bladder, which may limit the PET-detection of local recurrence (LR) of prostate cancer (PC) after radical prostatectomy (RP), developing in close proximity to the bladder. Here, we analyze if there is additional value of multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) compared to the {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-PET-component of PET/CT or PET/MRI to detect LR. One hundred and nineteen patients with biochemical recurrence after prior RP underwent both hybrid {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-PET/CT{sub low-dose} (1 h p.i.) and -PET/MRI (2-3 h p.i.) including a mpMRI protocol of the prostatic bed. The comparison of both methods was restricted to the abdomen with focus on LR (McNemar). Bladder-LR distance and recurrence size were measured in axial T2w-TSE. A logistic regression was performed to determine the influence of these variables on detectability in {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11-PET. Standardized-uptake-value (SUV{sub mean}) quantification of LR was performed. There were 93/119 patients that had at least one pathologic finding. In addition, 18/119 Patients (15.1%) were diagnosed with a LR in mpMRI of PET/MRI but only nine were PET-positive in PET/CT and PET/MRI. This mismatch was statistically significant (p = 0.004). Detection of LR using the PET-component was significantly influenced by proximity to the bladder (p = 0.028). The PET-pattern of LR-uptake was classified into three types (1): separated from bladder; (2): fuses with bladder, and (3): obliterated by bladder. The size of LRs did not affect PET-detectability (p = 0.84), mean size was 1.7 ± 0.69 cm long axis, 1.2 ± 0.46 cm short-axis. SUV{sub mean} in nine men was 8.7 ± 3.7 (PET/CT) and 7.0 ± 4.2 (PET/MRI) but could not be quantified in the remaining nine cases (obliterated by bladder). The present study demonstrates

  12. Role of post-therapy 131Iodine SPECT-CT in risk stratification and management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, K.; Bhattacharya, A.; Harishankar, C.N.B.; Manohar, K.; Mittal, B.R.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: To determine whether post therapy 131 I SPECT/CT changed the American Thyroid Association risk of recurrence classification and further management of the patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, 33 consecutive patients with thyroid carcinoma (28 papillary, 4 follicular, 1 Hurthle cell) were included. Planar imaging and SPECT/CT were performed 4-7 days after the therapeutic administration of 1,221-5,180 MBq (33-140 mCi) of 131 I. SPECT/CT of the neck and upper chest were obtained for all subjects. Additional SPECT/CT scans of the abdomen or pelvis were acquired if planar imaging showed any abnormal focus of uptake. Planar and SPECT/CT images were interpreted independently, and sites of uptake were categorized as residual thyroid uptake, level VI cervical lymph node uptake, level II-V cervical lymph nodal uptake or distant metastasis. An experienced nuclear medicine physician determined if the imaging findings changed the patient's risk category and further management. Results: In 4 of 33 post surgical patients, SPECT/CT findings changed the initial ATA risk of recurrence classification. In 3 of these 4 patients, WB planar imaging showed distant metastases (1 in lung, 1 in spleen, 1 in left humerus), SPECT/CT confirming these to physiological uptake in breast and intestine and skin contamination respectively. This altered the risk of recurrence from high to intermediate category. In 1 of these 4 patients, WB planar imaging was suggestive of cervical lymph nodal metastasis, but SPECT/CT localized the abnormal focus of uptake to residual thyroid tissue, altering the risk of recurrence from intermediate to low. SPECT/CT changed the further post ablation management in 13 out of 33 patients. In 4/13 patients SPECT/CT detected cervical lymph nodes metastases, in 1/13 patient supraclavicular lymph node metastasis was detected, in 7/13 patients distant metastases was confirmed as physiological uptake or

  13. Prospective Study of 68Ga-DOTATATE Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Detecting Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors and Unknown Primary Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadowski, Samira M; Neychev, Vladimir; Millo, Corina; Shih, Joanna; Nilubol, Naris; Herscovitch, Peter; Pacak, Karel; Marx, Stephen J; Kebebew, Electron

    2016-02-20

    Gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEPNETs) are increasing in incidence, and accurate staging is important for selecting the appropriate treatment. (68)Ga-DOTATATE imaging is a promising approach for detecting GEPNETs and could help in selecting optimal therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to prospectively determine the clinical utility of (68)Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in detecting unknown primary and metastatic GEPNETs. One hundred thirty-one patients were enrolled in a prospective study of patients undergoing (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, (111)In-pentetreotide single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT and multiphasic CT scan, and/or magnetic resonance imaging in a blinded fashion with comprehensive biochemical testing. The primary outcome measure was the detection of lesions by each imaging study. (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging detected 95.1% of lesions (95% CI, 92.4% to 96.8%) with an average maximum standardized uptake value of 65.4 ± 47 (range, 6.9 to 244), anatomic imaging detected 45.3% of lesions (95% CI, 37.9% to 52.9%), and (111)In-pentetreotide SPECT/CT detected 30.9% of lesions (95% CI, 25.0% to 37.5%), with a significant difference between imaging modalities (P < .001). In four of 14 patients (28.6%), (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT found a previously unknown primary tumor, and detected primary GEPNET, lymph node, and distant metastases correctly in 72 of 113 lesions (63.7%) when compared with histopathology, with 22.1% and 38.9% detected by using (111)In-pentetreotide SPECT/CT and anatomic imaging, respectively. On the basis of findings with (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, 43 of 131 patients (32.8%) had a change in management recommendation. In patients with carcinoid symptoms but negative biochemical testing, (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT detected lesions in 65.2% of patients, 40% of which were detected neither by anatomic imaging nor by (111)In-pentetreotide SPECT/CT. (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT

  14. A Search Complexity Improvement of Vector Quantization to Immittance Spectral Frequency Coefficients in AMR-WB Speech Codec

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing-Jhih Yao

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available An adaptive multi-rate wideband (AMR-WB code is a speech codec developed on the basis of an algebraic code-excited linear-prediction (ACELP coding technique, and has a double advantage of low bit rates and high speech quality. This coding technique is widely used in modern mobile communication systems for a high speech quality in handheld devices. However, a major disadvantage is that a vector quantization (VQ of immittance spectral frequency (ISF coefficients occupies a significant computational load in the AMR-WB encoder. Hence, this paper presents a triangular inequality elimination (TIE algorithm combined with a dynamic mechanism and an intersection mechanism, abbreviated as the DI-TIE algorithm, to remarkably improve the complexity of ISF coefficient quantization in the AMR-WB speech codec. Both mechanisms are designed in a way that recursively enhances the performance of the TIE algorithm. At the end of this work, this proposal is experimentally validated as a superior search algorithm relative to a conventional TIE, a multiple TIE (MTIE, and an equal-average equal-variance equal-norm nearest neighbor search (EEENNS approach. With a full search algorithm as a benchmark for search load comparison, this work provides a search load reduction above 77%, a figure far beyond 36% in the TIE, 49% in the MTIE, and 68% in the EEENNS approach.

  15. Brachial Plexus Injury from CT-Guided RF Ablation Under General Anesthesia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shankar, Sridhar; Sonnenberg, Eric van; Silverman, Stuart G.; Tuncali, Kemal; Flanagan, Hugh L.; Whang, Edward E.

    2005-01-01

    Brachial plexus injury in a patient under general anesthesia (GA) is not uncommon, despite careful positioning and, particularly, awareness of the possibility. The mechanism of injury is stretching and compression of the brachial plexus over a prolonged period. Positioning the patient within the computed tomography (CT) gantry for abdominal or chest procedures can simulate a surgical procedure, particularly when GA is used. The potential for brachial plexus injury is increased if the case is prolonged and the patient's arms are raised above the head to avoid CT image degradation from streak artifacts. We report a case of profound brachial plexus palsy following a CT-guided radiofrequency ablation procedure under GA. Fortunately, the patient recovered completely. We emphasize the mechanism of injury and detail measures to combat this problem, such that radiologists are aware of this potentially serious complication

  16. Patient-specific lean body mass can be estimated from limited-coverage computed tomography images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devriese, Joke; Beels, Laurence; Maes, Alex; van de Wiele, Christophe; Pottel, Hans

    2018-06-01

    In PET/CT, quantitative evaluation of tumour metabolic activity is possible through standardized uptake values, usually normalized for body weight (BW) or lean body mass (LBM). Patient-specific LBM can be estimated from whole-body (WB) CT images. As most clinical indications only warrant PET/CT examinations covering head to midthigh, the aim of this study was to develop a simple and reliable method to estimate LBM from limited-coverage (LC) CT images and test its validity. Head-to-toe PET/CT examinations were retrospectively retrieved and semiautomatically segmented into tissue types based on thresholding of CT Hounsfield units. LC was obtained by omitting image slices. Image segmentation was validated on the WB CT examinations by comparing CT-estimated BW with actual BW, and LBM estimated from LC images were compared with LBM estimated from WB images. A direct method and an indirect method were developed and validated on an independent data set. Comparing LBM estimated from LC examinations with estimates from WB examinations (LBMWB) showed a significant but limited bias of 1.2 kg (direct method) and nonsignificant bias of 0.05 kg (indirect method). This study demonstrates that LBM can be estimated from LC CT images with no significant difference from LBMWB.

  17. Comparison of PET/CT with Sequential PET/MRI Using an MR-Compatible Mobile PET System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamoto, Ryusuke; Nakamoto, Yuji; Ishimori, Takayoshi; Fushimi, Yasutaka; Kido, Aki; Togashi, Kaori

    2018-05-01

    The current study tested a newly developed flexible PET (fxPET) scanner prototype. This fxPET system involves dual arc-shaped detectors based on silicon photomultipliers that are designed to fit existing MRI devices, allowing us to obtain fused PET and MR images by sequential PET and MR scanning. This prospective study sought to evaluate the image quality, lesion detection rate, and quantitative values of fxPET in comparison with conventional whole-body (WB) PET and to assess the accuracy of registration. Methods: Seventeen patients with suspected or known malignant tumors were analyzed. Approximately 1 h after intravenous injection of 18 F-FDG, WB PET/CT was performed, followed by fxPET and MRI. For reconstruction of fxPET images, MRI-based attenuation correction was applied. The quality of fxPET images was visually assessed, and the number of detected lesions was compared between the 2 imaging methods. SUV max and maximum average SUV within a 1 cm 3 spheric volume (SUV peak ) of lesions were also compared. In addition, the magnitude of misregistration between fxPET and MR images was evaluated. Results: The image quality of fxPET was acceptable for diagnosis of malignant tumors. There was no significant difference in detectability of malignant lesions between fxPET and WB PET ( P > 0.05). However, the fxPET system did not exhibit superior performance to the WB PET system. There were strong positive correlations between the 2 imaging modalities in SUV max (ρ = 0.88) and SUV peak (ρ = 0.81). SUV max and SUV peak measured with fxPET were approximately 1.1-fold greater than measured with WB PET. The average misregistration between fxPET and MR images was 5.5 ± 3.4 mm. Conclusion: Our preliminary data indicate that running an fxPET scanner near an existing MRI system provides visually and quantitatively acceptable fused PET/MR images for diagnosis of malignant lesions. © 2018 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

  18. Role of 68Ga somatostatin receptor PET/CT in the detection of endogenous hyperinsulinaemic focus: an explorative study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, Vikas; Sainz-Esteban, Aurora; Arsenic, Ruza; Ploeckinger, Ursula; Denecke, Timm; Pape, Ulrich-Frank; Pavel, Marianne; Pascher, Andreas; Kuehnen, Peter; Blankenstein, Oliver

    2016-01-01

    To explore the role of 68 Ga-DOTATATE/DOTATOC PET/CT (SR PET/CT) in patients with suspicion of or histopathologically proven pancreatogenic hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia. We included 13 patients with histopathologically proven or a high clinical suspicion of pancreatogenic hyperinsulinaemia. All the patients underwent a SR PET/CT scan. The results were correlated with histopathological findings. Normalization of blood glucose levels after resection of the pancreatic lesion, as well as a cytological and/or pathological diagnosis of insulinoma, was considered the diagnostic gold standard for insulinoma. The diagnosis of nesidioblastosis was based on exclusion of an insulinoma and conclusive pathological examination of a segment of the pancreas. Malignant insulinoma was defined as the presence of locoregional or distant metastases. Based on histopathology, 13 patients were found to have pancreatic hyperinsulinaemia: two patients had malignant insulinoma, eight had nonmetastasized insulinoma, and three had nesidioblastosis. SR PET was positive in 11 of the 13 patients (84.6 %) with a final diagnosis of endogenous pancreatic hypoglycaemia. Histopathological staining confirmed 16 foci of hyperinsulinism (insulin positivity). SR PET detected 14 of the 16 lesions, resulting in a sensitivity of 87 %. One intrapancreatic spleen was falsely diagnosed as insulinoma focus on SR PET, resulting in positive predictive value of 93.3 %. Immunohistochemical staining of somatostatin receptor (SSR) subtype 2a was available in ten specimens: two nesidioblastosis, and seven benign and one malignant insulinoma. Eight out of the ten specimens (80 %) stained strongly to moderately positive. Seven of the eight SSR2a-positive lesions were picked up on SR PET. Based on the results of SR PET/CT, nine patients achieved complete remission of the hypoglycaemic events during follow-up. This explorative study suggests that SR PET in combination with CT may play a significant role in the detection

  19. Comparison of sequential planar 177Lu-DOTA-TATE dosimetry scans with 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT images in patients with metastasized neuroendocrine tumours undergoing peptide receptor radionuclide therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sainz-Esteban, Aurora; Carril, Jose Manuel; Prasad, Vikas; Schuchardt, Christiane; Zachert, Carolin; Baum, Richard P.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to compare sequential 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE planar scans ( 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE) in patients with metastasized neuroendocrine tumours (NET) acquired during peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for dosimetry purposes with the pre-therapeutic 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE positron emission tomography (PET)/CT ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE) maximum intensity projection (MIP) images obtained in the same patients concerning the sensitivity of the different methods. A total of 44 patients (59 ± 11 years old) with biopsy-proven NET underwent 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE and 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE imaging within 7.9 ± 7.5 days between the two examinations. 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE planar images were acquired at 0.5, 2, 24, 48 and 72 h post-injection; lesions were given a score from 0 to 4 depending on the uptake of the radiopharmaceutical (0 being lowest and 4 highest). The number of tumour lesions which were identified on 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE scans (in relation to the acquisition time after injection of the therapeutic dose as well as with regard to the body region) was compared to those detected on 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE studies obtained before PRRT. A total of 318 lesions were detected; 280 (88%) lesions were concordant. Among the discordant lesions, 29 were 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE positive and 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE negative, whereas 9 were 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE negative and 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE positive. The sensitivity, positive predictive value and accuracy for 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE as compared to 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE were 91, 97 and 88%, respectively. Significantly more lesions were seen on the delayed (72 h) 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE images (91%) as compared to the immediate (30 min) images (68%). The highest concordance was observed for bone metastases (97%) and the lowest for head/neck lesions (75%). Concordant lesions (n = 77; mean size 3.8 cm) were significantly larger than discordant lesions (n = 38; mean size 1.6 cm) (p max ). However, concordant liver lesions with a score from 1 to 3 in the 72-h 177 Lu-DOTA-TATE scan had a lower SUV max

  20. Utility of Gallium-68 DOTANOC PET/CT in the localization of Tumour-induced osteomalacia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhavani, Nisha; Reena Asirvatham, Adlyne; Kallur, Kumar; Menon, Arun S; Pavithran, Praveen V; Nair, Vasantha; Vasukutty, Jayakumar R; Menon, Usha; Kumar, Harish

    2016-01-01

    Tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare disorder characterized by hypophosphataemic osteomalacia caused by small mesenchymal tumours secreting fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF 23). The most difficult part in the management of these patients is the localization of tumours causing TIO. We describe the utility of Gallium (Ga)-68 DOTANOC PET/CT in the localization of tumours causing TIO. The study was conducted in a single tertiary referral university teaching hospital in India. Ten patients with TIO who underwent Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT from the time period 2009 to 2014 were included in this study. Their detailed clinical history, biochemical parameters, imaging modalities, surgical interventions, histopathology and outcomes were reviewed. Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT could correctly localize the tumours in TIO in 9 of the 10 cases in which it was performed. Complete resection of the tumour led to full clinical recovery in six of the ten patients; two patients who had partial resection and one patient who underwent radiofrequency ablation showed partial remission. One patient in whom Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT was positive in vertebral body with a low standardized uptake value (SUV) did not show up the tumour on surgery. We conclude that Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT can be used as the first imaging modality in patients diagnosed with TIO. The extremely good outcome following the resection of these small otherwise undiagnosed tumours far outweighs its cost even in resource limited settings. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into $Wb$ in $pp$ collisions at $\\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

    CERN Document Server

    The ATLAS collaboration

    2016-01-01

    A search for singly-produced vector-like quarks $Q$, where $Q$ can be either a $T$ quark with charge $2/3$ or a $Y$ quark with charge $4/3$, is performed in 3.2 $fb^{-1}$ of proton--proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The analysis targets $Q \\to Wb$ decays where the $W$ boson decays leptonically. No significant excess over Standard Model backgrounds is observed and upper limits on the $Q \\to Wb$ cross-section times branching ratio are set as a function of the vector-like quark mass. For a $QWb$ coupling strength of $\\sqrt{(c_{\\mathrm{L}}^{Wb})^2 + (c_{\\mathrm{R}}^{Wb})^2 }=1/\\sqrt{2}$, the observed (expected) 95 % confidence level lower limit on the $Y$-quark mass is 1.44 TeV (1.45 TeV). The results are also interpreted as limits on the $QWb$ coupling strength and the mixing with the Standard Model sector for a singlet $T$ quark or a $Y$ quark from a $(B,Y)$ doublet. The smallest excluded coupling-strength values are obtained for vector-like ...

  2. Metabolic tumor burden quantified on [{sup 18}F]FDG PET/CT improves TNM staging of lung cancer patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lapa, Paula; Isidoro, Jorge; Costa, Gracinda [Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra, Nuclear Medicine Department, Coimbra (Portugal); Oliveiros, Barbara [University of Coimbra, Laboratory of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Coimbra (Portugal); University of Coimbra, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Coimbra (Portugal); Marques, Margarida [University of Coimbra, Laboratory of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Coimbra (Portugal); Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra, Technology and Information Systems Department, Coimbra (Portugal); Caseiro Alves, Filipe [Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra, Radiology Department, Coimbra (Portugal); Nascimento Costa, J.M. [University of Coimbra, University Oncology Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Coimbra (Portugal); Lima, Joao Pedroso de [Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra, Nuclear Medicine Department, Coimbra (Portugal); University of Coimbra, Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health-ICNAS, Coimbra (Portugal)

    2017-12-15

    The purpose of our study was to test a new staging algorithm, combining clinical TNM staging (cTNM) with whole-body metabolic active tumor volume (MATV-WB), with the goal of improving prognostic ability and stratification power. Initial staging [{sup 18}F]FDG PET/CT of 278 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, performed between January/2011 and April/2016, 74(26.6%) women, 204(73.4%) men; aged 34-88 years (mean ± SD:66 ± 10), was retrospectively evaluated, and MATV-WB was quantified. Each patient's follow-up time was recorded: 0.7-83.6 months (mean ± SD:25.1 ± 20.3). MATV-WB was an independent and statistically-significant predictor of overall survival (p < 0.001). The overall survival predictive ability of MATV-WB (C index: mean ± SD = 0.7071 ± 0.0009) was not worse than cTNM (C index: mean ± SD = 0.7031 ± 0.007) (Z = -0.143, p = 0.773). Estimated mean survival times of 56.3 ± 3.0 (95%CI:50.40-62.23) and 21.7 ± 2.2 months (95%CI:17.34-25.98) (Log-Rank = 77.48, p < 0.001), one-year survival rate of 86.8% and of 52.8%, and five-year survival rate of 53.6% and no survivors, were determined, respectively, for patients with MATV-WB < 49.5 and MATV-WB ≥ 49.5. Patients with MATV-WB ≥ 49.5 had a mortality risk 2.9-5.8 times higher than those with MATV-WB < 49.5 (HR = 4.12, p < 0.001). MATV-WB cutoff points were also determined for each cTNM stage: 23.7(I), 49.5(II), 52(III), 48.8(IV) (p = 0.029, p = 0.227, p = 0.025 and p = 0.001, respectively). At stages I, III and IV there was a statistically-significant difference in the estimated mean overall survival time between groups of patients defined by the cutoff points (p = 0.007, p = 0.004 and p < 0.001, respectively). At stage II (p = 0.365), there was a clinically-significant difference of about 12 months between the groups. In all cTNM stages, patients with MATV-WB ≥ cutoff points had lower survival rates. Combined clinical TNM-PET staging (cTNM-P) was then tested: Stage I < 23.7; Stage I

  3. TH-AB-207A-07: Radiation Dose Simulation for a Newly Proposed Dynamic Bowtie Filters for CT Using Fast Monte Carlo Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, T; Lin, H; Gao, Y; Caracappa, P; Wang, G; Cong, W; Xu, X [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Dynamic bowtie filter is an innovative design capable of modulating the X-ray and balancing the flux in the detectors, and it introduces a new way of patient-specific CT scan optimizations. This study demonstrates the feasibility of performing fast Monte Carlo dose calculation for a type of dynamic bowtie filter for cone-beam CT (Liu et al. 2014 9(7) PloS one) using MIC coprocessors. Methods: The dynamic bowtie filter in question consists of a highly attenuating bowtie component (HB) and a weakly attenuating bowtie (WB). The HB is filled with CeCl3 solution and its surface is defined by a transcendental equation. The WB is an elliptical cylinder filled with air and immersed in the HB. As the scanner rotates, the orientation of WB remains the same with the static patient. In our Monte Carlo simulation, the HB was approximated by 576 boxes. The phantom was a voxelized elliptical cylinder composed of PMMA and surrounded by air (44cm×44cm×40cm, 1000×1000×1 voxels). The dose to the PMMA phantom was tallied with 0.15% statistical uncertainty under 100 kVp source. Two Monte Carlo codes ARCHER and MCNP-6.1 were compared. Both used double-precision. Compiler flags that may trade accuracy for speed were avoided. Results: The wall time of the simulation was 25.4 seconds by ARCHER on a 5110P MIC, 40 seconds on a X5650 CPU, and 523 seconds by the multithreaded MCNP on the same CPU. The high performance of ARCHER is attributed to the parameterized geometry and vectorization of the program hotspots. Conclusion: The dynamic bowtie filter modeled in this study is able to effectively reduce the dynamic range of the detected signals for the photon-counting detectors. With appropriate software optimization methods, the accelerator-based (MIC and GPU) Monte Carlo dose engines have shown good performance and can contribute to patient-specific CT scan optimizations.

  4. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA{sup 0}-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide positron emission tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schartinger, Volker H.; Dudas, Jozsef; Url, Christoph; Riechelmann, Herbert [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Innsbruck (Austria); Reinold, Susanne [Medical University Innsbruck, Institute of Pathology, Innsbruck (Austria); Virgolini, Irene J.; Kroiss, Alexander; Uprimny, Christian [Medical University Innsbruck, Department for Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2015-01-15

    PET/CT with {sup 68}Ga-labelled [DOTA{sup 0},Tyr{sup 3}]-octreotide ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT) is a routinely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Recent studies have shown SSTR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, albeit lower than in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. We sought to determine whether nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a rare subtype of head and neck cancer, shows increased {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake indicating expression of SSTR. Five patients with untreated, histologically proven EBV-positive NPC were referred for {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Tracer uptake in tumour lesions was assessed visually and semiquantitatively measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and tumour to background ratios. Increased tumour-specific uptake was detected in all five patients with a median SUVmax of 10.6 (range 3.6 - 17.1) in the primary tumour and 13.2 (range 6.1 - 14.5) in cervical lymph node metastases. {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT demonstrated tracer uptake in EBV-positive NPC comparable to that in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. This observation is consistent with increased SSTR expression in EBV-positive NPC and may open new diagnostic and therapeutic windows in NPC. (orig.)

  5. (68)Ga-DOTA-peptide: A novel molecular biomarker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Lih Kin; Loi, Hoi Yin; Sinha, Arvind Kumar; Tong, Kian Ti; Goh, Boon Cher; Loh, Kwok Seng; Lu, Suat-Jin

    2016-04-01

    Increased somatostatin receptor (SSTR) expression in patients with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been demonstrated with receptor autoradiography, (111) In-Octreotide scintigraphy, and (68) Ga-DOTA-TOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging. We sought to compare and correlate the uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and DOTA-NOC in undifferentiated NPC to ascertain the possible role of (68) Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT as a new imaging biomarker and to assess whether targeted peptide receptor radionuclide therapy is a feasible treatment option. After obtaining approval from our institutional review board, 4 patients with biopsy proven nonkeratinizing undifferentiated NPC who had just undergone routine staging/restaging (18) F-FDG PET/CT imaging were prospectively and consecutively recruited for (68) Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT imaging. Of these 4 patients, 3 were newly diagnosed with untreated NPC, whereas 1 patient was diagnosed with a case of recurrent NPC with previous treatment. These patients subsequently underwent (68) Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT within 10 days from the (18) F-FDG PET/CT to ensure lesion comparability. Tracer uptake in tumor lesions were assessed visually and semiquantitatively by measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax). There were 12 FDG-avid lesions of which 7 showed avid uptake of DOTA-NOC greater than liver uptake, whereas 5 showed low uptake of DOTA-NOC less than liver uptake. Subset analysis of the FDG-avid lesions at the primary and recurrent sites showed that all the FDG-avid primary tumors in the nasopharynx showed avid uptake of DOTA-NOC. On the contrary, the case of recurrent NPC showed avid FDG uptake but low DOTA-NOC uptake. Subset analysis of the suspicious FDG-avid cervical lymph nodes showed that 50% of them demonstrated avid DOTA-NOC uptake greater than liver uptake, whereas the remaining demonstrated low-grade DOTA-NOC uptake less than liver uptake. The 2 subcentimeter cervical lymph nodes that showed low

  6. The reconstruction algorithm used for ["6"8Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT reconstruction significantly influences the number of detected lymph node metastases and coeliac ganglia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krohn, Thomas; Birmes, Anita; Winz, Oliver H.; Drude, Natascha I.; Mottaghy, Felix M.; Behrendt, Florian F.; Verburg, Frederik A.

    2017-01-01

    To investigate whether the numbers of lymph node metastases and coeliac ganglia delineated on ["6"8Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT scans differ among datasets generated using different reconstruction algorithms. Data were constructed using the BLOB-OS-TF, BLOB-OS and 3D-RAMLA algorithms. All reconstructions were assessed by two nuclear medicine physicians for the number of pelvic/paraaortal lymph node metastases as well the number of coeliac ganglia. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were also calculated in different regions. At least one ["6"8Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT-positive pelvic or paraaortal lymph node metastasis was found in 49 and 35 patients using the BLOB-OS-TF algorithm, in 42 and 33 patients using the BLOB-OS algorithm, and in 41 and 31 patients using the 3D-RAMLA algorithm, respectively, and a positive ganglion was found in 92, 59 and 24 of 100 patients using the three algorithms, respectively. Quantitatively, the SUVmean and SUVmax were significantly higher with the BLOB-OS algorithm than with either the BLOB-OS-TF or the 3D-RAMLA algorithm in all measured regions (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). The differences between the SUVs with the BLOB-OS-TF- and 3D-RAMLA algorithms were not significant in the aorta (SUVmean, p = 0.93; SUVmax, p = 0.97) but were significant in all other regions (p < 0.001 in all cases). The SUVmean ganglion/gluteus ratio was significantly higher with the BLOB-OS-TF algorithm than with either the BLOB-OS or the 3D-RAMLA algorithm and was significantly higher with the BLOB-OS than with the 3D-RAMLA algorithm (p < 0.001 in all cases). The results of ["6"8Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT are affected by the reconstruction algorithm used. The highest number of lesions and physiological structures will be visualized using a modern algorithm employing time-of-flight information. (orig.)

  7. The reconstruction algorithm used for [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT reconstruction significantly influences the number of detected lymph node metastases and coeliac ganglia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krohn, Thomas [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Ulm University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ulm (Germany); Birmes, Anita; Winz, Oliver H.; Drude, Natascha I. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Mottaghy, Felix M. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Maastricht UMC+, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht (Netherlands); Behrendt, Florian F. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Radiology Institute ' ' Aachen Land' ' , Wuerselen (Germany); Verburg, Frederik A. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Marburg (Germany)

    2017-04-15

    To investigate whether the numbers of lymph node metastases and coeliac ganglia delineated on [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT scans differ among datasets generated using different reconstruction algorithms. Data were constructed using the BLOB-OS-TF, BLOB-OS and 3D-RAMLA algorithms. All reconstructions were assessed by two nuclear medicine physicians for the number of pelvic/paraaortal lymph node metastases as well the number of coeliac ganglia. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were also calculated in different regions. At least one [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT-positive pelvic or paraaortal lymph node metastasis was found in 49 and 35 patients using the BLOB-OS-TF algorithm, in 42 and 33 patients using the BLOB-OS algorithm, and in 41 and 31 patients using the 3D-RAMLA algorithm, respectively, and a positive ganglion was found in 92, 59 and 24 of 100 patients using the three algorithms, respectively. Quantitatively, the SUVmean and SUVmax were significantly higher with the BLOB-OS algorithm than with either the BLOB-OS-TF or the 3D-RAMLA algorithm in all measured regions (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). The differences between the SUVs with the BLOB-OS-TF- and 3D-RAMLA algorithms were not significant in the aorta (SUVmean, p = 0.93; SUVmax, p = 0.97) but were significant in all other regions (p < 0.001 in all cases). The SUVmean ganglion/gluteus ratio was significantly higher with the BLOB-OS-TF algorithm than with either the BLOB-OS or the 3D-RAMLA algorithm and was significantly higher with the BLOB-OS than with the 3D-RAMLA algorithm (p < 0.001 in all cases). The results of [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT are affected by the reconstruction algorithm used. The highest number of lesions and physiological structures will be visualized using a modern algorithm employing time-of-flight information. (orig.)

  8. Correlation of 18F-FDG uptake on PET/CT with Ki67 immunohistochemistry in pre-treatment epithelial ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayoral, M; Paredes, P; Saco, A; Fusté, P; Perlaza, P; Tapias, A; Fernandez-Martinez, A; Vidal, L; Ordi, J; Pavia, J; Martinez-Roman, S; Lomeña, F

    Standardised uptake value (SUV) and volumetric parameters such as metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) from 18 F-FDG PET/CT are useful criteria for disease prognosis in pre-operative and post-treatment epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Ki67 is another prognostic biomarker in EOC, associated with tumour aggressiveness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between 18 F-FDG PET/CT measurements and Ki67 in pre-treatment EOC to determine if PET/CT parameters could non-invasively predict tumour aggressiveness. A pre-treatment PET/CT was performed on 18 patients with suspected or newly diagnosed EOC. Maximum SUV (SUVmax), mean SUV (SUVmean), whole-body MTV (wbMTV), and whole-body TLG (wbTLG) with a threshold of 30% and 40% of the SUVmax were obtained. Furthermore, Ki67 index (mean and hotspot) was estimated in tumour tissue specimens. Immunohistochemical findings were correlated with PET parameters. The mean age was 57.0 years old (standard deviation 13.6 years). A moderate correlation was observed between mean Ki67 index and SUVmax (r=0.392), SUVmean 30% (r=0.437), and SUVmean 40% (r=0.443), and also between hotspot Ki67 index and SUVmax (r=0.360), SUVmean 30% (r=0.362) and SUVmean 40% (r=0.319). There was a weaker correlation, which was inversely negative, between mean and hotspot Ki67 and volumetric PET parameters. However, no statistical significant differences were found for any correlations. SUVmax and SUVmean were moderately correlated with Ki67 index, whereas volumetric PET parameters overall, showed a weaker correlation. Thus, SUVmax and SUVmean could be used to assess tumour aggressiveness in pre-treatment EOC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

  9. Ventilation-perfusion-lungscintigraphy using PET and {sup 68}Ga-labeled radiopharmaceuticals; Ventilations-Perfusions-Lungenszintigraphie mit der PET und {sup 68}Ga-markierten Radiopharmaka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotzerke, J. [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). Klinik und Poliklinik fuer Nuklearmedizin; Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). OncoRay - Zentrum fuer Innovationskompetenz Strahlenforschung in der Onkologie; Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (FZR) (Germany). PET-Zentrum; Andreeff, M.; Wunderlich, G.; Zoephel, K. [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). Klinik und Poliklinik fuer Nuklearmedizin; Wiggermann, P. [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). Inst. und Poliklinik fuer Diagnostische Radiologie

    2010-07-01

    Aim: Imaging of lung perfusion with positron emission tomography (PET) is already possible with {sup 68}Ga labeled denaturized albumin. The purpose of our study was to produce and test a {sup 68}Ga labeled aerosol (Galligas {sup registered}) for ventilation and {sup 68}Ga labeled albumin particles (microspheres) for perfusion imaging with PET. Patients, methods: Galligas was produced by simmering and burning generator eluted {sup 68}Ga solution (100 MBq/0.1ml) in an ordinary technegas generator. Fifteen patients with suspicion on pulmonary embolism underwent PET/CT (Biograph 16) after inhalation of Galligas and application of {sup 68}Ga labeled microspheres. A low dose CT was acquired for attenuation correction (AC). Images were reconstructed with and without AC. The inhaled activity was calculated compared to the activity injected. Results: Inhaled radioaerosol Galligas demonstrated typical distribution as known from {sup 99m}Tc-labeled technegas with homogeneous distribution in lung without hilar deposits. Attenuation corrected images resulted in artefacts in the lung base. Therefore, non-corrected images were used for making the results. Three out of fifteen patients showed a deficient perfusion whereas ventilation was normal corresponding to pulmonary embolism. Conclusion: Lung scintigraphy with PET is feasible. Galligas is simple to produce (analogously to technegas). {sup 68}Ga labeled microspheres are available. The method is applicable to daily routine and rendered clinically relevant informations. (orig.)

  10. Ga68-DOTA peptide PET/CT to detect occult mesenchymal tumor-inducing osteomalacia: A case series of three patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ho, Chi Long [Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore (Singapore)

    2015-09-15

    Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare disease that manifests with paraneoplasic syndrome and overproduction of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), leading to renal phosphate wasting and hyperphosphaturia, eventually leading to acquired hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. Diagnosis of this disease is often challenging because of the small size of the lesion, which can be localized in bone or soft tissue anywhere in the body. Detecting these occult mesenchymal tumors (OMT) is of great importance as they are potentially curable after tumor resection. The purpose of this case series is to provide some insight into the diagnosis and localization of OMT associated with osteomalacia, particularly using functional imaging with Ga68-DOTA peptide PET/CT scans.

  11. Ga68-DOTA peptide PET/CT to detect occult mesenchymal tumor-inducing osteomalacia: A case series of three patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho, Chi Long

    2015-01-01

    Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare disease that manifests with paraneoplasic syndrome and overproduction of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), leading to renal phosphate wasting and hyperphosphaturia, eventually leading to acquired hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. Diagnosis of this disease is often challenging because of the small size of the lesion, which can be localized in bone or soft tissue anywhere in the body. Detecting these occult mesenchymal tumors (OMT) is of great importance as they are potentially curable after tumor resection. The purpose of this case series is to provide some insight into the diagnosis and localization of OMT associated with osteomalacia, particularly using functional imaging with Ga68-DOTA peptide PET/CT scans

  12. Evaluation and comparison of Ga-68 DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-NOC PET/CT imaging in well-differentiated thyroid cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocak, Meltem; Demirci, Emre; Kabasakal, Levent; Aygun, Aslan; Tutar, Rumeysa O; Araman, Ahmet; Kanmaz, Bedii

    2013-11-01

    Somatostatin receptor (Sstr) scintigraphy with radiolabelled somatostatin analogues has been used extensively for the diagnosis and therapy of Sstr-expressing tumours. It has been shown that well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) cells have a high expression of Sstr2, Sstr3 and Sstr5. Hence, WDTC cells could be an ideal target for the evaluation of lesion uptake of Ga-68 DOTA-1-NaI3-octreotide (DOTA-NOC), which has a high affinity not only to Sstr2 but also to Sstr3 and Sstr5. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the value of Ga-68 DOTA-NOC as a target for Sstr2-expressing, Sstr3-expressing and Sstr5-expressing tumours in WDTC patients and to compare the results with those of Ga-68 DOTA-TATE in the same patient population. Thirteen patients with WDTC were included in our study: nine with papillary thyroid cancer, three with Hurthle cell carcinoma and one with follicular thyroid carcinoma. All patients had elevated serum thyroglobulin levels and negative post-therapeutic I-131 whole-body scans, which were obtained after the last radioiodine treatment. All patients had undergone two consecutive PET imaging studies with Ga-68 DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotate (DOTA-TATE) and Ga-68 DOTA-NOC, respectively. All images were evaluated visually, and maximum standardized uptake values were calculated. Both Ga-68 DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-NOC PET images gave comparable results. Among the 13 patients, imaging with both Ga-68 DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-NOC gave negative results in five (38%) patients and positive results in eight (62%) patients. A total of 45 lesions were identified on Ga-68 DOTA-TATE images and 42 on Ga-68 DOTA-NOC images; three lesions were missed. Lesion uptake was significantly higher on Ga-68 DOTA-TATE images. Maximum standardized uptake values of Ga-68 DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-NOC were 12.9±9.1 and 6.3±4.1 (n=54, PDOTA-TATE has a higher lesion uptake even in WDTC patients and may have potential advantage over Ga-68 DOTA-NOC.

  13. 68Ga-PSMA-PET/CT imaging of localized primary prostate cancer patients for intensity modulated radiation therapy treatment planning with integrated boost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Lena; Kantz, Steffi; Hung, Arthur; Monaco, Debra; Gaertner, Florian C; Essler, Markus; Strunk, Holger; Laub, Wolfram; Bundschuh, Ralph A

    2018-07-01

    The purpose of our study was to show the feasibility and potential benefits of using 68 Ga-PSMA-PET/CT imaging for radiation therapy treatment planning of patients with primary prostate cancer using either integrated boost on the PET-positive volume or localized treatment of the PET-positive volume. The potential gain of such an approach, the improvement of tumor control, and reduction of the dose to organs-at-risk at the same time was analyzed using the QUANTEC biological model. Twenty-one prostate cancer patients (70 years average) without previous local therapy received 68 Ga-PSMA-PET/CT imaging. Organs-at-risk and standard prostate target volumes were manually defined on the obtained datasets. A PET active volume (PTV_PET) was segmented with a 40% of the maximum activity uptake in the lesion as threshold followed by manual adaption. Five different treatment plan variations were calculated for each patient. Analysis of derived treatment plans was done according to QUANTEC with in-house developed software. Tumor control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) was calculated for all plan variations. Comparing the conventional plans to the plans with integrated boost and plans just treating the PET-positive tumor volume, we found that TCP increased to (95.2 ± 0.5%) for an integrated boost with 75.6 Gy, (98.1 ± 0.3%) for an integrated boost with 80 Gy, (94.7 ± 0.8%) for treatment of PET-positive volume with 75 Gy, and to (99.4 ± 0.1%) for treating PET-positive volume with 95 Gy (all p PET/CT image information allows for more individualized prostate treatment planning. TCP values of identified active tumor volumes were increased, while rectum and bladder NTCP values either remained the same or were even lower. However, further studies need to clarify the clinical benefit for the patients applying these techniques.

  14. Differences in Nanosecond Laser Ablation and Deposition of Tungsten, Boron, and WB2/B Composite due to Optical Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Moscicki

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The first attempt to the deposition of WB3 films using nanosecond Nd:YAG laser demonstrated that deposited coatings are superhard. However, they have very high roughness. The deposited films consisted mainly of droplets. Therefore, in the present work, the explanation of this phenomenon is conducted. The interaction of Nd:YAG nanosecond laser pulse with tungsten, boron, and WB2/B target during ablation is investigated. The studies show the fundamental differences in ablation of those materials. The ablation of tungsten is thermal and occurs due to only evaporation. In the same conditions, during ablation of boron, the phase explosion and/or fragmentation due to recoil pressure is observed. The deposited films have a significant contribution of big debris with irregular shape. In the case of WB2/B composite, ablation is significantly different. The ablation seems to be the detonation in the liquid phase. The deposition mechanism is related mainly to the mechanical transport of the target material in the form of droplets, while the gaseous phase plays marginal role. The main origin of differences is optical properties of studied materials. A method estimating phase explosion occurrence based on material data such as critical temperature, thermal diffusivity, and optical properties is shown. Moreover, the effect of laser wavelength on the ablation process and the quality of the deposited films is discussed.

  15. Preliminary assessment of the dose to the interventional radiologist in fluoro-CT-guided procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pereira, M. F.; Alves, J. G.; Sarmento, S.; Santos, J. A. M.; Sousa, M. J.; Gouvea, M.; Oliveira, A. D.; Cardoso, J. V.; Santos, L. M.

    2011-01-01

    A preliminary assessment of the occupational dose to the intervention radiologist received in fluoroscopy computerised tomography (CT) used to guide the collection of lung and bone biopsies is presented. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the capability of the reading system as well as of the available whole-body (WB) and extremity dosemeters used in routine monthly monitoring periods to measure per procedure dose values. The intervention radiologist was allocated 10 WB detectors (LiF: Mg, Ti, TLD-100) placed at chest and abdomen levels above and below the lead apron, and at both right and left arms, knees and feet. A special glove was developed with casings for the insertion of 11 extremity detectors (LiF:Mg, Cu, P, TLD-100H) for the identification of the most highly exposed fingers. The H p (10) dose values received above the lead apron (ranged 0.20-0.02 mSv) depend mainly on the duration of the examination and on the placement of physician relative to the beam, while values below the apron are relatively low. The left arm seems to receive a higher dose value. H p (0.07) values to the hand (ranged 36.30-0.06 mSv) show that the index, middle and ring fingers are the most highly exposed. In this study, the wrist dose was negligible compared with the finger dose. These results are preliminary and further studies are needed to better characterise the dose assessment in CT fluoroscopy. (authors)

  16. Interleukin 10 (- 1082 G/A) and (- 819 C/T) gene polymorphisms in Egyptian women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talaat, Roba M; Mohamed, Yasmin A; Mohamad, Ehab H; Elsharkawy, Marwa; Guirgis, Adel A

    2016-09-01

    Cytokines play critical roles in the pathogenesis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This work was designed to study the implication of IL10 gene polymorphisms (- 1082 G/A and - 819 C/T) on the susceptibility of Egyptian women to have PCOS. Rotterdam consensus criteria were used to diagnose PCOS patients. Genotyping was performed by single-stranded polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) in 61 PCOS patients and 80 healthy controls, and IL-10 serum levels were measured using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The frequency of IL10 - 1082 G/G (46%) genotype was significantly increased (p PCOS patients compared to controls (14% and 35% for G/G and A/A genotypes; respectively). G allele (65%) is significantly increased (p PCOS patients while A allele (61%) is significantly increased (p PCOS group. G/G genotype (odd ratio (OR = 5.322) with confidence interval (CI = 2.364-11.982) and the G allele (OR = 2.828 with CI = 1.73-4.61) of - 1082 G/A and T/T genotype of - 819 C/T (OR = 4.18 with CI = 1.26-13.86) could be considered as risk factors for PCOS. IL-10 levels were significantly lower among PCOS patients (313.42 ± 30.10) compared to normal controls (4914.36 ± 303.72). Depending on our preliminary work, IL10 - 1082 G/G might be considered as a host genetic factor for PCOS susceptibility in Egyptian women. Studies concerning other cytokine gene polymorphisms are required to get a better understanding of the pathogenesis of PCOS disease.

  17. Effect of Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy on Somatostatin Receptor Status and Glucose Metabolism in Neuroendocrine Tumors: Intraindividual Comparison of Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT and F-18 FDG PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Sowon; Prasad, Vikas; Lee, Dong Soo; Baum, R. P.

    2011-01-01

    The heterogeneous nature of the neuroendocrine tumors (NET) makes it challenging to find one uniformly applicable management protocol which is especially true for diagnosis. The discovery of the overexpression of somatostatin receptors (SMS-R) on neuroendocrine tumor cells lead to the generalized and rapid acceptance of radiolabeled somatostatin receptor analogs for staging and restaging of NET as well as for Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRNT) using Y-90 and Lu-177 DOTATATE/DOTATOC. In this present work we tried to look in to the effect of PRRNT on the glucose metabolism assessed by F-18 FDG PET/CT and SMS-R density assessed by Ga-68 DOTANOC PET/CT. We observed a complex relationship between the somatostatin receptor expression and glucose metabolism with only 56% (77/138) of the lesions showing match, while the others show mismatch between the receptor status and metabolism. The match between receptor expression and glucose metabolism increases with the grade of NET. In grade 3 NET, there is a concurrence between the changes in glucose metabolism and somatostatin receptor expression. PRRNT was found to be more effective in lesions with higher receptor expression. PMID:22121482

  18. [Association study between 834+7G/A and +1332C/T polymorphisms in the growth arrest specific 6 gene and risk of severe preeclampsia in Chinese population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Liyan; Guan, Linbo; Fan, Ping; Liu, Xinghui; Liu, Rui; Chen, Jinxin; Zhu, Yue; Wei, Xin; Liu, Yu; Bai, Huai

    2017-02-10

    To investigate the relationship between polymorphisms of the growth arrest specific 6 (GAS6) gene and severe preeclampsia in a South West Han Chinese population. Blood samples from 167 patients with severe preeclampsia and 312 normal pregnant women as controls from Han Chinese in Chengdu area were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms. C and T allele frequencies for +1332C/T site were 85.63% and 14.37% in the patient group, respectively, and 78.04% and 21.96% in control group, respectively. The TT genotype and variant T allelic frequencies of the +1332C/T polymorphism were significantly lower in patients with severe preeclampsia than in the control group (both Ppreeclampsia was 0.602 (95%CI: 0.401-0.904) in carriers for the variant T allele (χ 2 =6.045, P=0.014). G and A allele frequencies for 834+7G/A site were 72.75% and 27.25% in case group, respectively, and 74.36% and 25.64% in control group, respectively. The genotype and allele frequencies of the 834+7G/A polymorphism in patients with severe preeclampsia and controls showed no significant differences (both P>0.05). In addition, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms and blood pressure levels in the patient or control groups. The variant GAS6+1332 T allele is associated with a decreased risk for severe preeclampsia in a South West Han Chinese population. On the other hand, the 834+7G/A polymorphism has no effect on the severe preeclampsia.

  19. All’ombra del mago astuto W.B. Yeats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viola Papetti

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In 1949 Giorgio Manganelli published his first review of W.B. Yeats’s poetry in «La Fiera Letteraria». It was an impressive and enthusiastic appreciation of Yeats as the most intelligent and interesting poet among his contemporaries. In addition there was a very fine Italian translation of Sailing to Byzantium – at that time Manganelli himself was a young poet under the influence of the Symbolist Movement. In the late 1940s he had translated into Italian about 80 poems by Yeats, and was eager to publish them together with some of the Irish poet’s plays, but he was utterly disappointed. For the first time, here are published three typewritten letters to Manganelli’s friend, Oreste Macrì, in which he describes his attempts to publish his translations with Guanda and other companies. Also there are some interesting holographic pages from his cahier «9 aprile 1954-19 gennaio 1956/Roma», in which he discusses Yeats’s early poems with subtle critical acumen.

  20. Reduction of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA renal uptake with mannitol infusion. Preliminary results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matteucci, Federica; Caroli, Paola; Celli, Monica; Fantini, Lorenzo; Paganelli, Giovanni [Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Meldola (Italy); Mezzenga, Emilio; Sarnelli, Anna [Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Medical Physics Unit, Meldola (Italy); Di Iorio, Valentina [Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Oncology Pharmacy, Meldola (Italy); Moretti, Andrea; Galassi, Riccardo [AUSL Romagna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Forli (Italy); De Giorgi, Ugo [Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Department of Medical Oncology, Meldola (Italy)

    2017-12-15

    Urea-based prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands labelled with {sup 68}Ga or {sup 177}Lu are new tracers with great potential for theranostic approaches in prostate cancer. However, clinical studies have shown that the kidneys are one of the off-target organs along with the salivary and lacrimal glands. In the kidneys, PSMA is physiologically expressed in the apical epithelium of the proximal tubules, and mannitol acts as an osmotic diuretic in these tubules. We investigated the potential of mannitol to reduce renal uptake of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA. Kidney uptake (SUVmax) was calculated in nine patients undergoing {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT at baseline (b-PET/CT) and after intravenous infusion of 500 ml of 10% mannitol (m-PET/CT). Two different infusion schemes for mannitol were used: (1) 500 ml mannitol was infused over 40 min after {sup 68}Ga-PSMA administration (A-infusion) and (2) 250 ml mannitol was infused over 15 min before and again after {sup 68}Ga-PSMA administration (B-infusion). In patients receiving the A-infusion, mean SUV{sub max} increased by 11.9% and 7.4% in the right and left kidney, respectively. In patients receiving the B-infusion, mean SUV{sub max} decreased by 24.3% and 22.4% in the right and left kidney, respectively. Our preliminary findings indicate that mannitol may play a role in reducing off-target {sup 68}Ga-PSMA renal uptake. Administration of the osmotic diuretic should be rapid and start before {sup 68}Ga-PSMA injection. These results warrant dosimetric studies in patients treated with {sup 177}Lu-PSMA to find the best scheme for mannitol administration. (orig.)

  1. Evaluation of the WB55 bio-baler for baling woody biomass in a forest application

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. Klepac; B. Rummer

    2009-01-01

    A FLD model WB55 Bio-baler1 was evaluated while working in a pine plantation in southeast Georgia. The baler was equipped with a fixed tooth rotor and had atooth capacity, a 7.5-foot cutting width, and was powered by a Fendt 818 tractor which provided185 hp. Understory biomass removed consisted mainly of gall berry, wax myrtle and sawtopalmetto. Inventory data revealed...

  2. Influence of a combined CT/C-arm system on periprocedural workflow and procedure times in mechanical thrombectomy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pfaff, Johannes; Herweh, Christian; Pham, Mirko; Heiland, Sabine; Bendszus, Martin; Moehlenbruch, Markus Alfred [University of Heidelberg, Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Schoenenberger, Silvia; Nagel, Simon; Ringleb, Peter Arthur [University of Heidelberg, Department of Neurology, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2017-09-15

    To achieve the fastest possible workflow in ischaemic stroke, we developed a CT/C-arm system, which allows imaging and endovascular treatment on the same patient table. This prospective, monocentric trial was conducted between October 2014 and August 2016. Patients received stroke imaging and mechanical thrombectomy under general anaesthesia (GA) or conscious sedation (CS) using our combined setup comprising a CT-scanner and a mobile C-arm X-ray device. Primary endpoint was time between stroke imaging and groin puncture. We compared periprocedural workflow and procedure times with the literature and a matched patient cohort treated with a biplane angiographic system before installation of the CT/C-arm system. In 50 patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, comparable recanalization rates were achieved by using the CT/C-arm setup (TICI2b-3:CT/C-arm-GA: 85.7%; CT/C-arm-CS: 90.9%; Angiosuite: 78.6%; p = 0.269) without increasing periprocedural complications. Elimination of patient transport resulted in a significant reduction of the time between stroke imaging and groin puncture: median, min (IQR): CT/C-arm-GA: 43 (35-52); CT/C-arm-CS: 39 (28-49); Angiosuite: 64 (48-74); p < 0.0001. The combined CT/C-arm system allows comparable recanalization rates as a biplane angiographic system and accelerates the start of the endovascular stroke treatment. (orig.)

  3. Influence of a combined CT/C-arm system on periprocedural workflow and procedure times in mechanical thrombectomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfaff, Johannes; Herweh, Christian; Pham, Mirko; Heiland, Sabine; Bendszus, Martin; Moehlenbruch, Markus Alfred; Schoenenberger, Silvia; Nagel, Simon; Ringleb, Peter Arthur

    2017-01-01

    To achieve the fastest possible workflow in ischaemic stroke, we developed a CT/C-arm system, which allows imaging and endovascular treatment on the same patient table. This prospective, monocentric trial was conducted between October 2014 and August 2016. Patients received stroke imaging and mechanical thrombectomy under general anaesthesia (GA) or conscious sedation (CS) using our combined setup comprising a CT-scanner and a mobile C-arm X-ray device. Primary endpoint was time between stroke imaging and groin puncture. We compared periprocedural workflow and procedure times with the literature and a matched patient cohort treated with a biplane angiographic system before installation of the CT/C-arm system. In 50 patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, comparable recanalization rates were achieved by using the CT/C-arm setup (TICI2b-3:CT/C-arm-GA: 85.7%; CT/C-arm-CS: 90.9%; Angiosuite: 78.6%; p = 0.269) without increasing periprocedural complications. Elimination of patient transport resulted in a significant reduction of the time between stroke imaging and groin puncture: median, min (IQR): CT/C-arm-GA: 43 (35-52); CT/C-arm-CS: 39 (28-49); Angiosuite: 64 (48-74); p < 0.0001. The combined CT/C-arm system allows comparable recanalization rates as a biplane angiographic system and accelerates the start of the endovascular stroke treatment. (orig.)

  4. Beyond 18F-FDG: Characterization of PET/CT and PET/MR Scanners for a Comprehensive Set of Positron Emitters of Growing Application--18F, 11C, 89Zr, 124I, 68Ga, and 90Y.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soderlund, A Therese; Chaal, Jasper; Tjio, Gabriel; Totman, John J; Conti, Maurizio; Townsend, David W

    2015-08-01

    This study aimed to investigate image quality for a comprehensive set of isotopes ((18)F, (11)C, (89)Zr, (124)I, (68)Ga, and (90)Y) on 2 clinical scanners: a PET/CT scanner and a PET/MR scanner. Image quality and spatial resolution were tested according to NU 2-2007 of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. An image-quality phantom was used to measure contrast recovery, residual bias in a cold area, and background variability. Reconstruction methods available on the 2 scanners were compared, including point-spread-function correction for both scanners and time of flight for the PET/CT scanner. Spatial resolution was measured using point sources and filtered backprojection reconstruction. With the exception of (90)Y, small differences were seen in the hot-sphere contrast recovery of the different isotopes. Cold-sphere contrast recovery was similar across isotopes for all reconstructions, with an improvement seen with time of flight on the PET/CT scanner. The lower-statistic (90)Y scans yielded substantially lower contrast recovery than the other isotopes. When isotopes were compared, there was no difference in measured spatial resolution except for PET/MR axial spatial resolution, which was significantly higher for (124)I and (68)Ga. Overall, both scanners produced good images with (18)F, (11)C, (89)Zr, (124)I, (68)Ga, and (90)Y. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  5. Development of 68Ga ethyl cysteinate dimer for PET studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alireza Mirzaei; Jalilian, A.R.; Gholamali Shabani; Ashraf Fakhari; Mehdi Akhlaghi; Davood Beiki

    2016-01-01

    In this work development of 68 Ga-ethyl cysteinate dimer ( 68 Ga-ECD) a 68 Ga tracer for possible cerebral blood flow based on 99m Tc ECD homolog is reported. 68 Ga-ECD was prepared using generator-based 68 GaCl 3 and ECD at optimized conditions. Quality control, stability, partition co-efficient and the biodistribution of the tracer (by tissue counting and PET/CT in rats) was studied. Significant metabolism of the lipophilic tracer into water soluble metabolite(s) led to urinary excretion of the tracer, un-comparable to that of homologous 99m Tc-compound. Cardiac uptake of the complex suggests formation of a possible lipophil cationic complex and/or metabolite. (author)

  6. Low-temperature magnetization of (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jungwirth, Tomáš; Mašek, Jan; Wang, K. Y.; Edmonds, K. W.; Sawicki, M.; Polini, M.; Sinova, J.; MacDonald, A. H.; Campion, R. P.; Zhao, L.X.; Farley, N.R.S.; Johal, T.K.; van der Laan, G.; Foxon, C. T.; Gallagher, B. L.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 73, č. 16 (2006), 165205/1-165205/11 ISSN 1098-0121 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/05/0575 Grant - others:EPSRC(GB) GR/S81407/01; FENIKS(XE) EC:G5RD-CT-2001-00535; US Department of Energy(US) DE-FG03-02ER45958 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : ferromagnetic semiconductors * magnetization Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.107, year: 2006

  7. Prospects of high temperature ferromagnetism in (Ga, Mn)As semiconductors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jungwirth, Tomáš; Wang, K. Y.; Mašek, Jan; Edmonds, K. W.; König, J.; Sinova, J.; Polini, M.; Goncharuk, Natalya; MacDonald, A. H.; Sawicki, M.; Campion, R. P.; Zhao, L.X.; Foxon, C. T.; Gallagher, B. L.

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 72, č. 16 (2005), 165204/1-165204/13 ISSN 1098-0121 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA202/05/0575; GA MŠk(CZ) LC510 Grant - others:EU FENIKS(XE) EC:G5RD-CT-2001-00535; EPSRC(GB) GR/S81407/01; Welch Foundation(GB) DE-FG03-02ER45958; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DE) SFB 491 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : ferromagnetic semiconductors * spintronics Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.185, year: 2005

  8. Comparison of sequential planar {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE dosimetry scans with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT images in patients with metastasized neuroendocrine tumours undergoing peptide receptor radionuclide therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sainz-Esteban, Aurora; Carril, Jose Manuel [Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Santander (Spain); Prasad, Vikas; Schuchardt, Christiane; Zachert, Carolin; Baum, Richard P. [Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET/CT, Bad Berka (Germany)

    2012-03-15

    The aim of the study was to compare sequential {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE planar scans ({sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE) in patients with metastasized neuroendocrine tumours (NET) acquired during peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for dosimetry purposes with the pre-therapeutic {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE positron emission tomography (PET)/CT ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE) maximum intensity projection (MIP) images obtained in the same patients concerning the sensitivity of the different methods. A total of 44 patients (59 {+-} 11 years old) with biopsy-proven NET underwent {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE and {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE imaging within 7.9 {+-} 7.5 days between the two examinations. {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE planar images were acquired at 0.5, 2, 24, 48 and 72 h post-injection; lesions were given a score from 0 to 4 depending on the uptake of the radiopharmaceutical (0 being lowest and 4 highest). The number of tumour lesions which were identified on {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE scans (in relation to the acquisition time after injection of the therapeutic dose as well as with regard to the body region) was compared to those detected on {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE studies obtained before PRRT. A total of 318 lesions were detected; 280 (88%) lesions were concordant. Among the discordant lesions, 29 were {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE positive and {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE negative, whereas 9 were {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE negative and {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE positive. The sensitivity, positive predictive value and accuracy for {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE as compared to {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TATE were 91, 97 and 88%, respectively. Significantly more lesions were seen on the delayed (72 h) {sup 177}Lu-DOTA-TATE images (91%) as compared to the immediate (30 min) images (68%). The highest concordance was observed for bone metastases (97%) and the lowest for head/neck lesions (75%). Concordant lesions (n = 77; mean size 3.8 cm) were significantly larger than discordant lesions (n = 38; mean size 1.6 cm) (p < 0.05). No such significance was

  9. Study of 67Ga scan in sarcoidosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Lijun; Qu Wanyin; Liu Xiuqin

    1997-01-01

    Gallium scan and serum angiotensin-converting enzyme assay (SACE) were compared in patients with sarcoidosis. The examination of 67 Ga scan, SACE determination, pulmonary function test, chest CT and chest X-ray in 24 cases with sarcoidosis were studied. The results revealed that 4 of 24 cases had obviously high uptake of 67 Ga exceeding hepatic activity (3+) in clinical active stage, 3 patients had resembling the Greek letter lambda, symmetrically located in bilateral hilar lymph nodes, and among them two had an uptake of 67 Ga in the bilateral lacrimal and parotid gland simulating 'Panda Face'. 8 of 20 cases with inactive sarcoidosis had an abnormal 67 Ga scan (1+). In those patients with normal SACE level but increased uptake of 67 Ga, active stage of disease was demonstrated and steroid therapy was indicated. Gallium scan is a valuable method for the staging of its activity and evaluation of the therapeutic effect in the follow-up patients with sarcoidosis

  10. Validation of 68Ge/68Ga generator processing by chemical purification for routine clinical application of 68Ga-DOTATOC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asti, Mattia; De Pietri, Giovanni; Fraternali, Alessandro; Grassi, Elisa; Sghedoni, Roberto; Fioroni, Federica; Roesch, Frank; Versari, Annibale; Salvo, Diana

    2008-01-01

    Introduction: Imaging of somatostatin receptor expressing tumours has been greatly enhanced by the use of 68 Ga-DOTATOC and PET/CT. Methods: In this work, a purification method for the 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator eluate and a method to produce 68 Ga-DOTATOC suitable for clinical use were evaluated. The generator eluate was purified and concentrated on a cation-exchange cartridge in HCl/acetone media. The efficacy of this procedure in eliminating metal impurities from the 68 Ga solution was investigated by ICP-MS. The radiotracer quality was evaluated by radio-TLC, GC and γ-ray spectrometry. Results: 68 Ga-DOTATOC preparations (n=33) were carried out with a mean synthesis yield of 59.3±2.8% (not corrected for decay) and a batch activity ranging from 555 to 296 MBq. The radiochemical and radionuclidic purity were >98% and 99.9999%, respectively. With this purification process, >95% of the Fe(III), Zn(II) and Mn(II) were eliminated from the solution. Conclusions: 68 Ga-DOTATOC produced with this method can be efficiently used in nuclear medicine departments for PET evaluations

  11. Early CT perfusion mismatch in acute stroke is not time-dependent but relies on collateralization grade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baumgarten, Louisa von; Straube, Andreas [University of Munich Hospitals, Department of Neurology, Munich (Germany); Thierfelder, Kolja M.; Beyer, Sebastian E.; Baumann, Alena B.; Bollwein, Christine; Reiser, Maximilian F.; Sommer, Wieland H. [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Janssen, Hendrik [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Department of Neuroradiology, Munich (Germany)

    2016-04-15

    Factors that determine the extent of the penumbra in the initial diagnostic workup using whole brain CT Perfusion (WB-CTP) remain unclear. The purpose of the current study was to determine a possible dependency of the initial mismatch size between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) from time after symptom onset, leptomeningeal collateralization, and occlusion localization in acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarctions. Out of an existing cohort of 992 consecutive patients receiving multiparametric CT scans including WB-CTP due to suspected stroke, we included patients who had (1) a witnessed time of symptom onset, (2) an infarction of the MCA territory as documented by follow-up imaging, and (3) an initial CBF volume of >10 ml. CBF and CBV lesion sizes, collateralization grade, and the site of occlusion were determined. We included 103 patients. Univariate analysis showed that time from symptom onset (168 +/- 91.2 min) did not correlate with relative or absolute mismatch volumes (p = 0.458 and p = 0.921). Higher collateralization gradings were associated with small absolute mismatch volumes (p = 0.004 and p < 0.001). Internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusions were associated with large absolute mismatch volumes (p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis confirmed that ICA occlusion was associated with large absolute mismatch volumes (p = 0.005), and high collateral grade was associated with small absolute mismatch volumes (p = 0.017). There is no significant correlation between initial CTP mismatch and time after symptom onset. Predictors of mismatch size include the extent of the collaterals and a proximal location of the occlusion. (orig.)

  12. Influence of a combined CT/C-arm system on periprocedural workflow and procedure times in mechanical thrombectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Johannes; Schönenberger, Silvia; Herweh, Christian; Pham, Mirko; Nagel, Simon; Ringleb, Peter Arthur; Heiland, Sabine; Bendszus, Martin; Möhlenbruch, Markus Alfred

    2017-09-01

    To achieve the fastest possible workflow in ischaemic stroke, we developed a CT/C-arm system, which allows imaging and endovascular treatment on the same patient table. This prospective, monocentric trial was conducted between October 2014 and August 2016. Patients received stroke imaging and mechanical thrombectomy under general anaesthesia (GA) or conscious sedation (CS) using our combined setup comprising a CT-scanner and a mobile C-arm X-ray device. Primary endpoint was time between stroke imaging and groin puncture. We compared periprocedural workflow and procedure times with the literature and a matched patient cohort treated with a biplane angiographic system before installation of the CT/C-arm system. In 50 patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, comparable recanalization rates were achieved by using the CT/C-arm setup (TICI2b-3:CT/C-arm-GA: 85.7%; CT/C-arm-CS: 90.9%; Angiosuite: 78.6%; p = 0.269) without increasing periprocedural complications. Elimination of patient transport resulted in a significant reduction of the time between stroke imaging and groin puncture: median, min (IQR): CT/C-arm-GA: 43 (35-52); CT/C-arm-CS: 39 (28-49); Angiosuite: 64 (48-74); p < 0.0001. The combined CT/C-arm system allows comparable recanalization rates as a biplane angiographic system and accelerates the start of the endovascular stroke treatment. • The CT/C-arm setup reduces median time from stroke imaging to groin puncture. • Mechanical thrombectomy using a C-arm device is feasible without increasing peri-interventional complications. • The CT/C-arm setup might be a valuable fallback solution for emergency procedures. • The CT/C-arm setup allows immediate control CT images during and after treatment.

  13. Effects of oil drops containing Lactobacillus salivarius WB21 on periodontal health and oral microbiota producing volatile sulfur compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Nao; Tanabe, Kazunari; Takeshita, Toru; Yoneda, Masahiro; Iwamoto, Tomoyuki; Oshiro, Sueko; Yamashita, Yoshihisa; Hirofuji, Takao

    2012-03-01

    The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects of oil drops containing Lactobacillus salivarius WB21 on periodontal health and oral microbiota producing volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). For this study, 42 subjects were randomly assigned to receive oil samples containing L. salivarius WB21 or a placebo for two weeks. Oral assessment and saliva collection were performed on days 1 and 15. Bacterial analysis was performed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). In both the experimental and placebo groups, the average probing depth, number of periodontal pockets, and the percentage of bleeding on probing (BOP) decreased while stimulated salivary flow increased on day 15. BOP was reduced in the experimental group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.010). In the experimental group, total bacterial numbers decreased, and the number of L. salivarius increased. The number of Prevotella intermedia, which is correlated with hydrogen sulfide concentration in mouth air, increased in the placebo group and did not change in the experimental group. T-RFLP analysis found that the peak area proportions representing Porphyromonas gingivalis, P. intermedia, Tannerella forsythensis, and Fusobacterium nucleatum decreased in the experimental group, although there was no significant change in the bacterial composition. Thus we observed oil drops containing L. salivarius WB21 improved BOP and inhibited the reproduction of total and VSC-producing periodontopathic bacteria compared with the placebo group, but also showed the limit of its efficacy in controlling VSCs producing and periodontal pathogens.

  14. Normal uptake of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC by the pancreas uncinate process mimicking malignancy at somatostatin receptor PET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobsson, Hans; Larsson, Patricia; Jonsson, Cathrine; Jussing, Emma; Grybäck, Per

    2012-04-01

    To characterize a commonly occurring increased uptake by the uncinate process of the pancreas at PET/CT using 68Ga-DOTA-d-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (68Ga-DOTA-TOC). This tracer has replaced In pentetreotide (OctreoScan®) for somatostatin receptor scintigraphy at our laboratory. Fifty of our first 74 PET/CT examinations with 68Ga-DOTA-TOC could be evaluated in retrospect. None of these patients had surgery or showed any pathology in the pancreas head at the concomitant CT. Thirty-five of the 50 examinations (70%) showed an uptake by the uncinate process sufficiently intense to be interpreted as pathologic and simulating a tumor. Mean SUVmax was 9.2. Mean SUVmean using an isoactivity cut-off of >75% and >50% was 7.8 and 6.0, respectively. Volume calculations of the uncinate process activity using these definitions gave 0.9 mL and 4.2 mL, respectively. There is a frequent physiological uptake of 68Ga-DOTA-TOC by the pancreas uncinate process. This may be caused by an accumulation of pancreatic polypeptide-containing cells expressing somatostatin receptors. If there is a normal finding at concomitant diagnostic CT, this uptake should be regarded as physiological.

  15. Comparison of Ga-68 DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-LAN PET/CT imaging in the same patient group with neuroendocrine tumours: preliminary results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirci, Emre; Ocak, Meltem; Kabasakal, Levent; Araman, Ahmet; Ozsoy, Yildiz; Kanmaz, Bedii

    2013-08-01

    Recent studies have suggested that PET imaging with Ga-68-labelled DOTA-somatostatin analogues such as octreotide and octreotate is useful in diagnosing neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and has superior value over both computed tomography and planar and SPECT somatostatin receptor scintigraphy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of Ga-68 DOTA-lanreotide (Ga-68-DOTA-LAN) in patients with somatostatin receptor (sst)-expressing tumours and to compare the results of Ga-68 DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotate (Ga-68-DOTA-TATE) in the same patient population. Twelve patients with NETs who were referred to our department for somatostatin receptor scintigraphy were included in the study. There were four patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumour (WDNET) grade 1, two patients with WDNET grade 2, and three patients with poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (PDNEC) grade 3. There was also one patient with medullary thyroid cancer, one patient with meningioma and one patient with MEN-1. All patients underwent two consecutive PET imaging studies with Ga-68-DOTA-TATE and Ga-68 DOTA-LAN. All images were evaluated visually, and maximum standardized uptake value was calculated for quantitative evaluation. On visual examination of maximum intensity projection images, GA-68 DOTA-LAN was seen to have high background activity and high bone marrow uptake. Both tracers defined 67 lesions. Ga-68 DOTA-TATE images revealed 63 (94%) clearly defined lesions, missing four lesions. In contrast, Ga-68 DOTA-LAN images defined only 23 (44%) lesions, missing 44 (56%) lesions. Thirty-two bone lesions were detected on Ga-68-DOTA-TATE images. Among them, only 11 (34%) were positive on Ga-68 DOTA-LAN images, whereas 21 (66%) were negative. When we evaluated liver, mediastinum and gastrointestinal tract lesions, Ga-68 DOTA-LAN was seen to be positive for 12 (34%) lesions and negative for 23 (66%) lesions. Although the results are preliminary, the image quality obtained by

  16. Measurement of B(t --> Wb)/B(t--> Wq) at the collider detector at fermilab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acosta, D; Adelman, J; Affolder, T; Akimoto, T; Albrow, M G; Ambrose, D; Amerio, S; Amidei, D; Anastassov, A; Anikeev, K; Annovi, A; Antos, J; Aoki, M; Apollinari, G; Arisawa, T; Arguin, J-F; Artikov, A; Ashmanskas, W; Attal, A; Azfar, F; Azzi-Bacchetta, P; Bacchetta, N; Bachacou, H; Badgett, W; Barbaro-Galtieri, A; Barker, G J; Barnes, V E; Barnett, B A; Baroiant, S; Bauer, G; Bedeschi, F; Behari, S; Belforte, S; Bellettini, G; Bellinger, J; Belloni, A; Ben-Haim, E; Benjamin, D; Beretvas, A; Berry, T; Bhatti, A; Binkley, M; Bisello, D; Bishai, M; Blair, R E; Blocker, C; Bloom, K; Blumenfeld, B; Bocci, A; Bodek, A; Bolla, G; Bolshov, A; Bortoletto, D; Boudreau, J; Bourov, S; Brau, B; Bromberg, C; Brubaker, E; Budagov, J; Budd, H S; Burkett, K; Busetto, G; Bussey, P; Byrum, K L; Cabrera, S; Campanelli, M; Campbell, M; Canelli, F; Canepa, A; Casarsa, M; Carlsmith, D; Carosi, R; Carron, S; Cavalli-Sforza, M; Castro, A; Catastini, P; Cauz, D; Cerri, A; Cerrito, L; Chapman, J; Chen, Y C; Chertok, M; Chiarelli, G; Chlachidze, G; Chlebana, F; Cho, I; Cho, K; Chokheli, D; Chou, J P; Chuang, S; Chung, K; Chung, W-H; Chung, Y S; Cijliak, M; Ciobanu, C I; Ciocci, M A; Clark, A G; Clark, D; Coca, M; Connolly, A; Convery, M; Conway, J; Cooper, B; Copic, K; Cordelli, M; Cortiana, G; Cranshaw, J; Cuevas, J; Cruz, A; Culbertson, R; Currat, C; Cyr, D; Dagenhart, D; Da Ronco, S; D'Auria, S; de Barbaro, P; De Cecco, S; Deisher, A; De Lentdecker, G; Dell'Orso, M; Demers, S; Demortier, L; Deninno, M; de Pedis, D; Derwent, P F; Dionisi, C; Dittmann, J R; DiTuro, P; Dörr, C; Dominguez, A; Donati, S; Donega, M; Donini, J; D'Onofrio, M; Dorigo, T; Ebina, K; Efron, J; Ehlers, J; Erbacher, R; Erdmann, M; Errede, D; Errede, S; Eusebi, R; Fang, H-C; Farrington, S; Fedorko, I; Fedorko, W T; Feild, R G; Feindt, M; Fernandez, J P; Field, R D; Flanagan, G; Flores-Castillo, L R; Foland, A; Forrester, S; Foster, G W; Franklin, M; Freeman, J C; Fujii, Y; Furic, I; Gajjar, A; Gallinaro, M; Galyardt, J; Garcia-Sciveres, M; Garfinkel, A F; Gay, C; Gerberich, H; Gerdes, D W; Gerchtein, E; Giagu, S; Giannetti, P; Gibson, A; Gibson, K; Ginsburg, C; Giolo, K; Giordani, M; Giunta, M; Giurgiu, G; Glagolev, V; Glenzinski, D; Gold, M; Goldschmidt, N; Goldstein, D; Goldstein, J; Gomez, G; Gomez-Ceballos, G; Goncharov, M; González, O; Gorelov, I; Goshaw, A T; Gotra, Y; Goulianos, K; Gresele, A; Griffiths, M; Grosso-Pilcher, C; Grundler, U; da Costa, J Guimaraes; Haber, C; Hahn, K; Hahn, S R; Halkiadakis, E; Hamilton, A; Han, B-Y; Handler, R; Happacher, F; Hara, K; Hare, M; Harr, R F; Harris, R M; Hartmann, F; Hatakeyama, K; Hauser, J; Hays, C; Hayward, H; Heinemann, B; Heinrich, J; Hennecke, M; Herndon, M; Hill, C; Hirschbuehl, D; Hocker, A; Hoffman, K D; Holloway, A; Hou, S; Houlden, M A; Huffman, B T; Huang, Y; Hughes, R E; Huston, J; Ikado, K; Incandela, J; Introzzi, G; Iori, M; Ishizawa, Y; Issever, C; Ivanov, A; Iwata, Y; Iyutin, B; James, E; Jang, D; Jayatilaka, B; Jeans, D; Jensen, H; Jeon, E J; Jones, M; Joo, K K; Jun, S Y; Junk, T; Kamon, T; Kang, J; Unel, M Karagoz; Karchin, P E; Kato, Y; Kemp, Y; Kephart, R; Kerzel, U; Khotilovich, V; Kilminster, B; Kim, D H; Kim, H S; Kim, J E; Kim, M J; Kim, M S; Kim, S B; Kim, S H; Kim, Y K; Kirby, M; Kirsch, L; Klimenko, S; Klute, M; Knuteson, B; Ko, B R; Kobayashi, H; Kong, D J; Kondo, K; Konigsberg, J; Kordas, K; Korn, A; Korytov, A; Kotwal, A V; Kovalev, A; Kraus, J; Kravchenko, I; Kreymer, A; Kroll, J; Kruse, M; Krutelyov, V; Kuhlmann, S E; Kwang, S; Laasanen, A T; Lai, S; Lami, S; Lammel, S; Lancaster, M; Lander, R; Lannon, K; Lath, A; Latino, G; Lazzizzera, I; Lecci, C; Lecompte, T; Lee, J; Lee, J; Lee, S W; Lefèvre, R; Leonardo, N; Leone, S; Levy, S; Lewis, J D; Li, K; Lin, C; Lin, C S; Lindgren, M; Lipeles, E; Liss, T M; Lister, A; Litvintsev, D O; Liu, T; Liu, Y; Lockyer, N S; Loginov, A; Loreti, M; Loverre, P; Lu, R-S; Lucchesi, D; Lujan, P; Lukens, P; Lungu, G; Lyons, L; Lys, J; Lysak, R; Lytken, E; MacQueen, D; Madrak, R; Maeshima, K; Maksimovic, P; Manca, G; Margaroli, F; Marginean, R; Marino, C; Martin, A; Martin, M; Martin, V; Martínez, M; Maruyama, T; Matsunaga, H; Mattson, M; Mazzanti, P; McFarland, K S; McGivern, D; McIntyre, P M; McNamara, P; McNulty, R; Mehta, A; Menzemer, S; Menzione, A; Merkel, P; Mesropian, C; Messina, A; Miao, T; Miladinovic, N; Miles, J; Miller, L; Miller, R; Miller, J S; Mills, C; Miquel, R; Miscetti, S; Mitselmakher, G; Miyamoto, A; Moggi, N; Mohr, B; Moore, R; Morello, M; Fernandez, P A Movilla; Muelmenstaedt, J; Mukherjee, A; Mulhearn, M; Muller, T; Mumford, R; Munar, A; Murat, P; Nachtman, J; Nahn, S; Nakano, I; Napier, A; Napora, R; Naumov, D; Necula, V; Nelson, T; Neu, C; Neubauer, M S; Nielsen, J; Nigmanov, T; Nodulman, L; Norniella, O; Ogawa, T; Oh, S H; Oh, Y D; Ohsugi, T; Okusawa, T; Oldeman, R; Orava, R; Orejudos, W; Osterberg, K; Pagliarone, C; Palencia, E; Paoletti, R; Papadimitriou, V; Paramonov, A A; Pashapour, S; Patrick, J; Pauletta, G; Paulini, M; Paus, C; Pellett, D; Penzo, A; Phillips, T J; Piacentino, G; Piedra, J; Pitts, K T; Plager, C; Pondrom, L; Pope, G; Portell, X; Poukhov, O; Pounder, N; Prakoshyn, F; Pronko, A; Proudfoot, J; Ptohos, F; Punzi, G; Rademacker, J; Rahaman, M A; Rakitine, A; Rappoccio, S; Ratnikov, F; Ray, H; Reisert, B; Rekovic, V; Renton, P; Rescigno, M; Rimondi, F; Rinnert, K; Ristori, L; Robertson, W J; Robson, A; Rodrigo, T; Rolli, S; Roser, R; Rossin, R; Rott, C; Russ, J; Rusu, V; Ruiz, A; Ryan, D; Saarikko, H; Sabik, S; Safonov, A; St Denis, R; Sakumoto, W K; Salamanna, G; Saltzberg, D; Sanchez, C; Santi, L; Sarkar, S; Sato, K; Savard, P; Savoy-Navarro, A; Schlabach, P; Schmidt, E E; Schmidt, M P; Schmitt, M; Schwarz, T; Scodellaro, L; Scott, A L; Scribano, A; Scuri, F; Sedov, A; Seidel, S; Seiya, Y; Semenov, A; Semeria, F; Sexton-Kennedy, L; Sfiligoi, I; Shapiro, M D; Shears, T; Shepard, P F; Sherman, D; Shimojima, M; Shochet, M; Shon, Y; Shreyber, I; Sidoti, A; Sill, A; Sinervo, P; Sisakyan, A; Sjolin, J; Skiba, A; Slaughter, A J; Sliwa, K; Smirnov, D; Smith, J R; Snider, F D; Snihur, R; Soderberg, M; Soha, A; Somalwar, S V; Spalding, J; Spezziga, M; Spinella, F; Squillacioti, P; Stadie, H; Stanitzki, M; Stelzer, B; Stelzer-Chilton, O; Stentz, D; Strologas, J; Stuart, D; Suh, J S; Sukhanov, A; Sumorok, K; Sun, H; Suzuki, T; Taffard, A; Tafirout, R; Takano, H; Takashima, R; Takeuchi, Y; Takikawa, K; Tanaka, M; Tanaka, R; Tanimoto, N; Tecchio, M; Teng, P K; Terashi, K; Tesarek, R J; Tether, S; Thom, J; Thompson, A S; Thomson, E; Tipton, P; Tiwari, V; Tkaczyk, S; Toback, D; Tollefson, K; Tomura, T; Tonelli, D; Tönnesmann, M; Torre, S; Torretta, D; Tourneur, S; Trischuk, W; Tsuchiya, R; Tsuno, S; Tsybychev, D; Turini, N; Ukegawa, F; Unverhau, T; Uozumi, S; Usynin, D; Vacavant, L; Vaiciulis, A; Varganov, A; Vejcik, S; Velev, G; Veszpremi, V; Veramendi, G; Vickey, T; Vidal, R; Vila, I; Vilar, R; Vollrath, I; Volobouev, I; von der Mey, M; Wagner, P; Wagner, R G; Wagner, R L; Wagner, W; Wallny, R; Walter, T; Wan, Z; Wang, M J; Wang, S M; Warburton, A; Ward, B; Waschke, S; Waters, D; Watts, T; Weber, M; Wester, W C; Whitehouse, B; Whiteson, D; Wicklund, A B; Wicklund, E; Williams, H H; Wilson, P; Winer, B L; Wittich, P; Wolbers, S; Wolfe, C; Wolter, M; Worcester, M; Worm, S; Wright, T; Wu, X; Würthwein, F; Wyatt, A; Yagil, A; Yamashita, T; Yamamoto, K; Yamaoka, J; Yang, C; Yang, U K; Yao, W; Yeh, G P; Yoh, J; Yorita, K; Yoshida, T; Yu, I; Yu, S; Yun, J C; Zanello, L; Zanetti, A; Zaw, I; Zetti, F; Zhou, J; Zucchelli, S

    2005-09-02

    We present a measurement of the ratio of top-quark branching fractions R = B(t --> Wb)/B(t --> Wq), where q can be a b, s, or a d quark, using lepton-plus-jets and dilepton data sets with an integrated luminosity of approximately 162 pb(-1) collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab during Run II of the Tevatron. The measurement is derived from the relative numbers of tt events with different multiplicity of identified secondary vertices. We set a lower limit of R > 0.61 at 95% confidence level.

  17. [68Ga]pentixafor for CXCR4 imaging in a PC-3 prostate cancer xenograft model - comparison with [18F]FDG PET/CT, MRI and ex vivo receptor expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarzenböck, Sarah M; Stenzel, Jan; Otto, Thomas; Helldorff, Heike V; Bergner, Carina; Kurth, Jens; Polei, Stefan; Lindner, Tobias; Rauer, Romina; Hohn, Alexander; Hakenberg, Oliver W; Wester, Hans J; Vollmar, Brigitte; Krause, Bernd J

    2017-11-10

    The aim was to characterize the properties of [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor as tracer for prostate cancer imaging in a PC-3 prostate cancer xenograft mouse model and to investigate its correlation with [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ex vivo analyses. Static [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor and [ 18 F]FDG PET as well as morphological/ diffusion weighted MRI and 1 H MR spectroscopy was performed. Imaging data were correlated with ex vivo biodistribution and CXCR4 expression in PC-3 tumors (immunohistochemistry (IHC), mRNA analysis). Flow cytometry was performed for evaluation of localization of CXCR4 receptors ( in vitro PC-3 cell experiments). Tumor uptake of [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor was significantly lower compared to [ 18 F]FDG. Ex vivo CXCR4 mRNA expression of tumors was shown by PCR. Only faint tumor CXCR4 expression was shown by IHC (immuno reactive score of 3). Accordingly, flow cytometry of PC-3 cells revealed only a faint signal, cell membrane permeabilisation showed a slight signal increase. There was no significant correlation of [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor tumor uptake and ex vivo receptor expression. Spectroscopy showed typical spectra of prostate cancer. PC-3 tumor uptake of [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor was existent but lower compared to [ 18 F]FDG. No significant correlation of ex vivo tumor CXCR4 receptor expression and [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor tumor uptake was shown. CXCR4 receptor expression on the surface of PC-3 cells was existent but rather low possibly explaining the limited [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor tumor uptake; receptor localization in the interior of PC-3 cells is presumable as shown by cell membrane permeabilisation. Further studies are necessary to define the role of [ 68 Ga]Pentixafor in prostate cancer imaging.

  18. Correlation of breast cancer subtypes, based on estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2, with functional imaging parameters from {sup 68}Ga-RGD PET/CT and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoon, Hai-Jeon [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Keon Wook; Jeong, Jae Min; Chung, June-Key [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chun, In Kook [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kangwon National University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chuncheon, Kangwon-Do (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Nariya [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Im, Seock-Ah [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Sunjoo [Dankook University, Department of Molecular Biology, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Song [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Kyeong Cheon [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Yun-Sang [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Dong Soo [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University, Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Moon, Woo Kyung [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-08-15

    Imaging biomarkers from functional imaging modalities were assessed as potential surrogate markers of disease status. Specifically, in this prospective study, we investigated the relationships between functional imaging parameters and histological prognostic factors and breast cancer subtypes. In total, 43 patients with large or locally advanced invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) were analyzed (47.6 ± 7.5 years old). {sup 68}Ga-Labeled arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) and {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) were performed. The maximum and average standardized uptake values (SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub avg}) from RGD PET/CT and SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub avg} from FDG PET/CT were the imaging parameters used. For histological prognostic factors, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression was identified using immunohistochemistry (IHC) or fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Four breast cancer subtypes, based on ER/PR and HER2 expression (ER/PR+,Her2-, ER/PR+,Her2+, ER/PR-,Her2+, and ER/PR-,Her2-), were considered. Quantitative FDG PET parameters were significantly higher in the ER-negative group (15.88 ± 8.73 vs 10.48 ± 6.01, p = 0.02 for SUV{sub max}; 9.40 ± 5.19 vs 5.92 ± 4.09, p = 0.02 for SUV{sub avg}) and the PR-negative group (8.37 ± 4.94 vs 4.79 ± 3.93, p = 0.03 for SUV{sub avg}). Quantitative RGD PET parameters were significantly higher in the HER2-positive group (2.42 ± 0.59 vs 2.90 ± 0.75, p = 0.04 for SUV{sub max}; 1.60 ± 0.38 vs 1.95 ± 0.53, p = 0.04 for SUV{sub avg}) and showed a significant positive correlation with the HER2/CEP17 ratio (r = 0.38, p = 0.03 for SUV{sub max} and r = 0.46, p < 0.01 for SUV{sub avg}). FDG PET parameters showed significantly higher values in the ER/PR-,Her2- subgroup versus the ER/PR+,Her2- or ER/PR+,Her2+ subgroups, while RGD PET parameters showed significantly lower values in the ER

  19. Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography for Breast Target Volume Delineation in Prone and Supine Positions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pogson, Elise M. [Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong (Australia); Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool (Australia); Delaney, Geoff P. [Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool (Australia); South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia); School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney (Australia); Ahern, Verity [Crown Princess Mary Cancer Care Centre, Westmead Hospital, Westmead (Australia); Boxer, Miriam M. [Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia); Chan, Christine [Department of Radiology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool (Australia); David, Steven [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia); Dimigen, Marion [Department of Radiology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool (Australia); Harvey, Jennifer A. [School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston (Australia); Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba (Australia); Koh, Eng-Siew [Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool (Australia); South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia); Lim, Karen [Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia); Papadatos, George [Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool (Australia); and others

    2016-11-15

    Purpose: To determine whether T2-weighted MRI improves seroma cavity (SC) and whole breast (WB) interobserver conformity for radiation therapy purposes, compared with the gold standard of CT, both in the prone and supine positions. Methods and Materials: Eleven observers (2 radiologists and 9 radiation oncologists) delineated SC and WB clinical target volumes (CTVs) on T2-weighted MRI and CT supine and prone scans (4 scans per patient) for 33 patient datasets. Individual observer's volumes were compared using the Dice similarity coefficient, volume overlap index, center of mass shift, and Hausdorff distances. An average cavity visualization score was also determined. Results: Imaging modality did not affect interobserver variation for WB CTVs. Prone WB CTVs were larger in volume and more conformal than supine CTVs (on both MRI and CT). Seroma cavity volumes were larger on CT than on MRI. Seroma cavity volumes proved to be comparable in interobserver conformity in both modalities (volume overlap index of 0.57 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.54-0.60) for CT supine and 0.52 (95% CI 0.48-0.56) for MRI supine, 0.56 (95% CI 0.53-0.59) for CT prone and 0.55 (95% CI 0.51-0.59) for MRI prone); however, after registering modalities together the intermodality variation (Dice similarity coefficient of 0.41 (95% CI 0.36-0.46) for supine and 0.38 (0.34-0.42) for prone) was larger than the interobserver variability for SC, despite the location typically remaining constant. Conclusions: Magnetic resonance imaging interobserver variation was comparable to CT for the WB CTV and SC delineation, in both prone and supine positions. Although the cavity visualization score and interobserver concordance was not significantly higher for MRI than for CT, the SCs were smaller on MRI, potentially owing to clearer SC definition, especially on T2-weighted MR images.

  20. The UCP2 -866G/A, Ala55Val and UCP3 -55C/T polymorphisms are associated with premature coronary artery disease and cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamboa, Ricardo; Huesca-Gómez, Claudia; López-Pérez, Vanessa; Posadas-Sánchez, Rosalinda; Cardoso-Saldaña, Guillermo; Medina-Urrutia, Aida; Juárez-Rojas, Juan Gabriel; Soto, María Elena; Posadas-Romero, Carlos; Vargas-Alarcón, Gilberto

    2018-05-21

    We examined the role of UCP gene polymorphisms as susceptibility markers for premature coronary artery disease (pCAD). The UCP2 Ala55Val (C/T rs660339), UCP2 -866G/A (rs659366), and UCP3 -55C/T (rs1800849) polymorphisms were genotyped in 948 patients with pCAD, and 763 controls. The distribution of the UCP2 A55V (C/T rs660339) and UCP3 -55 (rs1800849) was similar in patients and controls. However, under a recessive model, the UCP2 -866 (rs659366) A allele was associated with increased risk of developing pCAD (OR = 1.43, Pc = 0.003). On the other hand, patients with pCAD and UCP2 A55V (rs660339) TT showed high levels of visceral abdominal fat (VAF) (Pc = 0.002), low levels of subcutaneous abdominal fat (SAF) (Pc = 0.001) and high VAT/SAT ratio (Pc cardiovascular risk factors.

  1. In vivo binding of [68Ga]-DOTATOC to somatostatin receptors in neuroendocrine tumours - impact of peptide mass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velikyan, Irina; Sundin, Anders; Eriksson, Barbro; Lundqvist, Hans; Soerensen, Jens; Bergstroem, Mats; Langstroem, Bengt

    2010-01-01

    Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to explore the impact of peptide mass on binding of [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC to neuroendocrine tumour somatostatin receptors in vivo using a tracer of variable specific radioactivity (SRA) and to show the logistic feasibility of sequential PET scans in the same patient. Material and Methods: Nine patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours were included. Six of them underwent three sequential PET-CT examinations with intravenous injections of [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC proceeded by 0, 50 and 250 or 500 μg of octreotide, administered 10 min before the tracer. Three patients were examined by dynamic and static PET/CT for pharmacokinetic and dosimetric calculations. The [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC synthesis included preconcentration and purification of the generator eluate and microwave heating in a semi-automated in-house procedure. Results: [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC synthesis and quality control were accomplished within 30 min and radiochemical purity was >95%. The tracer accumulation in the tumours varied and depended on the total amount of the administered peptide. In five of six patients, the highest tumour-to-normal tissue ratio was found when 50 μg of octreotide was preadministered. One patient showed a continuously increasing tumour uptake. Dosimetrically, a large variation in organ doses was found (kidney: 0.086-0.168 mSv/MBq; liver: 0.026-0.096 mSv/MBq; spleen: 0.046-0.226 mSv/MBq). The effective dose (0.015, 0.0067 and 0.0042 mSv/MBq) was correlated to the total amount of decays. Discussion: Three sequential PET-CT examinations using 68 Ga-based tracer was carried out in 1 day. The use of high SRA [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC and unlabelled octreotide indicates an optimal mass leading to better image contrast. [ 68 Ga]-DOTATOC-PET-CT employing variable SRA may be utilised for accurate quantification of tumour uptake with subsequent dosimetry for personalized therapy management.

  2. Could semiquantitative FDG analysis add information to the prognosis in patients with stage II/III breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant treatment?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evangelista, Laura; Cervino, Anna Rita [Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Unit, Padua (Italy); Ghiotto, Cristina; Guarneri, Valentina; Conte, Pierfranco [Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Medical Oncology 2 Unit, Padua (Italy); Saibene, Tania; Michieletto, Silvia; Fernando, Bozza [Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Breast Unit, Padua (Italy); Orvieto, Enrico [University Hospital of Padua, Department of Pathology, Padua (Italy)

    2015-10-15

    We investigated whether maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and whole-body (WB) SUVmax, WB MTV and WB TLG measured by {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT could improve prognostic stratification in patients with stage II/III breast cancer (BC). We prospectively enrolled 99 consecutive women (median age 50 years, range 27 - 77 years) with pathologically proven stage II/III BC who underwent pretreatment FDG PET/CT. WB SUVmax, WB MTV and WB TLG were measured in all malignant lesions. Survival was analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to test for relationships among WB SUVmax, WB MTV, WB TLG, and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), after adjustment for age, and histopathological and immunohistochemical features (oestrogen/progesterone and HER2 expression, proliferation index and grade). The median values of WB SUVmax, WB MTV and WB TLG were 16.2 (range 1.5 - 33.1), 14 cm{sup 3} (range 0.03 - 708.6 cm{sup 3}) and 62.5 (0.06 - 3869.4), respectively. All WB semiquantitative values were higher in patients with higher TNM stage, although not significantly (all p > 0.05). The median follow-up for surviving patients was 30 months, with a range of 13 - 45 months. Both PFS and OS of patients with low WB SUVmax, WB MTV and WB TLG were longer than that of patients with high WB values for progression, although not statistically significant. However, stratifying the patients in accordance with the stage of disease, both PFS and OS were significantly lower in patients with high WB TLG and stage III than in patients with stage II (p < 0.05). In multivariate analyses, WB MTV and WB TLG were independent prognostic factors for PFS (hazard ratio 1.004, 95 % confidence interval 1.002 - 1.006, p < 0.001, and hazard ratio 1.001, 95 % confidence interval 1.000 - 1.001, p = 0.011, respectively). The addition of WB TLG to clinical data may provide a more detailed

  3. Comprehensive strain and band gap analysis of PA-MBE grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on sapphire with ultra thin buffer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahata, Mihir Kumar; Ghosh, Saptarsi; Jana, Sanjay Kumar; Bag, Ankush; Kumar, Rahul; Chakraborty, Apurba; Biswas, Dhrubes; Mukhopadhyay, Partha

    2014-01-01

    In this work, cluster tool (CT) Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy (PA-MBE) grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructure on c-plane (0 0 0 1) sapphire (Al 2 O 3 ) were investigated by High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD), Room Temperature Raman Spectroscopy (RTRS), and Room Temperature Photoluminescence (RTPL). The effects of strain and doping on GaN and AlGaN layers were investigated thoroughly. The out-of-plane (‘c’) and in-plane (‘a’) lattice parameters were measured from RTRS analysis and as well as reciprocal space mapping (RSM) from HRXRD scan of (002) and (105) plane. The in-plane (out-of plane) strain of the samples were found to be −2.5 × 10 −3 (1 × 10 −3 ), and −1.7 × 10 −3 (2 × 10 −3 ) in GaN layer and 5.1 × 10 −3 (−3.3 × 10 −3 ), and 8.8 × 10 −3 (−1.3 × 10 −3 ) in AlGaN layer, respectively. In addition, the band structures of AlGaN/GaN interface were estimated by both theoretical (based on elastic theory) and experimental observations of the RTPL spectrum

  4. In vivo binding of [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC to somatostatin receptors in neuroendocrine tumours - impact of peptide mass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Velikyan, Irina [Department of Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry, BMC, Uppsala University, Box 599, SE-751 24 Uppsala (Sweden); Uppsala Applied Science Lab, GEMS PET Systems, GE Healthcare, SE-752 28 Uppsala (Sweden); Sundin, Anders [Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden); Eriksson, Barbro [Department of Endocrine Oncology, Uppsala University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala (Sweden); Lundqvist, Hans [Department of Oncology, Radiology and Clinical Immunology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala (Sweden); Soerensen, Jens [Department of Medicinal Sciences, Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Uppsala University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala (Sweden); Bergstroem, Mats [Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala (Sweden); Langstroem, Bengt [Department of Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry, BMC, Uppsala University, Box 599, SE-751 24 Uppsala (Sweden)], E-mail: langstrom@biorg.uu.se

    2010-04-15

    Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to explore the impact of peptide mass on binding of [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC to neuroendocrine tumour somatostatin receptors in vivo using a tracer of variable specific radioactivity (SRA) and to show the logistic feasibility of sequential PET scans in the same patient. Material and Methods: Nine patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours were included. Six of them underwent three sequential PET-CT examinations with intravenous injections of [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC proceeded by 0, 50 and 250 or 500 {mu}g of octreotide, administered 10 min before the tracer. Three patients were examined by dynamic and static PET/CT for pharmacokinetic and dosimetric calculations. The [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC synthesis included preconcentration and purification of the generator eluate and microwave heating in a semi-automated in-house procedure. Results: [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC synthesis and quality control were accomplished within 30 min and radiochemical purity was >95%. The tracer accumulation in the tumours varied and depended on the total amount of the administered peptide. In five of six patients, the highest tumour-to-normal tissue ratio was found when 50 {mu}g of octreotide was preadministered. One patient showed a continuously increasing tumour uptake. Dosimetrically, a large variation in organ doses was found (kidney: 0.086-0.168 mSv/MBq; liver: 0.026-0.096 mSv/MBq; spleen: 0.046-0.226 mSv/MBq). The effective dose (0.015, 0.0067 and 0.0042 mSv/MBq) was correlated to the total amount of decays. Discussion: Three sequential PET-CT examinations using {sup 68}Ga-based tracer was carried out in 1 day. The use of high SRA [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC and unlabelled octreotide indicates an optimal mass leading to better image contrast. [{sup 68}Ga]-DOTATOC-PET-CT employing variable SRA may be utilised for accurate quantification of tumour uptake with subsequent dosimetry for personalized therapy management.

  5. Simultaneous (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/MRI with gadoxetate disodium in patients with neuroendocrine tumor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hope, Thomas A; Pampaloni, Miguel Hernandez; Nakakura, Eric; VanBrocklin, Henry; Slater, James; Jivan, Salma; Aparici, Carina Mari; Yee, Judy; Bergsland, Emily

    2015-08-01

    To evaluate a simultaneous PET/MRI approach to imaging patients with neuroendocrine tumor using a combination of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC as a PET contrast agent and gadoxetate disodium as a hepatobiliary MRI contrast agent. Ten patients with neuroendocrine tumor with known or suspected hepatic disease were imaged using a (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT immediately followed by a 3.0T time-of-flight PET/MRI, using a combined whole body and liver specific imaging. The presence of lesions and DOTA-TOC avidity were assessed on CT, PET from PET/CT, diffusion weighted imaging, hepatobiliary phase imaging (HBP), and PET from PET/MRI. Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) in hepatic lesions and nodal metastases were compared between PET/CT and PET/MRI, as were detection rates using each imaging approach. A total of 101 hepatic lesions were identified, 47 of which were DOTA-TOC avid and able to be individually measured on both PET/CT and PET/MRI. HBP imaging had a higher sensitivity for detection of hepatic lesions compared to CT or PET (99% vs. 46% and 64%, respectively; p values TOC and gadoxetate disodium was successful in whole body staging of patients with neuroendocrine tumor. HBP imaging had an increased detection rate for hepatic metastases.

  6. Simultaneous 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: initial results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beiderwellen, Karsten J; Poeppel, Thorsten D; Hartung-Knemeyer, Verena; Buchbender, Christian; Kuehl, Hilmar; Bockisch, Andreas; Lauenstein, Thomas C

    2013-05-01

    The aim of this pilot study was to demonstrate the potential of simultaneously acquired 68-Gallium-DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (68Ga-DOTATOC) positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in comparison with 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with known gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Eight patients (4 women and 4 men; mean [SD] age, 54 [17] years; median, 55 years; range 25-74 years) with histopathologically confirmed NET and scheduled 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT were prospectively enrolled for an additional integrated PET/MRI scan. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed using a triple-phase contrast-enhanced full-dose protocol. Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging encompassed a diagnostic, contrast-enhanced whole-body MRI protocol. Two readers separately analyzed the PET/CT and PET/MRI data sets including their subscans in random order regarding lesion localization, count, and characterization on a 4-point ordinal scale (0, not visible; 1, benign; 2, indeterminate; and 3, malignant). In addition, each lesion was rated in consensus on a binary scale (allowing for benign/malignant only). Clinical imaging, existing prior examinations, and histopathology (if available) served as the standard of reference. In PET-positive lesions, the standardized uptake value (SUV max) was measured in consensus. A descriptive, case-oriented data analysis was performed, including determination of frequencies and percentages in detection of malignant, benign, and indeterminate lesions in connection to their localization. In addition, percentages in detection by a singular modality (such as PET, CT, or MRI) were calculated. Interobserver variability was calculated (Cohen's κ). The SUVs in the lesions in PET/CT and PET/MRI were measured, and the correlation coefficient (Pearson, 2-tailed) was calculated. According to the reference standard, 5 of the 8 patients had malignant NET lesions at

  7. Inhibition of gap junctional Intercellular communication in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells by triphenyltin chloride through MAPK and PI3-kinase pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsai Ming-Che

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Organotin compounds (OTCs have been widely used as stabilizers in the production of plastic, agricultural pesticides, antifoulant plaints and wood preservation. The toxicity of triphenyltin (TPT compounds was known for their embryotoxic, neurotoxic, genotoxic and immunotoxic effects in mammals. The carcinogenicity of TPT was not well understood and few studies had discussed the effects of OTCs on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC of cells. Method In the present study, the effects of triphenyltin chloride (TPTC on GJIC in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells were evaluated, using the scrape-loading dye transfer technique. Results TPTC inhibited GJIC after a 30-min exposure in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Pre-incubation of cells with the protein kinase C (PKC inhibitor did not modify the response, but the specific MEK 1 inhibitor PD98059 and PI3K inhibitor LY294002 decreased substantially the inhibition of GJIC by TPTC. After WB-F344 cells were exposed to TPTC, phosphorylation of Cx43 increased as seen in Western blot analysis. Conclusions These results show that TPTC inhibits GJIC in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells by altering the Cx43 protein expression through both MAPK and PI3-kinase pathways.

  8. Preclinical Assessment of a 68Ga-DOTA-Functionalized Depsipeptide as a Radiodiagnostic Infection Imaging Agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebenhan, Thomas; Mokaleng, Botshelo Brenda; Venter, Jacobus Daniel; Kruger, Hendrik Gert; Zeevaart, Jan Rijn; Sathekge, Mike

    2017-08-24

    The study assessed a radiolabeled depsipeptide conjugate ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TBIA101) for its potential as an imaging agent targeting infection or infection-associated inflammation. 68 Ga-labeled DOTA-TBIA101 imaging was performed in (NZR1) healthy rabbits; (NZR2) rabbits bearing muscular sterile inflammation and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) infection; and (NZR3) rabbits infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) combined with a subcutaneous scruff infection of SA in the same animal. All animals were imaged using a PET/CT scanner at 5 and 60 min post injection. Images showed elevated accumulation of 68 Ga-DOTA-TBIA101 in the sterile muscular inflammation site (T/NT ratio = 2.6 ± 0.37 (5 min) and 2.8 ± 2.3 (60 min)) and muscles infected with MTB (T/NT ratio = 2.6 ± 0.35 (5 min) and 2.8 ± 0.16 (60 min)). The findings suggest that 68 Ga-DOTA-TBIA101-PET/CT may detect MTB-associated inflammation, although more foundational studies need to be performed to rationalize the diagnostic value of this technique.

  9. Production of a thermostable 1,3-1,4-β-glucanase mutant in Bacillus subtilis WB600 at a high fermentation capacity and its potential application in the brewing industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Chengtuo; Liu, Chunfeng; Li, Yongxian; Zheng, Feiyun; Wang, Jinjing; Li, Qi

    2018-02-01

    1,3-1,4-β-glucanase was an important biotechnological aid in the brewing industry. In a previous research, a Bacillus BglTO mutant (BglTO) with high tolerance towards high temperature and low-pH conditions was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. However, E. coli was not a suitable host for enzyme production in food industry. Therefore, the present work aimed to achieve the high-level expression of BglTO in Bacillus subtilis WB600 and to test its effect in Congress mashing. The β-glucanase mutant was successfully expressed in B. subtilis WB600 and favorable plasmid segregation and structural stability were observed. The maximal extracellular activity of β-glucanase in recombinant B. subtilis WB600 reached 4840.4UmL -1 after cultivation condition optimization, which was 1.94-fold higher than that before optimization. The fermentation capacity of recombinant B. subtilis reached 242.02UmL -1 h -1 , which was the highest among all reported β-glucanases. The addition of BglTO in Congress mashing significantly reduced the filtration time and viscosity of mash by 29.7% and 12.3%, respectively, which was superior to two commercial enzymes. These favorable properties indicated that B. subtilis WB600 was a suitable host for production of BglTO, which was promising for application in the brewing industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. THERANOSTICS: From Molecular Imaging Using Ga-68 Labeled Tracers and PET/CT to Personalized Radionuclide Therapy - The Bad Berka Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Richard P; Kulkarni, Harshad R

    2012-01-01

    The acronym THERANOSTICS epitomizes the inseparability of diagnosis and therapy, the pillars of medicine and takes into account personalized management of disease for a specific patient. Molecular phenotypes of neoplasms can be determined by molecular imaging with specific probes using positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or optical methods, so that the treatment is specifically targeted against the tumor and its environment. To meet these demands, we need to define the targets, ligands, coupling and labeling chemistry, the most appropriate radionuclides, biodistribution modifiers, and finally select the right patients for the personalized treatment. THERANOSTICS of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) using Ga-68 labeled tracers for diagnostics with positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT), and using Lu-177 or other metallic radionuclides for radionuclide therapy by applying the same peptide proves that personalized radionuclide therapy today is already a fact and not a fiction.

  11. Comparison of (68)Ga-DOTA-Tyr(3)-octreotide and (18)F-fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine positron emission tomography in neuroendocrine tumor patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putzer, D; Gabriel, M; Kendler, D; Henninger, B; Knoflach, M; Kroiss, A; Vonguggenberg, E; Warwitz, B; Virgolini, I J

    2010-02-01

    (68)Ga-DOTA-Tyr3-octreotide positron emission tomography ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET) and (18)F-fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine PET ((18)F-DOPA PET) are emerging modalities for imaging of neuroendocrine tumors. This study reports our initial experiences with these two PET modalities on initial diagnosis, staging and restaging in NET patients. Fifteen patients with NET underwent both (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-DOPA PET as well as computed tomography (CT). Image findings were compared on a patient-basis (pathological uptake: yes/no) as well as on a lesion-basis. Contrast-enhanced CT and histological follow-up served as gold standard. Furthermore, imaging results were matched with tumor marker levels and quantitative tracer uptake by the tumor lesions. When comparing (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-DOPA PET, each modality showed a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 100% on a patient-based analysis. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and (18)F-DOPA PET showed equal findings in 7 out of 15 patients and disagreement in 8 patients. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC revealed more metastases than (18)F-DOPA PET in 6 patients, while (18)F-DOPA PET detected more metastases than (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC in 4 patients. By (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET, 208 malignant lesions were detected, while by (18)F-DOPA only 86 lesions were found, and in CT 124, respectively. (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-DOPA PET are useful tools in the detection and staging of NET lesions. Our initial results allow the conclusion that (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET may have a stronger clinical impact in NET patients, as it does not only offer diagnostic information, but is decisive for the further treatment management, i. e. PRRT, as well.

  12. Risk-stratifying capacity of PET/CT metabolic tumor volume in stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finkle, Joshua H.; Jo, Stephanie Y.; Yuan, Cindy; Pu, Yonglin [University of Chicago, Department of Radiology, Chicago, IL (United States); Ferguson, Mark K. [University of Chicago, Department of Surgery, Chicago, IL (United States); Liu, Hai-Yan [First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi (China); Zhang, Chenpeng [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, RenJi Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Zhu, Xuee [Nanjing Medical University, Department of Radiology, BenQ Medical Center, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (China)

    2017-08-15

    Stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is heterogeneous in tumor burden, and its treatment is variable. Whole-body metabolic tumor volume (MTV{sub WB}) has been shown to be an independent prognostic index for overall survival (OS). However, the potential of MTV{sub WB} to risk-stratify stage IIIA NSCLC has previously been unknown. If we can identify subgroups within the stage exhibiting significant OS differences using MTV{sub WB}, MTV{sub WB} may lead to adjustments in patients' risk profile evaluations and may, therefore, influence clinical decision making regarding treatment. We estimated the risk-stratifying capacity of MTV{sub WB} in stage IIIA by comparing OS of stratified stage IIIA with stage IIB and IIIB NSCLC. We performed a retrospective review of 330 patients with clinical stage IIB, IIIA, and IIIB NSCLC diagnosed between 2004 and 2014. The patients' clinical TNM stage, initial MTV{sub WB}, and long-term survival data were collected. Patients with TNM stage IIIA disease were stratified by MTV{sub WB}. The optimal MTV{sub WB} cutoff value for stage IIIA patients was calculated using sequential log-rank tests. Univariate and multivariate cox regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier OS analysis with log-rank tests were performed. The optimal MTV{sub WB} cut-point was 29.2 mL for the risk-stratification of stage IIIA. We identified statistically significant differences in OS between stage IIB and IIIA patients (p < 0.01), between IIIA and IIIB patients (p < 0.01), and between the stage IIIA patients with low MTV{sub WB} (below 29.2 mL) and the stage IIIA patients with high MTV{sub WB} (above 29.2 mL) (p < 0.01). There was no OS difference between the low MTV{sub WB} stage IIIA and the cohort of stage IIB patients (p = 0.485), or between the high MTV{sub WB} stage IIIA patients and the cohort of stage IIIB patients (p = 0.459). Similar risk-stratification capacity of MTV{sub WB} was observed in a large range of cutoff values from 15 to 55 mL in

  13. Comprehensive strain and band gap analysis of PA-MBE grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on sapphire with ultra thin buffer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahata, Mihir Kumar; Ghosh, Saptarsi; Jana, Sanjay Kumar; Bag, Ankush; Kumar, Rahul [Advanced Technology Development Center, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721302 (India); Chakraborty, Apurba; Biswas, Dhrubes [Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721302 (India); Mukhopadhyay, Partha [Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721302 (India)

    2014-11-15

    In this work, cluster tool (CT) Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy (PA-MBE) grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructure on c-plane (0 0 0 1) sapphire (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) were investigated by High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD), Room Temperature Raman Spectroscopy (RTRS), and Room Temperature Photoluminescence (RTPL). The effects of strain and doping on GaN and AlGaN layers were investigated thoroughly. The out-of-plane (‘c’) and in-plane (‘a’) lattice parameters were measured from RTRS analysis and as well as reciprocal space mapping (RSM) from HRXRD scan of (002) and (105) plane. The in-plane (out-of plane) strain of the samples were found to be −2.5 × 10{sup −3}(1 × 10{sup −3}), and −1.7 × 10{sup −3}(2 × 10{sup −3}) in GaN layer and 5.1 × 10{sup −3} (−3.3 × 10{sup −3}), and 8.8 × 10{sup −3}(−1.3 × 10{sup −3}) in AlGaN layer, respectively. In addition, the band structures of AlGaN/GaN interface were estimated by both theoretical (based on elastic theory) and experimental observations of the RTPL spectrum.

  14. Microstructure, Wear Behavior and Corrosion Resistance of WC-FeCrAl and WC-WB-Co Coatings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janette Brezinová

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on investigating the quality of two grades of thermally sprayed coatings deposited by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF technology. One grade contains WC hard particles in an environmentally progressive Ni- and Co-free FeCrAl matrix, while the second coating contains WC and WB hard particles in a cobalt matrix. The aim of the experimental work was to determine the effect of thermal cyclic loading on the coatings’ resistance to adhesive, abrasive and erosive wear. Abrasive wear was evaluated using abrasive cloth of two grit sizes, and erosive wear was evaluated by a dry-pot wear test in a pin mill at two sample angles. Adhesion wear resistance of the coatings was determined by a sliding wear test under dry friction conditions and in a 1 mol water solution of NaCl. Corrosion resistance of the coatings was evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization tests. Metallographic cross-sections were used for measurement of the microhardness and thickness and for line energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX analysis. The tests proved the excellent resistance of both coatings against adhesive, abrasive, and erosive wear, as well as the ability of the WC-WB-Co coating to withstand alternating temperatures of up to 600 °C. The “green carbide” coating (WC-FeCrAl can be recommended as an environmentally friendly replacement for Ni- and Co-containing coatings, but its operating temperature is strictly limited to 500 °C in air.

  15. Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into Wb in pp collisions at √(s) = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aad, G. [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Univ. et CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Abbott, B. [Oklahoma Univ., Norman, OK (United States). Homer L. Dodge Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Abdallah, J. [Academia Sinica, Taipei (China). Inst. of Physics; Collaboration: ATLAS Collaboration; and others

    2016-08-15

    A search for singly produced vector-like Q quarks, where Q can be either a T quark with charge +2/3 or a Y quark with charge -4/3, is performed in proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb{sup -1} and was produced with a centre-of-mass energy of √(s) = 8 TeV. This analysis targets Q → Wb decays where the W boson decays leptonically. A veto on massive largeradius jets is used to reject the dominant t anti t background. The reconstructed Q-candidate mass, ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 TeV, is used in the search to discriminate signal from background processes. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed, and limits are set on the Q → Wb cross-section times branching ratio. The results are also interpreted as limits on the QWb coupling and the mixing with the Standard Model sector for a singlet T quark or a Y quark from a doublet. T quarks with masses below 0.95 TeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level, assuming a unit coupling and a BR(T → Wb) = 0.5, whereas the expected limit is 1.10 TeV. (orig.)

  16. Preclinical evaluation of two 68Ga-siderophores as potential radiopharmaceuticals for Aspergillus fumigatus infection imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrik, Milos; Franssen, Gerben M.; Laverman, Peter; Haas, Hubertus; Schrettl, Markus; Hoertnagl, Caroline; Lass-Floerl, Cornelia; Helbok, Anna; Decristoforo, Clemens

    2012-01-01

    Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is mainly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, and is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The mortality associated with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis remains high, mainly due to the difficulties and limitations in diagnosis. We have shown that siderophores can be labelled with 68 Ga and can be used for PET imaging of A. fumigatus infection in rats. Here we report on the further evaluation of the most promising 68 Ga-siderophore candidates, triacetylfusarinine (TAFC) and ferrioxamine E (FOXE). Siderophores were labelled with 68 Ga using acetate buffer. Log P, protein binding and stability values were determined. Uptake by A. fumigatus was studied in vitro in cultures with high and low iron loads. In vivo biodistribution was determined in normal mice and an infection model was established using neutropenic rats inoculated with A. fumigatus. Static and dynamic μPET imaging was performed and correlated with CT images, and lung infection was evaluated ex vivo. 68 Ga-siderophores were labelled with high radiochemical purity and specific activity. 68 Ga-TAFC and 68 Ga-FOXE showed high uptake by A. fumigatus in iron-deficient cultures. In normal mice, 68 Ga-TAFC and 68 Ga-FOXE showed rapid renal excretion with high metabolic stability. In the rat infection model focal lung uptake was detected by μPET with both compounds and increased with severity of the infection, correlating with abnormal CT images. 68 Ga-TAFC and 68 Ga-FOXE displayed excellent in vitro stability and high uptake by A. fumigatus. Both compounds showed excellent pharmacokinetics, highly selective accumulation in infected lung tissue and good correlation with severity of disease in a rat infection model, which makes them promising agents for A. fumigatus infection imaging. (orig.)

  17. In vitro fermentation pattern and acidification potential of different sources of carbohydrates for ruminants given high concentrate diets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amanzougarene, Z.; Yuste, S.; Vega, A. De; Fondevila, M.

    2017-07-01

    The in vitro fermentation pattern of five sources of carbohydrates of differing nature (maize grain, MZ; sucrose, SU; wheat bran, WB; sugarbeet pulp, BP; and citrus pulp, CT) under conditions of high concentrate diets for ruminants was studied. A first 8 h incubation trial was performed under optimal pH using inoculum from ewes given a fibrous diet, to compare fermentative characteristics of substrates. As planned, incubation pH ranged within 6.3 to 6.6. The gas produced from CT was higher than MZ, SU and BP from 4 and 6 h onwards, and at 8 h, respectively (p<0.05). There were no differences (p>0.05) on total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, nor on acetate or propionate proportions, but butyrate was lowest (p<0.05) with CT and BP. The second incubation trial was performed in a poorly-buffered medium, with inoculum from ewes given a concentrate diet. All substrates showed a gradual drop of pH, being lowest with SU after 4 h (p<0.05). Throughout the incubation, gas production was highest with CT and lowest with MZ and BP (p<0.05). Total 8 h VFA concentration was higher with CT than BP, SU and MZ (p<0.05). Acetate proportion was higher, and that of propionate lower, with BP than WB (p<0.05), butyrate proportion being higher with MZ and WB than with BP and CT (p<0.05). Lactic acid concentration was higher (p<0.05) with SU than WB and BP. Fermentation characteristics and acidification potential of feeds depend on the nature of their carbohydrate fraction, and must be considered for practical applications.

  18. THERANOSTICS: From Molecular Imaging Using Ga-68 Labeled Tracers and PET/CT to Personalized Radionuclide Therapy - The Bad Berka Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard P. Baum, Harshad R. Kulkarni

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The acronym THERANOSTICS epitomizes the inseparability of diagnosis and therapy, the pillars of medicine and takes into account personalized management of disease for a specific patient. Molecular phenotypes of neoplasms can be determined by molecular imaging with specific probes using positron emission tomography (PET, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, or optical methods, so that the treatment is specifically targeted against the tumor and its environment. To meet these demands, we need to define the targets, ligands, coupling and labeling chemistry, the most appropriate radionuclides, biodistribution modifiers, and finally select the right patients for the personalized treatment. THERANOSTICS of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs using Ga-68 labeled tracers for diagnostics with positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT, and using Lu-177 or other metallic radionuclides for radionuclide therapy by applying the same peptide proves that personalized radionuclide therapy today is already a fact and not a fiction.

  19. Neuroendocrine tumor imaging with 68Ga-DOTA-NOC: physiologic and benign variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kagna, Olga; Pirmisashvili, Natalia; Tshori, Sagi; Freedman, Nanette; Israel, Ora; Krausz, Yodphat

    2014-12-01

    Imaging with (68)Ga-labeled 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-octreotide analogs has become an important modality in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). In addition to high uptake in NET lesions, prominent physiologic radiotracer activity has been reported in the pituitary gland, pancreas, adrenal glands, liver, and spleen, and faint activity has been reported in the thyroid and gastrointestinal tract. This article describes previously unknown sites of 68Ga-DOTA-1-NaI3-octreotide (NOC) uptake unrelated to NETs. One hundred eighty-two patients (96 female and 86 male patients; age range, 4-89 years) with documented (n=156) or suspected (n=26) NETs underwent 207 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT studies. Studies were retrospectively reviewed for the presence, intensity, and localization of foci of increased uptake that were further correlated with findings on additional imaging studies and clinical follow-up for a period of 4-32 months. Uptake of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC not identified as NET or known physiologic activity was detected in 297 sites with confirmation in 149 of 207 studies (72%). The most common location of non-NET-related 68Ga-DOTA-NOC-avid sites was in small lymph nodes, followed by prostate, uterus, breasts, lungs, brown fat, musculoskeletal system, and other sites, including oropharynx, pineal body, thymus, aortic plaque, genitalia, surgical bed, and subcutaneous granuloma. Intensity of uptake in non-NET-related 68Ga-DOTA-NOC-avid sites ranged in maximum standardized uptake value from 0.8 to 10.5. Previously unreported benign sites of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC uptake were found in the majority of studies, suggesting the presence of somatostatin receptors in physiologic variants or processes with no evidence of tumor. Knowledge of increased tracer uptake in non-NET-related sites is important for accurate interpretation and for avoiding potential pitfalls of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT.

  20. Comparison of CT number calibration techniques for CBCT-based dose calculation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunlop, Alex [The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research, London (United Kingdom); The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, Downs Road (United Kingdom); McQuaid, Dualta; Nill, Simeon; Hansen, Vibeke N.; Oelfke, Uwe [The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research, London (United Kingdom); Murray, Julia; Bhide, Shreerang; Harrington, Kevin [The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, Downs Road (United Kingdom); The Institute of Cancer Research, London (United Kingdom); Poludniowski, Gavin [Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Medical Physics, Stockholm (Sweden); Nutting, Christopher [The Institute of Cancer Research, London (United Kingdom); Newbold, Kate [The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, Downs Road (United Kingdom)

    2015-12-15

    The aim of this work was to compare and validate various computed tomography (CT) number calibration techniques with respect to cone beam CT (CBCT) dose calculation accuracy. CBCT dose calculation accuracy was assessed for pelvic, lung, and head and neck (H and N) treatment sites for two approaches: (1) physics-based scatter correction methods (CBCT{sub r}); (2) density override approaches including assigning water density to the entire CBCT (W), assignment of either water or bone density (WB), and assignment of either water or lung density (WL). Methods for CBCT density assignment within a commercially available treatment planning system (RS{sub auto}), where CBCT voxels are binned into six density levels, were assessed and validated. Dose-difference maps and dose-volume statistics were used to compare the CBCT dose distributions with the ground truth of a planning CT acquired the same day as the CBCT. For pelvic cases, all CTN calibration methods resulted in average dose-volume deviations below 1.5 %. RS{sub auto} provided larger than average errors for pelvic treatments for patients with large amounts of adipose tissue. For H and N cases, all CTN calibration methods resulted in average dose-volume differences below 1.0 % with CBCT{sub r} (0.5 %) and RS{sub auto} (0.6 %) performing best. For lung cases, WL and RS{sub auto} methods generated dose distributions most similar to the ground truth. The RS{sub auto} density override approach is an attractive option for CTN adjustments for a variety of anatomical sites. RS{sub auto} methods were validated, resulting in dose calculations that were consistent with those calculated on diagnostic-quality CT images, for CBCT images acquired of the lung, for patients receiving pelvic RT in cases without excess adipose tissue, and for H and N cases. (orig.) [German] Ziel dieser Arbeit ist der Vergleich und die Validierung mehrerer CT-Kalibrierungsmethoden zur Dosisberechnung auf der Grundlage von Kegelstrahlcomputertomographie

  1. Development of methods for the purification of 67Ga and 68Ga for biomolecules labeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Renata Ferreira

    2012-01-01

    For more than fifty years, the long-lived 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generators have been in development, obtaining 68 Ga without the need of having in house cyclotron, which is a considerable convenience for PET centers that have no nearby cyclotrons. 68 Ga decays 89% by positron emission and low photon emission (1077 keV) and the physical half life of 67.7 minutes is compatible with the pharmacokinetics of low biomolecular weight substances like peptides and antibody fragments. Moreover, its established metallic chemistry allows it to be stably bound to the carrier peptide sequence via a suitable bifunctional chelator, such as DOTA. All these reasons together with the technology of PET/CT allowed advances in molecular imaging, in particular in the diagnosis of neuroendocrine diseases. However, the eluate from the commercial 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generators still contains high levels of long lived 68 Ge, besides other metallic impurities, which competes with 68 Ga with a consequent reduction of the labeling yield of biomolecules, such as Fe 3+ and Zn 2+ . Thus, the lower the amount of impurities in the eluate, the competition between the radiolabeled and unlabeled peptide by the receptor will be smaller and the quality of imaging will be better, a subsequent purification step is needed after the generator elution. The aim of this work is to evaluate different purifications methods of 68 Ga to label biomolecules, with emphasis on the study of the chemical impurities contained in the eluate and to develop a new purification method. Several purification methods were studied. Many cationic resin were tested simulating the commercial process. 68 Ga is adsorbed in cationic resin, which is not commercial available and eluted in acid/acetone solution. The use of minor particles of cationic resin AG50W-X4 (200-400 mesh) showed the best results. An innovate method was the extraction chromatography, which is based on the absorption of diisopropyl ether in XAD 16 and 68 Ga recovery in deionized

  2. Improved InGaN/GaN quantum wells on treated GaN template with a Ga-rich GaN interlayer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Zhilai; Shen, Xiyang; Wu, Zhengyuan; Zhang, Tong-Yi

    2015-01-01

    Treated GaN template was achieved by in situ droplet epitaxy of a Ga-rich GaN interlayer on the conventional GaN template. InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) were grown on the conventional and treated GaN templates under the same growth conditions and then comprehensively characterized. The indium homogeneity in the InGaN layers and the interface sharpness between InGaN and GaN layers of the InGaN/GaN QWs on the treated GaN template were significantly improved. The emission intensity from the InGaN/GaN QWs on the treated GaN template was enhanced by 20% than that on the conventional GaN template, which was attributed to the strain reduction and the improvement in crystalline quality. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  3. Development of new folate-based PET radiotracers: preclinical evaluation of 68Ga-DOTA-folate conjugates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fani, Melpomeni; Maecke, Helmut R.; Wang, Xuejuan; Nicolas, Guillaume; Medina, Christelle; Raynal, Isabelle; Port, Marc

    2011-01-01

    A number of 111 In- and 99m Tc-folate-based tracers have been evaluated as diagnostic agents for imaging folate receptor (FR)-positive tumours. A 68 Ga-folate-based radiopharmaceutical would be of great interest, combining the advantages of PET technology and the availability of 68 Ga from a generator. The aim of the study was to develop a new 68 Ga-folate-based PET radiotracer. Two new DOTA-folate conjugates, named P3026 and P1254, were synthesized using the 1,2-diaminoethane and 3-{2-[2-(3-amino-propoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-propylamine as a spacer, respectively. Both conjugates were labelled with 67/68 Ga. Binding affinity, internalization and externalization studies were performed using the FR-positive KB cell line. Biodistribution and PET/CT imaging studies were performed in nude mice, on a folate-deficient diet, bearing KB and HT1080 (FR-negative) tumours, concurrently. The new radiotracers were evaluated comparatively to the reference molecule 111 In-DTPA-folate ( 111 In-P3139). The K d values of 67/68 Ga-P3026 (4.65 ± 0.82 nM) and 67/68 Ga-P1254 (4.27 ± 0.42 nM) showed high affinity for the FR. The internalization rate followed the order 67/68 Ga-P3026 > 67/68 Ga-P1254 > 111 In-P3139, while almost double cellular retention was found for 67/68 Ga-P3026 and 67/68 Ga-P1254, compared to 111 In-P3139. The biodistribution data of 67/68 Ga-DOTA-folates showed high and receptor-mediated uptake on the FR-positive tumours and kidneys, with no significant differences compared to 111 In-P3139. PET/CT images, performed with 68 Ga-P3026, showed high uptake in the kidneys and clear visualization of the FR-positive tumours. The DOTA-folate conjugates can be efficiently labelled with 68 Ga in labelling yields and specific activities which allow clinical application. The characteristics of the 67/68 Ga-DOTA-folates are comparable to 111 In-DTPA-folate, which has already been used in clinical trials, showing that the new conjugates are promising candidates as PET radiotracers

  4. Unusual uptake of prostate specific tracer {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC in a benign thyroid nodule

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tripathi, Madhavi; Chakraborty, Partha Sarathi; Sahoo, Manas Kumar; Bal, Chandrasekhar; Aggarwal, Shipra; Arora, Geetanjali; Kumar, Praveen; Kumar, Rajeev; Gupta, Ravikant [A.I.I.M.S, New Delhi (India)

    2016-12-15

    {sup 68}Ga-Prostate specific membrane antigen- N,N′-bis[2-hydroxy-5-(carboxyethyl)benzyl]ethylenediamine-N,N′-diacetic acid- positron emission tomography/computed tomography or 68 Ga- HBED-CC-PSMA PET/CT, popularly known as PSMA PET/CT, is able to detect a small volume of recurrent prostate carcinoma (PC) when there is a prostate specific antigen (PSA) rise on follow-up after prostatectomy or other definitive treatment for PC. The use of PSMA PET/CT in the initial staging in PC is uncertain at this time. Clinical studies are underway to define its exact role in the management of the disease. At the same time it is important to be aware of unexpected sites of uptake of this ligand. We present here the case of a 62-year-old male patient who underwent prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma prostate. He also had a long-standing left solitary thyroid nodule (STN). Four months after surgery, he had a rising trend in serum PSA levels on three occasions, but the absolute value was less than 4 at all times. He underwent a {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT, but it did not reveal any recurrent/metastatic site of disease. However, there was increased tracer uptake in the left STN. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed features of atypia of undetermined significance, Bethesda category III. The patient underwent a left hemithyroidectomy and the histopathology showed features of a follicular adenoma.

  5. The impact of different imaging modalities of 67Ga scintigraphy on the image quality and the ability in detection of lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Xiuqin; Li Wenchan; Zhang Jianfei; Yao Zhiming

    2009-01-01

    Objective: 67 Ga scintigraphy is an important method in detection of active sarcoidosis. The aim of this research was to study the influence of planar and tomography. with and without CT attenuation correction (AC and NAC), on 67 Ga images on the image quality and the ability in detection of lesions. Methods: Thirty one patients (13 male, 18 female, age range: 33-87 years)with sarcoidosis underwent 67 Ga planar and tomographic scans. AC and NAC.The imaging quality and the ability in detection of hyper-radioactive lymph nodes in lung hilar and mediastinal(1esion) among the planar, AC and NAC images were compared. The paired t-test and χ 2 -test were used for data analysis with SPSS 10.0 software. Results: From planar, NAC to AC, the image quality was better and better in proper order (χ 2 = 25.88, P 67 Ga tomographic scintigraphy can impmve the ability in detection of hyperradioactive lung hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes compared with planar image does. CT AC for 67 Ga tomography can improve the tomographic imaging quality. (authors)

  6. Receptor PET/CT for determining the somatostatin receptor status of neuroendocrine tumors before and after peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT): Clinical experience after 1,500 studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baum, R.P.; Prasad, V.; Leonhardi, J.; Kroeger, R.; Wortmann, R.; Mueller, D.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: The octapeptide [DOTA]-1-Nal3-octreotide (DOTA-NOC) has 3 to 4 times higher binding affinity to sstr2 than DOTATOC (Wild 2003). We labeled this peptide with the Ga-68 (t1/2 68 min) and used it in pts with metastatic NET before/after PRRT for evaluating the sstr status by semiquantitative PET/CT imaging. Methods: Ga-68 was eluted from a Ge-68/Ga-68 generator using 0.1 M HCl. Following purifications, Ga-68 was eluted into a labeling vial containing 0.05 mg DOTA-NOC. Radiolabeling yields of >80% were achieved within 15 min at >95C. After purification (C18 cartridge) and a final elution, 370-700 MBq of Ga-68 DOTA-NOC were obtained with 100% radiochemical purity within 20 min (about 70% yield). Results: 1,500 PET/CT studies were performed in pts with histologically proven NET and progressive metastases before and after PRRT. Acquisition was started 20-270 min after injection of a mean of 100 MBq (46-260 MBq) Ga-68 DOTA-NOC using an LSO-based PET/CT (biograph DUO, Siemens). SUV were determined for all tumor lesions and normal tissues. SUV in metastases was as high as 152 whereas normal tissue was in the range of 0.4 (lung) to 33 (spleen). Outstanding PET/CT images of all known tumor lesions and in addition very small lymph node and bone metastases (<5 mm) were easily visualized as early as 20 min p.i. Clearly more lesions were detected as compared to Tc-99m EDDA-HYNIC-TOC or In-111 DOTA-NOC SPECT or as seen on CT or MRI images (especially regarding lymph node metastases, bone lesions and unknown primaries). Conclusions: Molecular receptor PET/CT imaging using the Ga-68-labeled somatostatin analogue DOTA-NOC detects neuroendocrine tumor metastases with very high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Semiquantitative uptake measurements (SUV) allow predicting the tumor uptake of Y-90 or Lu-177- labeled peptides before PRRT and are highly useful for therapy control to determine the 'molecular tumor response' which can precede the morphologic responses by months

  7. Comparison of CT number calibration techniques for CBCT-based dose calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunlop, Alex; McQuaid, Dualta; Nill, Simeon; Hansen, Vibeke N.; Oelfke, Uwe; Murray, Julia; Bhide, Shreerang; Harrington, Kevin; Poludniowski, Gavin; Nutting, Christopher; Newbold, Kate

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this work was to compare and validate various computed tomography (CT) number calibration techniques with respect to cone beam CT (CBCT) dose calculation accuracy. CBCT dose calculation accuracy was assessed for pelvic, lung, and head and neck (H and N) treatment sites for two approaches: (1) physics-based scatter correction methods (CBCT r ); (2) density override approaches including assigning water density to the entire CBCT (W), assignment of either water or bone density (WB), and assignment of either water or lung density (WL). Methods for CBCT density assignment within a commercially available treatment planning system (RS auto ), where CBCT voxels are binned into six density levels, were assessed and validated. Dose-difference maps and dose-volume statistics were used to compare the CBCT dose distributions with the ground truth of a planning CT acquired the same day as the CBCT. For pelvic cases, all CTN calibration methods resulted in average dose-volume deviations below 1.5 %. RS auto provided larger than average errors for pelvic treatments for patients with large amounts of adipose tissue. For H and N cases, all CTN calibration methods resulted in average dose-volume differences below 1.0 % with CBCT r (0.5 %) and RS auto (0.6 %) performing best. For lung cases, WL and RS auto methods generated dose distributions most similar to the ground truth. The RS auto density override approach is an attractive option for CTN adjustments for a variety of anatomical sites. RS auto methods were validated, resulting in dose calculations that were consistent with those calculated on diagnostic-quality CT images, for CBCT images acquired of the lung, for patients receiving pelvic RT in cases without excess adipose tissue, and for H and N cases. (orig.) [de

  8. 18F-FDG PET is superior to 67Ga SPECT in the staging of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Fumiyasu; Tsukamoto, Eriko; Nakada, Kunihiro; Takei, Toshiki; Zhao, Songji; Asaka, Masahiro; Tamaki, Nagara

    2004-01-01

    Our study aims to compare diagnostic accuracy between 18 F-FDG PET and 67 Ga SPECT in the staging of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Twenty-eight patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, underwent 18 F-FDG PET, 67 Ga SPECT and CT for the pretreatment staging of malignant lymphoma between August 1999 and March 2002. 18 F-FDG PET imaging was obtained 60 minutes after the intravenous administration of 185 MBq of 18 F-FDG. 67 Ga SPECT imaging was obtained 2 days after the intravenous administration of 148 MBq of 67 Ga. 18 F-FDG PET and 67 Ga SPECT were performed within one month. Both imagings were performed on the area from the neck to the pelvis. The 18 F-FDG PET and 67 Ga SPECT findings were compared with the CT findings and the clinical course. Sixty-six nodal lesions were clinically confirmed. Of these, 32 were identified by both 18 F-FDG PET and 67 Ga SPECT. The remaining 34 lesions were identified only by 18 F-FDG PET. The mean (±SD) sizes of the nodes were 34.7±32.4 mm for 18 F-FDG-positive and 67 Ga-positive lesions and 15.7±8.3 mm for 18 F-FDG-positive and 67 Ga-negative lesions (p 18 F-FDG PET and 67 Ga SPECT, whereas 6 lesions were identified by only 18 F-FDG PET. Five lesions were not identified by either technique. No 18 F-FDG-negative but 67 Ga-positive nodal or extranodal lesions were observed. The difference in findings between the two studies is related to the difference in the size but not in the histology or site of the lesions. 18 F-FDG PET detected significantly more lesions particularly small lesions than 67 Ga SPECT. Thus, 18 F-FDG PET is considered to be superior to 67 Ga SPECT in the staging of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (author)

  9. Double tracer / double isotope gives Ga-68 dota-noc and F-18 FDG PET / CT. Protocol 1 day in a child with neuroblastoma to determine the clinical state and tumor metabolic state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliva Gonzalez, Juan P.; Baum, Richard P.

    2009-01-01

    We report on a 6-year-old carrier of a neuroblastoma. The tumor was diagnosed in March 2004, under the right adrenal gland and confirmed by FNAB, ultrasound, CT and tumor markers. Because of its size and extent of the tumor was inoperable at the time due to which was subject to two cycles of chemotherapy (vincristine, cisplatin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide alternating with vincristine, carboplatin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide). After these two cycles of chemotherapy the patient underwent retroperitoneal surgery getting totally dry right adrenal gland and tumor. After surgery the patient received four additional cycles of chemotherapy until March 2005. During the months of August and September 2005 the patient complained of abdominal pain and were suspected of recurrence. She received ultrasound and CT scan were not conclusive. In December 2005 he made a scan with I-131-MIBG (148 MBq, 4 mCi intravenous, is flat and SPECT imaging performed 24 hours to 6 days after injection) showing only the normal left adrenal gland but not recurrence was visualized, which showed that the tumor did not grasp MIBG. In January 2006 the boy (121 cm.'s Height, weight 21 kg) was referred to the Centre for PET / CT of the Bad Berka Central Clinic in Germany for a PET / CT using Ga-68/DOTA- receptor NOC, a high affinity analogue of somatostatin. The tumor marker NSE was determined in serum before the PET / CT whose outcome was high (24.8 ng / ml, cutoff 15). The patient received 46 MBq (1.24 mCi) of Ga-68 DOTA-NOC intravenous and PET / CT whole body was performed at 75 minutes post-injection. No abnormal uptake was observed which indicated that the appellants had no somatostatin receptors. By having this negative result was decided to perform an additional PET / CT with F-18 FDG (with a low dose of contrast to improve the TAC). After fasting for 6 hours, the patient received 151 MBq (4.1 mCi) of F-18 FDG. A PET / CT whole body was performed at 75 minutes after administration of

  10. Development of methods for the purification of {sup 67}Ga and {sup 68}Ga for biomolecules labeling; Desenvolvimento de metodos de purificacao do {sup 67}Ga e {sup 68}Ga para a marcacao de biomoleculas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, Renata Ferreira

    2012-07-01

    For more than fifty years, the long-lived {sup 68}Ge/{sup 68}Ga generators have been in development, obtaining {sup 68}Ga without the need of having in house cyclotron, which is a considerable convenience for PET centers that have no nearby cyclotrons. {sup 68}Ga decays 89% by positron emission and low photon emission (1077 keV) and the physical half life of 67.7 minutes is compatible with the pharmacokinetics of low biomolecular weight substances like peptides and antibody fragments. Moreover, its established metallic chemistry allows it to be stably bound to the carrier peptide sequence via a suitable bifunctional chelator, such as DOTA. All these reasons together with the technology of PET/CT allowed advances in molecular imaging, in particular in the diagnosis of neuroendocrine diseases. However, the eluate from the commercial {sup 68}Ge/{sup 68}Ga generators still contains high levels of long lived {sup 68}Ge, besides other metallic impurities, which competes with {sup 68}Ga with a consequent reduction of the labeling yield of biomolecules, such as Fe{sup 3+} and Zn{sup 2+}. Thus, the lower the amount of impurities in the eluate, the competition between the radiolabeled and unlabeled peptide by the receptor will be smaller and the quality of imaging will be better, a subsequent purification step is needed after the generator elution. The aim of this work is to evaluate different purifications methods of {sup 68}Ga to label biomolecules, with emphasis on the study of the chemical impurities contained in the eluate and to develop a new purification method. Several purification methods were studied. Many cationic resin were tested simulating the commercial process. {sup 68}Ga is adsorbed in cationic resin, which is not commercial available and eluted in acid/acetone solution. The use of minor particles of cationic resin AG50W-X4 (200-400 mesh) showed the best results. An innovate method was the extraction chromatography, which is based on the absorption of

  11. In Vivo Imaging of Experimental Melanoma Tumors using the Novel Radiotracer 68Ga-NODAGA-Procainamide (PCA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kertész, István; Vida, András; Nagy, Gábor; Emri, Miklós; Farkas, Antal; Kis, Adrienn; Angyal, János; Dénes, Noémi; Szabó, Judit P; Kovács, Tünde; Bai, Péter; Trencsényi, György

    2017-01-01

    The most aggressive form of skin cancer is the malignant melanoma. Because of its high metastatic potential the early detection of primary melanoma tumors and metastases using non-invasive PET imaging determines the outcome of the disease. Previous studies have already shown that benzamide derivatives, such as procainamide (PCA) specifically bind to melanin pigment. The aim of this study was to synthesize and investigate the melanin specificity of the novel 68 Ga-labeled NODAGA-PCA molecule in vitro and in vivo using PET techniques. Procainamide (PCA) was conjugated with NODAGA chelator and was labeled with Ga-68 ( 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA). The melanin specificity of 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA was tested in vitro , ex vivo and in vivo using melanotic B16-F10 and amelanotic Melur melanoma cell lines. By subcutaneous and intravenous injection of melanoma cells tumor-bearing mice were prepared, on which biodistribution studies and small animal PET/CT scans were performed for 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA and 18 FDG tracers. 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA was produced with high specific activity (14.9±3.9 GBq/µmol) and with excellent radiochemical purity (98%PCA uptake of B16-F10 cells was significantly ( p ≤0.01) higher than Melur cells. Ex vivo biodistribution and in vivo PET/CT studies using subcutaneous and metastatic tumor models showed significantly ( p ≤0.01) higher 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA uptake in B16-F10 primary tumors and lung metastases in comparison with amelanotic Melur tumors. In experiments where 18 FDG and 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA uptake of B16-F10 tumors was compared, we found that the tumor-to-muscle (T/M) and tumor-to-lung (T/L) ratios were significantly ( p ≤0.05 and p ≤0.01) higher using 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA than the 18 FDG accumulation. Our novel radiotracer 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA showed specific binding to the melanin producing experimental melanoma tumors. Therefore, 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA is a suitable diagnostic radiotracer for the detection of melanoma tumors and metastases in vivo .

  12. Improving the quality of Laminaria japonica-based diet for Apostichopus japonicus through degradation of its algin content with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens WB1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xitao; Wang, Lili; Che, Jian; Li, Zhen; Zhang, Jiancheng; Li, Xiaoyu; Hu, Weiqing; Xu, Yongping

    2015-07-01

    Laminaria japonica feedstuff is used as a substitute for Sargassum thunbergii in the small-scale culturing of Apostichopus japonicus (sea cucumber) because of its abundant sources and low price in China. However, the difficulty associated with the degradation of algin by A. japonicus and, hence, its utilization have limited the practical value of L. japonica feedstuff in sea cucumber farming. In this study, A. japonicus individuals were fed with L. japonica feedstuff pretreated, via fermentation with the algin-degrading bacterial strain, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens WB1, and their growth performance, nonspecific immune responses, and resistance against Vibrio infection were then determined over a 60-day period. Growth performance of these individuals was similar to those fed with a commercial feedstuff made from S. thunbergii (mean weight gain of 5.79 versus 5.69 g on day 60), but was significantly (P content had been degraded by B. amyloliquefaciens WB1 could improve the growth performance of A. japonicus as well its resistance to bacterial infection. It could therefore act as an alternative to S. thunbergii and is economical at the same time.

  13. On the effect of N-GaN/P-GaN/N-GaN/P-GaN/N-GaN built-in junctions in the n-GaN layer for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyaw, Zabu; Zhang, Zi-Hui; Liu, Wei; Tan, Swee Tiam; Ju, Zhen Gang; Zhang, Xue Liang; Ji, Yun; Hasanov, Namig; Zhu, Binbin; Lu, Shunpeng; Zhang, Yiping; Sun, Xiao Wei; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

    2014-01-13

    N-GaN/P-GaN/N-GaN/P-GaN/N-GaN (NPNPN-GaN) junctions embedded between the n-GaN region and multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are systematically studied both experimentally and theoretically to increase the performance of InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) in this work. In the proposed architecture, each thin P-GaN layer sandwiched in the NPNPN-GaN structure is completely depleted due to the built-in electric field in the NPNPN-GaN junctions, and the ionized acceptors in these P-GaN layers serve as the energy barriers for electrons from the n-GaN region, resulting in a reduced electron over flow and enhanced the current spreading horizontally in the n- GaN region. These lead to increased optical output power and external quantum efficiency (EQE) from the proposed device.

  14. Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. Strain Wb2n-11, a Desert Isolate with Broad-Spectrum Antagonism against Soilborne Phytopathogens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Köberl, Martina; White, Richard A.; Erschen, Sabine; El-Arabi, Tarek F.; Jansson, Janet K.; Berg, Gabriele

    2015-08-06

    Streptomyces sp. strain Wb2n-11, isolated from native desert soil, exhibited broad-spectrum antagonism against plant pathogenic fungi, bacteria and nematodes. The 8.2 Mb draft genome reveals genes putatively responsible for its promising biocontrol activity and genes which enable the soil bacterium to directly interact beneficially with plants.

  15. Evaluation of Tumor Viability for Primary and Bone Metastases in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Using Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiromichi Iwamura

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In contrast to bone scan and computed tomography (CT, which depend on osteoblastic response to detect bone metastasis, whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI may be able to directly detect viable tumors. A 75-year-old male who had progressive metastatic prostate cancer during primary androgen deprivation therapy was referred to our hospital. Although bone scan and CT showed multiple bone metastases, WB-MRI suggested nonviable bone metastasis and viable tumor of the primary lesion. Prostate needle biopsy demonstrated viable prostate cancer cells from 10 of 12 cores. In contrast, CT-guided needle biopsy from bone metastasis of the lumbar vertebra revealed no malignant cells. Based on these findings, we reasoned that viable tumor cells inducing disease progression may primarily exist in the primary lesions and not in the metastatic lesions, and combined prostate radiotherapy and systemic hormonal therapy resulted in successful clinical response and disease control. The use of WB-MRI to detect viable disease lesions may enable us to design optimal treatment strategies for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

  16. Comparison of qualitative and quantitative CT and MRI parameters for monitoring of longitudinal spine involvement in patients with multiple myeloma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horger, M; Fritz, J; Thaiss, W M; Ditt, H; Weisel, K; Haap, M; Kloth, Christopher

    2018-03-01

    To compare qualitative and quantitative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters for longitudinal disease monitoring of multiple myeloma (MM) of the axial skeleton. We included 31 consecutive patients (17 m; mean age 59.20 ± 8.08 years) with MM, who underwent all baseline (n = 31) and at least one or more (n = 47) follow-up examinations consisting of multi-parametric non-enhanced whole-body MRI ( WB MRI) and non-enhanced whole-body reduced-dose thin-section MDCT (NEWBMDCT) between 06/2013 and 09/2016. We classified response according to qualitative CT criteria into progression (PD), stable(SD), partial/very good partial (PR/VGPR) and complete response(CR), grouping the latter three together for statistical analysis because CT cannot reliably assess PR and CR. Qualitative MR-response criteria were defined and grouped similarly to CT using longitudinal quantification of signal-intensity changes on T1w/STIR/ T2*w and calculating ADC-values. Standard of reference was the hematological laboratory (M-gradient). Hematological response categories were CR (14/47, 29.7%), PR (2/47, 4.2%), SD (16/47, 34.0%) and PD (15/47, 29.9%). Qualitative-CT-evaluation showed PD in 12/47 (25.5%) and SD/PR/VGPR/CR in 35/47 (74.5%) cases. These results were confirmed by quantitative-CT in all focal lytic lesions (p Quantitative-CT at sites with diffuse bone involvement showed significant increase of maximum bone attenuation (p Quantitative MRI diagnosis showed a statistically significant decrease in signal intensity on short tau inversion recovery sequences (STIR) in bone marrow in patients with diffuse bone marrow involvement achieving SD/PR/VGPR/CR (p quantitative parameters with either CT or MRI.

  17. Phase I Study of 68Ga-HER2-Nanobody for PET/CT Assessment of HER2 Expression in Breast Carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keyaerts, Marleen; Xavier, Catarina; Heemskerk, Johannes; Devoogdt, Nick; Everaert, Hendrik; Ackaert, Chloé; Vanhoeij, Marian; Duhoux, Francois P; Gevaert, Thierry; Simon, Philippe; Schallier, Denis; Fontaine, Christel; Vaneycken, Ilse; Vanhove, Christian; De Greve, Jacques; Lamote, Jan; Caveliers, Vicky; Lahoutte, Tony

    2016-01-01

    Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status is one of the major tumor characteristics in breast cancer to guide therapy. Anti-HER2 treatment has clear survival advantages in HER2-positive breast carcinoma patients. Heterogeneity in HER2 expression between primary tumor and metastasis has repeatedly been described, resulting in the need to reassess HER2 status during the disease course. To avoid repeated biopsy with potential bias due to tumor heterogeneity, Nanobodies directed against HER2 have been developed as probes for molecular imaging. Nanobodies, which are derived from unique heavy-chain-only antibodies, are the smallest antigen-binding antibody fragments and have ideal characteristics for PET imaging. The primary aims were assessment of safety, biodistribution, and dosimetry. The secondary aim was to investigate tumor-targeting potential. In total, 20 women with primary or metastatic breast carcinoma (score of 2+ or 3+ on HER2 immunohistochemical assessment) were included. Anti-HER2-Nanobody was labeled with (68)Ga via a NOTA derivative. Administered activities were 53-174 MBq (average, 107 MBq). PET/CT scans for dosimetry assessment were obtained at 10, 60, and 90 min after administration. Physical evaluation and blood analysis were performed for safety evaluation. Biodistribution was analyzed for 11 organs using MIM software; dosimetry was assessed using OLINDA/EXM. Tumor-targeting potential was assessed in primary and metastatic lesions. No adverse reactions occurred. A fast blood clearance was observed, with only 10% of injected activity remaining in the blood at 1 h after injection. Uptake was seen mainly in the kidneys, liver, and intestines. The effective dose was 0.043 mSv/MBq, resulting in an average of 4.6 mSv per patient. The critical organ was the urinary bladder wall, with a dose of 0.406 mGy/MBq. In patients with metastatic disease, tracer accumulation well above the background level was demonstrated in most identified sites of

  18. Preparation of ⁶⁸Ga-labelled DOTA-peptides using a manual labelling approach for small-animal PET imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero, Eduardo; Martínez, Alfonso; Oteo, Marta; García, Angel; Morcillo, Miguel Angel

    2016-01-01

    (68)Ga-DOTA-peptides are a promising PET radiotracers used in the detection of different tumours types due to their ability for binding specifically receptors overexpressed in these. Furthermore, (68)Ga can be produced by a (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator on site which is a very good alternative to cyclotron-based PET isotopes. Here, we describe a manual labelling approach for the synthesis of (68)Ga-labelled DOTA-peptides based on concentration and purification of the commercial (68)Ga/(68)Ga generator eluate using an anion exchange-cartridge. (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE was used to image a pheochromocytoma xenograft mouse model by a microPET/CT scanner. The method described provides satisfactory results, allowing the subsequent (68)Ga use to label DOTA-peptides. The simplicity of the method along with its implementation reduced cost, makes it useful in preclinical PET studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Development of 68Ga-Glycopeptide as an Imaging Probe for Tumor Angiogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ning Tsao

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. This study was aimed to study tissue distribution and tumor imaging potential of 68Ga-glycopeptide (GP in tumor-bearing rodents by PET. Methods. GP was synthesized by conjugating glutamate peptide and chitosan. GP was labeled with 68Ga chloride for in vitro and in vivo studies. Computer outlined region of interest (counts per pixel of the tumor and muscle (at the symmetric site was used to determine tumor-to-muscle count density ratios. To ascertain the feasibility of 68Ga-GP in tumor imaging in large animals, PET/CT imaging of 68Ga-GP and 18F-FDG were conducted in New Zealand white rabbits bearing VX2 tumors. Standard uptake value of tumors were determined by PET up to 45 min. To determine blood clearance and half-life of 68Ga-GP, blood samples were collected from 10 seconds to 20 min. Results. Radiochemical purity of 68Ga-GP determined by instant thin-layer chromatography was >95%. Tumor uptake values (SUV for 68Ga-GP and 18F-FDG in New Zealand white rabbits bearing VX2 tumors were 3.25 versus 7.04. PET images in tumor-bearing rats and rabbits confirmed that 68Ga-GP could assess tumor uptake. From blood clearance curve, the half-life of 68Ga-GP was 1.84 hr. Conclusion Our data indicate that it is feasible to use 68Ga-GP to assess tumor angiogenesis.

  20. Evaluation of bone-seeking novel radiotracer {sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-Bisphosphonate for the detection of skeletal metastases in carcinoma breast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Passah, Averilicia; Tripathi, Madhavi; Ballal, Sanjana; Yadav, Madhav Prasad; Kumar, Rajeev; Chakraborty, Partha Sarathi; Bal, Chandrasekhar [All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi (India); Roesch, Frank; Meckel, Marian [Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Nuclear Chemistry, Mainz (Germany)

    2017-01-15

    The successful labelling of bisphosphonates (BP) with {sup 68}Ga using macrocyclic chelators such as the based triazacyclononane (NO2AP) is a step forward in the in-house availability of a novel bone-seeking PET radiopharmaceutical with dual advantage of PET/CT imaging and generator production. In this study, we compared the novel generator-based skeletal radiotracer {sup 68}Ga-1,4,7-triazacyclonone-1,4-diacetic acid ({sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-BP) with sodium fluoride ({sup 18}F-NaF) for the detection of skeletal metastases in breast cancer patients. In addition, dosimetric analysis of {sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-BP was performed in a subset of patients. This was a prospective study of histopathologically proven cases of breast cancer patients who were referred for bone scintigraphy and underwent positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with {sup 18}F-NaF and {sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-BP within a week in random order. The scans of each patient were compared both qualitatively for image quality and quantitatively for number of lesions and SUVmax of lesions. Dosimetric analysis was performed in five patients. Their PET/CT scans were acquired at multiple time points and urine and blood samples were collected. Dosimetric calculations were performed using OLINDA/EXM 1.1 software. Statistical analysis was done using Stata 13 (StataCorp) software package. An agreement analysis regarding number of lesions detected with the two skeletal radiotracers was carried out. The image quality of {sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-BP PET/CT scans were comparable to that of {sup 18}F-NaF. There was no statistically significant difference in the SUVmax of lesions, normal bone and lesion to background ratio between the two skeletal radiotracers. There was good agreement in the number of lesions detected by both skeletal radiotracers. The mean whole body effective dose for {sup 68}Ga-NO2AP-BP was 0.00583 mSv/MBq and the effective dose equivalent was 0.0086 mSv/MBq. The excellent lesion detection agreement between

  1. Whole body MRI (WB-MRI) assessment of metastatic spread in prostate cancer: Therapeutic perspectives on targeted management of oligometastatic disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larbi, Ahmed; Dallaudière, Benjamin; Pasoglou, Vasiliki; Padhani, Anwar; Michoux, Nicolas; Vande Berg, Bruno C; Tombal, Bertrand; Lecouvet, Frédéric E

    2016-08-01

    To determine the proportion of prostate cancer (PCa) patients with oligometastatic disease (≤3 synchronous lesions) using whole body magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion-weighted imaging (WB-MRI/DWI). To determine the proportion of patients with nodal disease confined within currently accepted target areas for extended lymph node dissection (eLND) and pelvic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Two radiologists reviewed WB-MRI/DWI studies in 96 consecutive newly diagnosed metastatic PCa patients; 46 patients with newly diagnosed castration naive PCa (mHNPC) and 50 patients with first appearance of metastasis during monitoring for non-metastatic castration resistant PCa (M0 to mCRPC). The distribution of metastatic deposits was assessed and the proportions of patients with oligometastatic disease and with LN metastases located within eLND and EBRT targets were determined. Twenty-eight percent of mHNPC and 50% of mCPRC entered the metastatic disease with ≤3 sites. Bone metastases (BM) were identified in 68.8% patients; 71.7% of mHNPC and 66% mCRPC patients. Most commonly involved areas were iliac bones and lumbar spine. Enlarged lymph nodes (LN) were detected in 68.7% of patients; 69.6% of mHNPC and 68.0% of mCRPC. Most commonly involved areas were para-aortic, inter-aortico-cava, and external iliac areas. BM and LN were detected concomitantly in 41% of mHNPC and 34% of mCRPC. Visceral metastases were detected in 6.7%. Metastatic disease was confined to LN located within the accepted boundaries of eLND or pelvic EBRT target areas in only ≤25% and ≤30% of patients, respectively. Non-invasive mapping of metastatic landing sites in PCa using WB-MRI/DWI shows that 28% of the mHNPC patients, and 52% of the mCRPC can be classified as oligometastatic, thus challenging the concept of metastatic targeted therapy. More than two thirds of metastatic patients have LN located outside the usually recommended targets of eLND and pelvic EBRT. Prophylactic or salvage

  2. Skeletal and total body volumes of human fetuses: assessment of reference data by spiral CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braillon, Pierre M.; Buenerd, Annie; Bouvier, Raymonde; Lapillonne, Alexandre

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To define reference data for skeletal and total body volumes of normal human fetuses. Materials and methods: Spiral CT was used to assess the skeletal and total body volumes of 31 normal human stillborn infants with gestational age (GA) and body weight (BW) ranging from 14 to 41.5 weeks and 22 to 3,760 g, respectively. CT scans (slice thickness 2.7 mm, pitch 0.7) were performed within the first 24 h after delivery. Precise bone and soft-tissue windows were defined from analysis of the density along the diaphysis of the fetal long bones and from the measurement of a phantom that mimics soft tissues. Lengths and volumes were obtained from 3D reconstructions. The femur lengths measured from CT images (FLct) were compared with those provided by US studies (FLus). Results: Significant correlations (r>0.9) were found between BW, measured volumes of the entire skeleton or head, long-bone lengths, biparietal diameter and GA. Strong linear correlations (r>0.98) were observed between FLct and FLus. Conclusions: Skeletal and total body volume values obtained using spiral CT were significantly correlated with fetal biometric measurements. These data could complement those obtained in obstetric investigations with US. (orig.)

  3. Comparison of trap characteristics between AlGaN/GaN and AlGaN/InGaN/GaN heterostructure by frequency dependent conductance measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chakraborty, Apurba; Biswas, Dhrubes

    2015-01-01

    Frequency dependent conductance measurement is carried out to observe the trapping effect in AlGaN/InGaN/GaN double heterostructure and compared that with conventional AlGaN/GaN single heterostructure. It is found that the AlGaN/InGaN/GaN diode structure does not show any trapping effect, whereas single heterostructure AlGaN/GaN diode suffers from two kinds of trap energy states in near depletion to higher negative voltage bias region. This conductance behaviour of AlGaN/InGaN/GaN heterostructure is owing to more Fermi energy level shift from trap energy states at AlGaN/InGaN junction compare to single AlGaN/GaN heterostructure and eliminates the trapping effects. Analysis yielded interface trap energy state in AlGaN/GaN is to be with time constant of (33.8–76.5) μs and trap density of (2.38–0.656) × 10 12  eV −1  cm −2 in −3.2 to −4.8 V bias region, whereas for AlGaN/InGaN/GaN structure no interface energy states are found and the extracted surface trap energy concentrations and time constants are (5.87–4.39) ×10 10  eV −1  cm −2 and (17.8–11.3) μs, respectively, in bias range of −0.8–0.0 V

  4. Kinetic Modelling of Infection Tracers [18F]FDG, [68Ga]Ga-Citrate, [11C]Methionine, and [11C]Donepezil in a Porcine Osteomyelitis Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jødal, Lars; Jensen, Svend Borup; Nielsen, Ole Lerberg

    2017-01-01

    Introduction. Positron emission tomography (PET) is increasingly applied for infection imaging using [18F]FDG as tracer, but uptake is unspecific. The present study compares the kinetics of [18F]FDG and three other PET tracers with relevance for infection imaging. Methods. A juvenile porcine...... osteomyelitis model was used. Eleven pigs underwent PET/CT with 60-minute dynamic PET imaging of [18F]FDG, [68Ga]Ga-citrate, [11C]methionine, and/or [11C]donepezil, along with blood sampling. For infectious lesions, kinetic modelling with one- and two-tissue-compartment models was conducted for each tracer...... for the analysis. Conclusions. The kinetics of the four studied tracers in infection was characterized. For clinical applications, [18F]FDG remains the first-choice PET tracer. [11C]methionine may have a potential for detecting soft tissue infections. [68Ga]Ga-citrate and [11C]donepezil were not found useful...

  5. Modeling of frequency-dependent negative differential capacitance in InGaAs/InP photodiode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yidong; Chen, Jun; Xu, Jintong; Li, Xiangyang

    2018-03-01

    The negative differential capacitance (NDC) of p-i-n InGaAs/InP photodetector has been clearly observed, and the small signal model of frequency-dependent NDC is established, based on the accumulation and emission of electrons at the p-InP/i-InGaAs interface. The NDC phenomenon is contributed by the additional capacitance (CT), which is caused by the charging-discharging process in the p-InP/i-InGaAs interface. It is found that the NDC becomes more obvious with decreasing frequency, which is consistent with the conclusion of the experiment. It is proved that the probability of electron capture/escape in the p-i interface is affected by frequency. Therefore, the smaller frequency applied, the higher additional capacitance is obtained.

  6. Whole body magnetic resonance in indolent lymphomas under watchful waiting. The time is now

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galia, Massimo; Albano, Domenico; Midiri, Massimo; Lagalla, Roberto [University of Palermo, Department of Radiology, Di.Bi.Med., Palermo (Italy); Tarella, Corrado [European Institute of Oncology, Hemato-Oncology Division, Milan (Italy); Patti, Caterina; Mule, Antonino [Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia-Cervello, Department of Hematology I, Palermo (Italy); Sconfienza, Luca Maria [IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Unit of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Milano (Italy); Universita degli Studi di Milano, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Milano (Italy); Alongi, Pierpaolo [Fondazione Istituto G. Giglio, Contrada Pietrapollastra-Pisciotto, Department of Radiological Sciences, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Cefalu (Italy)

    2018-03-15

    The indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas (i-NHLs) are characterised by 'indolent' clinical behaviour with slow growth and prolonged natural history. The watchful waiting (WW) strategy is a frequently employed treatment option in these patients. This implies a strict monitoring by imaging examinations, including 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) and CT. A major concern is radiation exposure due to regularly monitoring by conventional imaging procedures. Several studies have demonstrated the reliability of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) for lymphoma staging. WB-MRI could be useful for active surveillance in i-NHLs providing the suspect of disease progression that can be then confirmed by additional diagnostic procedures, including 18F-FDG-PET/CT. The directive 2013/59 by the European Union claims that if a radiation-free imaging technique allows obtaining the same diagnostic results, it should be invariably used. In this setting, WB-MRI may be considered a reasonable option in i-NHLs under WW, replacing imaging modalities that cause exposure to ionising radiations. This will help to reduce the cancer risk in i-NHL patients for whom chemo-/radiotherapy remain the usual treatment options following the usually long WW phase. The scientific community should raise the awareness of the risk of ionising radiations in i-NHLs and the emphasise the need for establishing the proper place of WB-MRI in lymphoma imaging. (orig.)

  7. Simultaneous 68Ga DOTATATE Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Meningioma Target Contouring: Feasibility and Impact Upon Interobserver Variability Versus Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Computed Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maclean, J; Fersht, N; Sullivan, K; Kayani, I; Bomanji, J; Dickson, J; O'Meara, C; Short, S

    2017-07-01

    The increasing use of highly conformal radiation techniques to treat meningioma confers a greater need for accurate targeting. Several groups have shown that positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) information alters meningioma targets contoured by single observers, but whether this translates into improved accuracy has not been defined. As magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the cornerstone of meningioma target contouring, simultaneous PET/MRI may be superior to PET/CT. We assessed whether 68 Ga DOTATATE PET imaging (from PET/CT and PET/MRI) reduced interobserver variability (IOV) in meningioma target volume contouring. Ten patients with meningioma underwent simultaneous 68 Ga DOTATATE PET/MRI followed by PET/CT. They were selected as it was anticipated that target volume definition in their cases would be particularly challenging. Three radiation oncologists contoured target volumes according to an agreed protocol: gross tumour volume (GTV) and clinical target volume (CTV) on CT/MRI alone, CT/MRI+PET(CT) and CT/MRI+PET(MRI). GTV/CTV Kouwenhoven conformity levels (KCL), regions of contour variation and qualitative differences between PET(CT) and PET(MRI) were evaluated. There was substantial IOV in contouring. GTV mean KCL: CT/MRI 0.34, CT/MRI+PET(CT) 0.38, CT/MRI+PET(MRI) 0.39 (P = 0.06). CTV mean KCL: CT/MRI 0.31, CT/MRI+PET(CT) 0.35, CT/MRI+PET(MRI) 0.35 (P = 0.04 for all groups; P > 0.05 for individual pairs). One observer consistently contoured largest and one smallest. Observers rarely decreased volumes in relation to PET. Most IOV occurred in bone followed by dural tail, postoperative bed and venous sinuses. Tumour edges were qualitatively clearer on PET(MRI) versus PET(CT), but this did not affect contouring. IOV in contouring challenging meningioma cases was large and only slightly improved with the addition of 68 Ga DOTATATE PET. Simultaneous PET/MRI for meningioma contouring is feasible, but did not improve IOV versus PET/CT

  8. A case of glutaric aciduria type I with unique abnormalities in the cerebral CT findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamaguchi, Seiji; Orii, Tadao; Yasuda, Kanji; Kohno, Yoshinori

    1987-01-01

    A first Japanese case of glutaric aciduria type I (GA-I) was described. She was a 7-month-old girl presenting with poor head control, irritability and sleeplessness. The profile of urinary organic acids by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) suggesting GA-I were confirmed by no activity of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase in the fibroblasts. The cerebral computer tomography (CT) showed marked changes such as large fluid collections on bilateral frontotemporal regions and a slight enlargement of bilateral ventricles. The amounts of urinary glutarate excretion decreased after restriction of lysine and tryptophan in her diet and administration of carnitine improved the carnitine levels in blood and urine, while these were less effective for the neurological symptoms. On the other hand, oral administration of lioresal, an analogue of gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA), cleared her symptoms such as ill temper, irritability and sleeplessness dramatically, and the abnormalities of the CT examinations were not more deteriorative until 2 years of her age at least. The neurological manifestations of GA-I seemed to be affected by the unusual metabolism of GABA in the central nervous system. (author)

  9. Targeting post-infarct inflammation by PET imaging: comparison of 68Ga-citrate and 68Ga-DOTATATE with 18F-FDG in a mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thackeray, James T.; Bankstahl, Jens P.; Walte, Almut; Wittneben, Alexander; Bengel, Frank M.; Wang, Yong; Korf-Klingebiel, Mortimer; Wollert, Kai C.

    2015-01-01

    Imaging of inflammation early after myocardial infarction (MI) is a promising approach to the guidance of novel molecular interventions that support endogenous healing processes. 18 F-FDG PET has been used, but may be complicated by physiological myocyte uptake. We evaluated the potential of two alternative imaging targets: lactoferrin binding by 68 Ga-citrate and somatostatin receptor binding by 68 Ga-DOTATATE. C57Bl/6 mice underwent permanent coronary artery ligation. Serial PET imaging was performed 3 - 7 days after MI using 68 Ga-citrate, 68 Ga-DOTATATE, or 18 F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression of myocyte glucose uptake. Myocardial perfusion was evaluated by 13 N-ammonia PET and cardiac geometry by contrast-enhanced ECG-gated CT. Mice exhibited a perfusion defect of 30 - 40 % (of the total left ventricle) with apical anterolateral wall akinesia and thinning on day 7 after MI. 18 F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression demonstrated distinct uptake in the infarct region, as well as in the border zone and remote myocardium. The myocardial standardized uptake value in MI mice was significantly higher than in healthy mice under ketamine/xylazine anaesthesia (1.9 ± 0.4 vs. 1.0 ± 0.1). 68 Ga images exhibited high blood pool activity with no specific myocardial uptake up to 90 min after injection (tissue-to-blood contrast 0.9). 68 Ga-DOTATATE was rapidly cleared from the blood, but myocardial SUV was very low (0.10 ± 0.03). Neither 68 Ga nor 68 Ga-DOTATATE is a useful alternative to 18 F-FDG for PET imaging of myocardial inflammation after MI in mice. Among the three tested approaches, 18 F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression of cardiomyocyte uptake remains the most practical imaging marker of post-infarct inflammation. (orig.)

  10. Laboratory based study of dynamical processes by 4D X-ray CT with sub-second temporal resolution

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vavřík, Daniel; Jakůbek, Jan; Kumpová, Ivana; Pichotka, M.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 12, February (2017), č. článku C02010. ISSN 1748-0221. [International Workshop on Radiation Imaging Detectors /18./. Barcelona, 03.07.2016-07.07.2016] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA15-07210S; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1219 Keywords : computerized tomography (CT) * computed radiography (CR) * inspection with x-rays * pixelated detectors and associated VLSI electronics * X-ray radiography and digital radiography (DR) Subject RIV: JB - Sensors, Measurment, Regulation OBOR OECD: Electrical and electronic engineering Impact factor: 1.220, year: 2016 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-0221/12/02/C02010

  11. Accuracy and Utility of Deformable Image Registration in 68Ga 4D PET/CT Assessment of Pulmonary Perfusion Changes During and After Lung Radiation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardcastle, Nicholas; Hofman, Michael S.; Hicks, Rodney J.; Callahan, Jason; Kron, Tomas; MacManus, Michael P.; Ball, David L.; Jackson, Price; Siva, Shankar

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Measuring changes in lung perfusion resulting from radiation therapy dose requires registration of the functional imaging to the radiation therapy treatment planning scan. This study investigates registration accuracy and utility for positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging in radiation therapy for non–small cell lung cancer. Methods: 68 Ga 4-dimensional PET/CT ventilation-perfusion imaging was performed before, during, and after radiation therapy for 5 patients. Rigid registration and deformable image registration (DIR) using B-splines and Demons algorithms was performed with the CT data to obtain a deformation map between the functional images and planning CT. Contour propagation accuracy and correspondence of anatomic features were used to assess registration accuracy. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine statistical significance. Changes in lung perfusion resulting from radiation therapy dose were calculated for each registration method for each patient and averaged over all patients. Results: With B-splines/Demons DIR, median distance to agreement between lung contours reduced modestly by 0.9/1.1 mm, 1.3/1.6 mm, and 1.3/1.6 mm for pretreatment, midtreatment, and posttreatment (P<.01 for all), and median Dice score between lung contours improved by 0.04/0.04, 0.05/0.05, and 0.05/0.05 for pretreatment, midtreatment, and posttreatment (P<.001 for all). Distance between anatomic features reduced with DIR by median 2.5 mm and 2.8 for pretreatment and midtreatment time points, respectively (P=.001) and 1.4 mm for posttreatment (P>.2). Poorer posttreatment results were likely caused by posttreatment pneumonitis and tumor regression. Up to 80% standardized uptake value loss in perfusion scans was observed. There was limited change in the loss in lung perfusion between registration methods; however, Demons resulted in larger interpatient variation compared with rigid and B-splines registration. Conclusions

  12. Formation of GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/GaAs nanorings by droplet molecular-beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gong, Z.; Niu, Z.C.; Huang, S.S.; Fang, Z.D.; Sun, B.Q.; Xia, J.B.

    2005-01-01

    GaAs/AlGaAs lattice-matched nanorings are formed on GaAs (100) substrates by droplet epitaxy. The crucial step in the formation of nanorings is annealing Ga droplets under As flux for proper time. The observed morphologic evolution of Ga droplets during annealing does not support the hypothesis that As atoms preferentially react with Ga around the periphery of the droplets, but somehow relates to a dewetting process similar to that of unstable films. Photoluminescene (PL) test results confirm the quantum-confinement effect of these GaAs nanorings. Using similar methods, we have fabricated InGaAs/GaAs lattice-mismatched rings

  13. Evaluation of intensity modulated radiation therapy dose painting for localized prostate cancer using 68Ga-HBED-CC PSMA-PET/CT: A planning study based on histopathology reference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamboglou, Constantinos; Sachpazidis, Ilias; Koubar, Khodor; Drendel, Vanessa; Wiehle, Rolf; Kirste, Simon; Mix, Michael; Schiller, Florian; Mavroidis, Panayiotis; Meyer, Philipp T; Werner, Martin; Grosu, Anca L; Baltas, Dimos

    2017-06-01

    To demonstrate the feasibility and to evaluate the tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of IMRT dose painting using 68 Ga-HBED-CC PSMA PET/CT for target delineation in prostate cancer (PCa). 10 patients had PSMA PET/CT scans prior to prostatectomy. GTV-PET was generated on the basis of an intraprostatic SUVmax of 30%. Two IMRT plans were generated for each patient: Plan 77 which consisted of whole-prostate IMRT to 77Gy, and Plan 95 which consisted of whole-prostate IMRT to 77Gy and a simultaneous integrated boost to the GTV-PET up to 95Gy (35 fractions). The feasibility of these plans was judged by their ability to adhere to the FLAME trial protocol. TCP-histo/-PET were calculated on co-registered histology (GTV-histo) and GTV-PET, respectively. NTCPs for rectum and bladder were calculated. All plans reached prescription doses whilst adhering to dose constraints. In Plan 77 and Plan 95 mean doses in GTV-histo were 75.8±0.3Gy and 96.9±1Gy, respectively. Average TCP-histo values for Plan 77 and Plan 95 were 70% (range: 15-97%), and 96% (range: 78-100%, pPET values for Plan 77 and Plan 95 were 55% (range: 27-82%), and 100% (range: 99-100%, pPET and TCP-histo in Plan 95 (p=0.25). There were no significant differences in rectal (p=0.563) and bladder (p=0.3) NTCPs. IMRT dose painting using PSMA PET/CT was technically feasible and resulted in significantly higher TCPs without higher NTCPs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Spatially resolved In and As distributions in InGaAs/GaP and InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, J; Cha, J J; Song, Y; Lee, M L

    2014-01-01

    InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) on GaP are promising for monolithic integration of optoelectronics with Si technology. To understand and improve the optical properties of InGaAs/GaP QD systems, detailed measurements of the QD atomic structure as well as the spatial distributions of each element at high resolution are crucial. This is because the QD band structure, band alignment, and optical properties are determined by the atomic structure and elemental composition. Here, we directly measure the inhomogeneous distributions of In and As in InGaAs QDs grown on GaAs and GaP substrates at the nanoscale using energy dispersive x-ray spectral mapping in a scanning transmission electron microscope. We find that the In distribution is broader on GaP than on GaAs, and as a result, the QDs appear to be In-poor using a GaP matrix. Our findings challenge some of the assumptions made for the concentrations and distributions of In within InGaAs/GaAs or InGaAs/GaP QD systems and provide detailed structural and elemental information to modify the current band structure understanding. In particular, the findings of In deficiency and inhomogeneous distribution in InGaAs/GaP QD systems help to explain photoluminescence spectral differences between InGaAs/GaAs and InGaAs/GaP QD systems. (paper)

  15. Head-to-head comparison between {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and MR/CT angiography in clinically recurrent head and neck paragangliomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heimburger, Celine; Hubele, Fabrice; Namer, Izzie Jacques [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Strasbourg (France); CNRS/University of Strasbourg, ICube, UMR 7357, Strasbourg (France); University of Strasbourg, FMTS, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg (France); Veillon, Francis; Riehm, Sophie; Cavalcanti, Marcela [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Radiology, Strasbourg (France); Taieb, David [Aix-Marseille University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, La Timone University Hospital, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille University, European Center for Research in Medical Imaging, Marseille (France); Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Inserm UMR1068 Marseille Cancerology Research Center, Marseille (France); Goichot, Bernard; Chabrier, Gerard [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Internal Medicine, Strasbourg (France); Petit-Thomas, Julie; Charpiot, Anne [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Otolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Strasbourg (France); Averous, Gerlinde [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Pathology, Strasbourg (France); Imperiale, Alessio [University Hospitals of Strasbourg, Department of Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Strasbourg (France); CNRS/University of Strasbourg, ICube, UMR 7357, Strasbourg (France); University of Strasbourg, FMTS, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg (France); Hautepierre University Hospital, Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Strasbourg Cedex (France)

    2017-06-15

    Head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGLs) can relapse after primary treatment. Optimal imaging protocols have not yet been established for posttreatment evaluation. The aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic value of {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and MR/CT angiography (MRA/CTA) in HNPGL patients with clinical relapse during their follow-up. Sixteen consecutive patients presenting with local pain, tinnitus, dysphagia, hoarse voice, cranial nerve involvement, deafness, or retrotympanic mass appearing during follow-up after the initial treatment of HNPGLs were retrospectively evaluated. Patients underwent both {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA (15 patents) or CTA (1 patent). Both methods were first assessed under blinded conditions and afterwards correlated. Head and neck imaging abnormalities without histological confirmation were considered true-positive results based on a consensus between radiologists and nuclear physicians and on further {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and/or MRA. {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA/CTA were concordant in 14 patients and in disagreement in 2 patients. {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA/CTA identified, respectively, 12 and 10 presumed recurrent HNPGLs in 12 patients. The two lesions diagnosed by PET/CT only were confirmed during follow-up by otoscopic examination and MRA performed 29 and 17 months later. {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT images were only slightly influenced by the posttreatment sequelae, showing a better interobserver reproducibility than MRA/CTA. Finally, in 2 of the 16 studied patients, {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT detected two additional synchronous primary HNPGLs. {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT is highly sensitive in posttreatment evaluation of patients with HNPGLs, and also offers better interobserver reproducibility than MRA/CTA and whole-body examination. We therefore suggest that {sup 18}F-FDOPA PET/CT is performed as the first diagnostic imaging modality in symptomatic patients with suspicion of HNPGL relapse after primary treatment when {sup 68

  16. Head-to-head comparison between "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and MR/CT angiography in clinically recurrent head and neck paragangliomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heimburger, Celine; Hubele, Fabrice; Namer, Izzie Jacques; Veillon, Francis; Riehm, Sophie; Cavalcanti, Marcela; Taieb, David; Goichot, Bernard; Chabrier, Gerard; Petit-Thomas, Julie; Charpiot, Anne; Averous, Gerlinde; Imperiale, Alessio

    2017-01-01

    Head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGLs) can relapse after primary treatment. Optimal imaging protocols have not yet been established for posttreatment evaluation. The aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic value of "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and MR/CT angiography (MRA/CTA) in HNPGL patients with clinical relapse during their follow-up. Sixteen consecutive patients presenting with local pain, tinnitus, dysphagia, hoarse voice, cranial nerve involvement, deafness, or retrotympanic mass appearing during follow-up after the initial treatment of HNPGLs were retrospectively evaluated. Patients underwent both "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA (15 patents) or CTA (1 patent). Both methods were first assessed under blinded conditions and afterwards correlated. Head and neck imaging abnormalities without histological confirmation were considered true-positive results based on a consensus between radiologists and nuclear physicians and on further "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and/or MRA. "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA/CTA were concordant in 14 patients and in disagreement in 2 patients. "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT and MRA/CTA identified, respectively, 12 and 10 presumed recurrent HNPGLs in 12 patients. The two lesions diagnosed by PET/CT only were confirmed during follow-up by otoscopic examination and MRA performed 29 and 17 months later. "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT images were only slightly influenced by the posttreatment sequelae, showing a better interobserver reproducibility than MRA/CTA. Finally, in 2 of the 16 studied patients, "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT detected two additional synchronous primary HNPGLs. "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT is highly sensitive in posttreatment evaluation of patients with HNPGLs, and also offers better interobserver reproducibility than MRA/CTA and whole-body examination. We therefore suggest that "1"8F-FDOPA PET/CT is performed as the first diagnostic imaging modality in symptomatic patients with suspicion of HNPGL relapse after primary treatment when "6"8Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues are

  17. MicroCT and microMRI imaging of a prenatal mouse model of increased brain size

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, Elisabeth K. N.; Stock, Stuart R.; Taketo, Makoto M.; Chenn, Anjen; Ravosa, Matthew J.

    2008-08-01

    There are surprisingly few experimental models of neural growth and cranial integration. This and the dearth of information regarding fetal brain development detract from a mechanistic understanding of cranial integration and its relevance to the patterning of skull form, specifically the role of encephalization on basicranial flexion. To address this shortcoming, our research uses transgenic mice expressing a stabilized form of β-catenin to isolate the effects of relative brain size on craniofacial development. These mice develop highly enlarged brains due to an increase in neural precursors, and differences between transgenic and wild-type mice are predicted to result solely from variation in brain size. Comparisons of wild-type and transgenic mice at several prenatal ages were performed using microCT (Scanco Medical MicroCT 40) and microMRI (Avance 600 WB MR spectrometer). Statistical analyses show that the larger brain of the transgenic mice is associated with a larger neurocranium and an altered basicranial morphology. However, body size and postcranial ossification do not seem to be affected by the transgene. Comparisons of the rate of postcranial and cranial ossification using microCT also point to an unexpected effect of neural growth on skull development: increased fetal encephalization may result in a compensatory decrease in the level of cranial ossification. Therefore, if other life history factors are held constant, the ontogeny of a metabolically costly structure such as a brain may occur at the expense of other cranial structures. These analyses indicate the benefits of a multifactorial approach to cranial integration using a mouse model.

  18. Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into $Wb$ in $pp$ collisions at $\\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

    CERN Document Server

    Aad, Georges; Abdallah, Jalal; Abdinov, Ovsat; Abeloos, Baptiste; Aben, Rosemarie; Abolins, Maris; AbouZeid, Ossama; Abramowicz, Halina; Abreu, Henso; Abreu, Ricardo; Abulaiti, Yiming; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adamczyk, Leszek; Adams, David; Adelman, Jahred; Adomeit, Stefanie; Adye, Tim; Affolder, Tony; Agatonovic-Jovin, Tatjana; Agricola, Johannes; Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio; Ahlen, Steven; Ahmadov, Faig; Aielli, Giulio; Akerstedt, Henrik; Åkesson, Torsten Paul Ake; Akimov, Andrei; Alberghi, Gian Luigi; Albert, Justin; Albrand, Solveig; Alconada Verzini, Maria Josefina; Aleksa, Martin; Aleksandrov, Igor; Alexa, Calin; Alexander, Gideon; Alexopoulos, Theodoros; Alhroob, Muhammad; Alimonti, Gianluca; Alio, Lion; Alison, John; Alkire, Steven Patrick; Allbrooke, Benedict; Allen, Benjamin William; Allport, Phillip; Aloisio, Alberto; Alonso, Alejandro; Alonso, Francisco; Alpigiani, Cristiano; Alvarez Gonzalez, Barbara; Άlvarez Piqueras, Damián; Alviggi, Mariagrazia; Amadio, Brian Thomas; Amako, Katsuya; Amaral Coutinho, Yara; Amelung, Christoph; Amidei, Dante; Amor Dos Santos, Susana Patricia; Amorim, Antonio; Amoroso, Simone; Amram, Nir; Amundsen, Glenn; Anastopoulos, Christos; Ancu, Lucian Stefan; Andari, Nansi; Andeen, Timothy; Anders, Christoph Falk; Anders, Gabriel; Anders, John Kenneth; Anderson, Kelby; Andreazza, Attilio; Andrei, George Victor; Angelidakis, Stylianos; Angelozzi, Ivan; Anger, Philipp; Angerami, Aaron; Anghinolfi, Francis; Anisenkov, Alexey; Anjos, Nuno; Annovi, Alberto; Antonelli, Mario; Antonov, Alexey; Antos, Jaroslav; Anulli, Fabio; Aoki, Masato; Aperio Bella, Ludovica; Arabidze, Giorgi; Arai, Yasuo; Araque, Juan Pedro; Arce, Ayana; Arduh, Francisco Anuar; Arguin, Jean-Francois; Argyropoulos, Spyridon; Arik, Metin; Armbruster, Aaron James; Arnaez, Olivier; Arnold, Hannah; Arratia, Miguel; Arslan, Ozan; Artamonov, Andrei; Artoni, Giacomo; Artz, Sebastian; Asai, Shoji; Asbah, Nedaa; Ashkenazi, Adi; Åsman, Barbro; Asquith, Lily; Assamagan, Ketevi; Astalos, Robert; Atkinson, Markus; Atlay, Naim Bora; Augsten, Kamil; Avolio, Giuseppe; Axen, Bradley; Ayoub, Mohamad Kassem; Azuelos, Georges; Baak, Max; Baas, Alessandra; Baca, Matthew John; Bachacou, Henri; Bachas, Konstantinos; Backes, Moritz; Backhaus, Malte; Bagiacchi, Paolo; Bagnaia, Paolo; Bai, Yu; Baines, John; Baker, Oliver Keith; Baldin, Evgenii; Balek, Petr; Balestri, Thomas; Balli, Fabrice; Balunas, William Keaton; Banas, Elzbieta; Banerjee, Swagato; Bannoura, Arwa A E; Barak, Liron; Barberio, Elisabetta Luigia; Barberis, Dario; Barbero, Marlon; Barillari, Teresa; Barisonzi, Marcello; Barklow, Timothy; Barlow, Nick; Barnes, Sarah Louise; Barnett, Bruce; Barnett, Michael; Barnovska, Zuzana; Baroncelli, Antonio; Barone, Gaetano; Barr, Alan; Barranco Navarro, Laura; Barreiro, Fernando; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, João; Bartoldus, Rainer; Barton, Adam Edward; Bartos, Pavol; Basalaev, Artem; Bassalat, Ahmed; Basye, Austin; Bates, Richard; Batista, Santiago Juan; Batley, Richard; Battaglia, Marco; Bauce, Matteo; Bauer, Florian; Bawa, Harinder Singh; Beacham, James Baker; Beattie, Michael David; Beau, Tristan; Beauchemin, Pierre-Hugues; Beccherle, Roberto; Bechtle, Philip; Beck, Hans~Peter; Becker, Kathrin; Becker, Maurice; Beckingham, Matthew; Becot, Cyril; Beddall, Andrew; Beddall, Ayda; Bednyakov, Vadim; Bedognetti, Matteo; Bee, Christopher; Beemster, Lars; Beermann, Thomas; Begel, Michael; Behr, Janna Katharina; Belanger-Champagne, Camille; Bell, William; Bella, Gideon; Bellagamba, Lorenzo; Bellerive, Alain; Bellomo, Massimiliano; Belotskiy, Konstantin; Beltramello, Olga; Benary, Odette; Benchekroun, Driss; Bender, Michael; Bendtz, Katarina; Benekos, Nektarios; Benhammou, Yan; Benhar Noccioli, Eleonora; Benitez Garcia, Jorge-Armando; Benjamin, Douglas; Bensinger, James; Bentvelsen, Stan; Beresford, Lydia; Beretta, Matteo; Berge, David; Bergeaas Kuutmann, Elin; Berger, Nicolas; Berghaus, Frank; Beringer, Jürg; Bernard, Clare; Bernard, Nathan Rogers; Bernius, Catrin; Bernlochner, Florian Urs; Berry, Tracey; Berta, Peter; Bertella, Claudia; Bertoli, Gabriele; Bertolucci, Federico; Bertsche, Carolyn; Bertsche, David; Besjes, Geert-Jan; Bessidskaia Bylund, Olga; Bessner, Martin Florian; Besson, Nathalie; Betancourt, Christopher; Bethke, Siegfried; Bevan, Adrian John; Bhimji, Wahid; Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; Bianchini, Louis; Bianco, Michele; Biebel, Otmar; Biedermann, Dustin; Biesuz, Nicolo Vladi; Biglietti, Michela; Bilbao De Mendizabal, Javier; Bilokon, Halina; Bindi, Marcello; Binet, Sebastien; Bingul, Ahmet; Bini, Cesare; Biondi, Silvia; Bjergaard, David Martin; Black, Curtis; Black, James; Black, Kevin; Blackburn, Daniel; Blair, Robert; Blanchard, Jean-Baptiste; Blanco, Jacobo Ezequiel; Blazek, Tomas; Bloch, Ingo; Blocker, Craig; Blum, Walter; Blumenschein, Ulrike; Blunier, Sylvain; Bobbink, Gerjan; Bobrovnikov, Victor; Bocchetta, Simona Serena; Bocci, Andrea; Bock, Christopher; Boehler, Michael; Boerner, Daniela; Bogaerts, Joannes Andreas; Bogavac, Danijela; Bogdanchikov, Alexander; Bohm, Christian; Boisvert, Veronique; Bold, Tomasz; Boldea, Venera; Boldyrev, Alexey; Bomben, Marco; Bona, Marcella; Boonekamp, Maarten; Borisov, Anatoly; Borissov, Guennadi; Bortfeldt, Jonathan; Bortolotto, Valerio; Bos, Kors; Boscherini, Davide; Bosman, Martine; Boudreau, Joseph; Bouffard, Julian; Bouhova-Thacker, Evelina Vassileva; Boumediene, Djamel Eddine; Bourdarios, Claire; Bousson, Nicolas; Boutle, Sarah Kate; Boveia, Antonio; Boyd, James; Boyko, Igor; Bracinik, Juraj; Brandt, Andrew; Brandt, Gerhard; Brandt, Oleg; Bratzler, Uwe; Brau, Benjamin; Brau, James; Braun, Helmut; Breaden Madden, William Dmitri; Brendlinger, Kurt; Brennan, Amelia Jean; Brenner, Lydia; Brenner, Richard; Bressler, Shikma; Bristow, Timothy Michael; Britton, Dave; Britzger, Daniel; Brochu, Frederic; Brock, Ian; Brock, Raymond; Brooijmans, Gustaaf; Brooks, Timothy; Brooks, William; Brosamer, Jacquelyn; Brost, Elizabeth; Bruckman de Renstrom, Pawel; Bruncko, Dusan; Bruneliere, Renaud; Bruni, Alessia; Bruni, Graziano; Brunt, Benjamin; Bruschi, Marco; Bruscino, Nello; Bryant, Patrick; Bryngemark, Lene; Buanes, Trygve; Buat, Quentin; Buchholz, Peter; Buckley, Andrew; Budagov, Ioulian; Buehrer, Felix; Bugge, Lars; Bugge, Magnar Kopangen; Bulekov, Oleg; Bullock, Daniel; Burckhart, Helfried; Burdin, Sergey; Burgard, Carsten Daniel; Burghgrave, Blake; Burke, Stephen; Burmeister, Ingo; Busato, Emmanuel; Büscher, Daniel; Büscher, Volker; Bussey, Peter; Butler, John; Butt, Aatif Imtiaz; Buttar, Craig; Butterworth, Jonathan; Butti, Pierfrancesco; Buttinger, William; Buzatu, Adrian; Buzykaev, Aleksey; Cabrera Urbán, Susana; Caforio, Davide; Cairo, Valentina; Cakir, Orhan; Calace, Noemi; Calafiura, Paolo; Calandri, Alessandro; Calderini, Giovanni; Calfayan, Philippe; Caloba, Luiz; Calvet, David; Calvet, Samuel; Calvet, Thomas Philippe; Camacho Toro, Reina; Camarda, Stefano; Camarri, Paolo; Cameron, David; Caminal Armadans, Roger; Camincher, Clement; Campana, Simone; Campanelli, Mario; Campoverde, Angel; Canale, Vincenzo; Canepa, Anadi; Cano Bret, Marc; Cantero, Josu; Cantrill, Robert; Cao, Tingting; Capeans Garrido, Maria Del Mar; Caprini, Irinel; Caprini, Mihai; Capua, Marcella; Caputo, Regina; Carbone, Ryne Michael; Cardarelli, Roberto; Cardillo, Fabio; Carli, Tancredi; Carlino, Gianpaolo; Carminati, Leonardo; Caron, Sascha; Carquin, Edson; Carrillo-Montoya, German D; Carter, Janet; Carvalho, João; Casadei, Diego; Casado, Maria Pilar; Casolino, Mirkoantonio; Casper, David William; Castaneda-Miranda, Elizabeth; Castelli, Angelantonio; Castillo Gimenez, Victoria; Castro, Nuno Filipe; Catinaccio, Andrea; Catmore, James; Cattai, Ariella; Caudron, Julien; Cavaliere, Viviana; Cavalli, Donatella; Cavalli-Sforza, Matteo; Cavasinni, Vincenzo; Ceradini, Filippo; Cerda Alberich, Leonor; Cerio, Benjamin; Santiago Cerqueira, Augusto; Cerri, Alessandro; Cerrito, Lucio; Cerutti, Fabio; Cerv, Matevz; Cervelli, Alberto; Cetin, Serkant Ali; Chafaq, Aziz; Chakraborty, Dhiman; Chalupkova, Ina; Chan, Yat Long; Chang, Philip; Chapman, John Derek; Charlton, Dave; Chau, Chav Chhiv; Chavez Barajas, Carlos Alberto; Che, Siinn; Cheatham, Susan; Chegwidden, Andrew; Chekanov, Sergei; Chekulaev, Sergey; Chelkov, Gueorgui; Chelstowska, Magda Anna; Chen, Chunhui; Chen, Hucheng; Chen, Karen; Chen, Shenjian; Chen, Shion; Chen, Xin; Chen, Ye; Cheng, Hok Chuen; Cheng, Yangyang; Cheplakov, Alexander; Cheremushkina, Evgenia; Cherkaoui El Moursli, Rajaa; Chernyatin, Valeriy; Cheu, Elliott; Chevalier, Laurent; Chiarella, Vitaliano; Chiarelli, Giorgio; Chiodini, Gabriele; Chisholm, Andrew; Chislett, Rebecca Thalatta; Chitan, Adrian; Chizhov, Mihail; Choi, Kyungeon; Chouridou, Sofia; Chow, Bonnie Kar Bo; Christodoulou, Valentinos; Chromek-Burckhart, Doris; Chudoba, Jiri; Chuinard, Annabelle Julia; Chwastowski, Janusz; Chytka, Ladislav; Ciapetti, Guido; Ciftci, Abbas Kenan; Cinca, Diane; Cindro, Vladimir; Cioara, Irina Antonela; Ciocio, Alessandra; Cirotto, Francesco; Citron, Zvi Hirsh; Ciubancan, Mihai; Clark, Allan G; Clark, Brian Lee; Clark, Philip James; Clarke, Robert; Clement, Christophe; Coadou, Yann; Cobal, Marina; Coccaro, Andrea; Cochran, James H; Coffey, Laurel; Colasurdo, Luca; Cole, Brian; Cole, Stephen; Colijn, Auke-Pieter; Collot, Johann; Colombo, Tommaso; Compostella, Gabriele; Conde Muiño, Patricia; Coniavitis, Elias; Connell, Simon Henry; Connelly, Ian; Consorti, Valerio; Constantinescu, Serban; Conta, Claudio; Conti, Geraldine; Conventi, Francesco; Cooke, Mark; Cooper, Ben; Cooper-Sarkar, Amanda; Cornelissen, Thijs; Corradi, Massimo; Corriveau, Francois; Corso-Radu, Alina; Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; Cortiana, Giorgio; Costa, Giuseppe; Costa, María José; Costanzo, Davide; Cottin, Giovanna; Cowan, Glen; Cox, Brian; Cranmer, Kyle; Crawley, Samuel Joseph; Cree, Graham; Crépé-Renaudin, Sabine; Crescioli, Francesco; Cribbs, Wayne Allen; Crispin Ortuzar, Mireia; Cristinziani, Markus; Croft, Vince; Crosetti, Giovanni; Cuhadar Donszelmann, Tulay; Cummings, Jane; Curatolo, Maria; Cúth, Jakub; Cuthbert, Cameron; Czirr, Hendrik; Czodrowski, Patrick; D'Auria, Saverio; D'Onofrio, Monica; Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, Mario Jose; Da Via, Cinzia; Dabrowski, Wladyslaw; Dafinca, Alexandru; Dai, Tiesheng; Dale, Orjan; Dallaire, Frederick; Dallapiccola, Carlo; Dam, Mogens; Dandoy, Jeffrey Rogers; Dang, Nguyen Phuong; Daniells, Andrew Christopher; Danninger, Matthias; Dano Hoffmann, Maria; Dao, Valerio; Darbo, Giovanni; Darmora, Smita; Dassoulas, James; Dattagupta, Aparajita; Davey, Will; David, Claire; Davidek, Tomas; Davies, Eleanor; Davies, Merlin; Davison, Peter; Davygora, Yuriy; Dawe, Edmund; Dawson, Ian; Daya-Ishmukhametova, Rozmin; De, Kaushik; de Asmundis, Riccardo; De Benedetti, Abraham; De Castro, Stefano; De Cecco, Sandro; De Groot, Nicolo; de Jong, Paul; De la Torre, Hector; De Lorenzi, Francesco; De Pedis, Daniele; De Salvo, Alessandro; De Sanctis, Umberto; De Santo, Antonella; De Vivie De Regie, Jean-Baptiste; Dearnaley, William James; Debbe, Ramiro; Debenedetti, Chiara; Dedovich, Dmitri; Deigaard, Ingrid; Del Peso, Jose; Del Prete, Tarcisio; Delgove, David; Deliot, Frederic; Delitzsch, Chris Malena; Deliyergiyev, Maksym; Dell'Acqua, Andrea; Dell'Asta, Lidia; Dell'Orso, Mauro; Della Pietra, Massimo; della Volpe, Domenico; Delmastro, Marco; Delsart, Pierre-Antoine; Deluca, Carolina; DeMarco, David; Demers, Sarah; Demichev, Mikhail; Demilly, Aurelien; Denisov, Sergey; Denysiuk, Denys; Derendarz, Dominik; Derkaoui, Jamal Eddine; Derue, Frederic; Dervan, Paul; Desch, Klaus Kurt; Deterre, Cecile; Dette, Karola; Deviveiros, Pier-Olivier; Dewhurst, Alastair; Dhaliwal, Saminder; Di Ciaccio, Anna; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Di Domenico, Antonio; Di Donato, Camilla; Di Girolamo, Alessandro; Di Girolamo, Beniamino; Di Mattia, Alessandro; Di Micco, Biagio; Di Nardo, Roberto; Di Simone, Andrea; Di Sipio, Riccardo; Di Valentino, David; Diaconu, Cristinel; Diamond, Miriam; Dias, Flavia; Diaz, Marco Aurelio; Diehl, Edward; Dietrich, Janet; Diglio, Sara; Dimitrievska, Aleksandra; Dingfelder, Jochen; Dita, Petre; Dita, Sanda; Dittus, Fridolin; Djama, Fares; Djobava, Tamar; Djuvsland, Julia Isabell; Barros do Vale, Maria Aline; Dobos, Daniel; Dobre, Monica; Doglioni, Caterina; Dohmae, Takeshi; Dolejsi, Jiri; Dolezal, Zdenek; Dolgoshein, Boris; Donadelli, Marisilvia; Donati, Simone; Dondero, Paolo; Donini, Julien; Dopke, Jens; Doria, Alessandra; Dova, Maria-Teresa; Doyle, Tony; Drechsler, Eric; Dris, Manolis; Du, Yanyan; Duarte-Campderros, Jorge; Dubreuil, Emmanuelle; Duchovni, Ehud; Duckeck, Guenter; Ducu, Otilia Anamaria; Duda, Dominik; Dudarev, Alexey; Duflot, Laurent; Duguid, Liam; Dührssen, Michael; Dunford, Monica; Duran Yildiz, Hatice; Düren, Michael; Durglishvili, Archil; Duschinger, Dirk; Dutta, Baishali; Dyndal, Mateusz; Eckardt, Christoph; Ecker, Katharina Maria; Edgar, Ryan Christopher; Edson, William; Edwards, Nicholas Charles; Eifert, Till; Eigen, Gerald; Einsweiler, Kevin; Ekelof, Tord; El Kacimi, Mohamed; Ellajosyula, Venugopal; Ellert, Mattias; Elles, Sabine; Ellinghaus, Frank; Elliot, Alison; Ellis, Nicolas; Elmsheuser, Johannes; Elsing, Markus; Emeliyanov, Dmitry; Enari, Yuji; Endner, Oliver Chris; Endo, Masaki; Ennis, Joseph Stanford; Erdmann, Johannes; Ereditato, Antonio; Ernis, Gunar; Ernst, Jesse; Ernst, Michael; Errede, Steven; Ertel, Eugen; Escalier, Marc; Esch, Hendrik; Escobar, Carlos; Esposito, Bellisario; Etienvre, Anne-Isabelle; Etzion, Erez; Evans, Hal; Ezhilov, Alexey; Fabbri, Laura; Facini, Gabriel; Fakhrutdinov, Rinat; Falciano, Speranza; Falla, Rebecca Jane; Faltova, Jana; Fang, Yaquan; Fanti, Marcello; Farbin, Amir; Farilla, Addolorata; Farina, Christian; Farooque, Trisha; Farrell, Steven; Farrington, Sinead; Farthouat, Philippe; Fassi, Farida; Fassnacht, Patrick; Fassouliotis, Dimitrios; Faucci Giannelli, Michele; Favareto, Andrea; Fayard, Louis; Fedin, Oleg; Fedorko, Wojciech; Feigl, Simon; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Feng, Cunfeng; Feng, Eric; Feng, Haolu; Fenyuk, Alexander; Feremenga, Last; Fernandez Martinez, Patricia; Fernandez Perez, Sonia; Ferrando, James; Ferrari, Arnaud; Ferrari, Pamela; Ferrari, Roberto; Ferreira de Lima, Danilo Enoque; Ferrer, Antonio; Ferrere, Didier; Ferretti, Claudio; Ferretto Parodi, Andrea; Fiedler, Frank; Filipčič, Andrej; Filipuzzi, Marco; Filthaut, Frank; Fincke-Keeler, Margret; Finelli, Kevin Daniel; Fiolhais, Miguel; Fiorini, Luca; Firan, Ana; Fischer, Adam; Fischer, Cora; Fischer, Julia; Fisher, Wade Cameron; Flaschel, Nils; Fleck, Ivor; Fleischmann, Philipp; Fletcher, Gareth Thomas; Fletcher, Gregory; Fletcher, Rob Roy MacGregor; Flick, Tobias; Floderus, Anders; Flores Castillo, Luis; Flowerdew, Michael; Forcolin, Giulio Tiziano; Formica, Andrea; Forti, Alessandra; Fournier, Daniel; Fox, Harald; Fracchia, Silvia; Francavilla, Paolo; Franchini, Matteo; Francis, David; Franconi, Laura; Franklin, Melissa; Frate, Meghan; Fraternali, Marco; Freeborn, David; Fressard-Batraneanu, Silvia; Friedrich, Felix; Froidevaux, Daniel; Frost, James; Fukunaga, Chikara; Fullana Torregrosa, Esteban; Fusayasu, Takahiro; Fuster, Juan; Gabaldon, Carolina; Gabizon, Ofir; Gabrielli, Alessandro; Gabrielli, Andrea; Gach, Grzegorz; Gadatsch, Stefan; Gadomski, Szymon; Gagliardi, Guido; Gagnon, Pauline; Galea, Cristina; Galhardo, Bruno; Gallas, Elizabeth; Gallop, Bruce; Gallus, Petr; Galster, Gorm Aske Gram Krohn; Gan, KK; Gao, Jun; Gao, Yanyan; Gao, Yongsheng; Garay Walls, Francisca; García, Carmen; García Navarro, José Enrique; Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Gardner, Robert; Garelli, Nicoletta; Garonne, Vincent; Gatti, Claudio; Gaudiello, Andrea; Gaudio, Gabriella; Gaur, Bakul; Gauthier, Lea; Gavrilenko, Igor; Gay, Colin; Gaycken, Goetz; Gazis, Evangelos; Gecse, Zoltan; Gee, Norman; Geich-Gimbel, Christoph; Geisler, Manuel Patrice; Gemme, Claudia; Genest, Marie-Hélène; Geng, Cong; Gentile, Simonetta; George, Simon; Gerbaudo, Davide; Gershon, Avi; Ghasemi, Sara; Ghazlane, Hamid; Giacobbe, Benedetto; Giagu, Stefano; Giannetti, Paola; Gibbard, Bruce; Gibson, Stephen; Gignac, Matthew; Gilchriese, Murdock; Gillam, Thomas; Gillberg, Dag; Gilles, Geoffrey; Gingrich, Douglas; Giokaris, Nikos; Giordani, MarioPaolo; Giorgi, Filippo Maria; Giorgi, Francesco Michelangelo; Giraud, Pierre-Francois; Giromini, Paolo; Giugni, Danilo; Giuliani, Claudia; Giulini, Maddalena; Gjelsten, Børge Kile; Gkaitatzis, Stamatios; Gkialas, Ioannis; Gkougkousis, Evangelos Leonidas; Gladilin, Leonid; Glasman, Claudia; Glatzer, Julian; Glaysher, Paul; Glazov, Alexandre; Goblirsch-Kolb, Maximilian; Goddard, Jack Robert; Godlewski, Jan; Goldfarb, Steven; Golling, Tobias; Golubkov, Dmitry; Gomes, Agostinho; Gonçalo, Ricardo; Goncalves Pinto Firmino Da Costa, Joao; Gonella, Laura; González de la Hoz, Santiago; Gonzalez Parra, Garoe; Gonzalez-Sevilla, Sergio; Goossens, Luc; Gorbounov, Petr Andreevich; Gordon, Howard; Gorelov, Igor; Gorini, Benedetto; Gorini, Edoardo; Gorišek, Andrej; Gornicki, Edward; Goshaw, Alfred; Gössling, Claus; Gostkin, Mikhail Ivanovitch; Goudet, Christophe Raymond; Goujdami, Driss; Goussiou, Anna; Govender, Nicolin; Gozani, Eitan; Graber, Lars; Grabowska-Bold, Iwona; Gradin, Per Olov Joakim; Grafström, Per; Gramling, Johanna; Gramstad, Eirik; Grancagnolo, Sergio; Gratchev, Vadim; Gray, Heather; Graziani, Enrico; Greenwood, Zeno Dixon; Grefe, Christian; Gregersen, Kristian; Gregor, Ingrid-Maria; Grenier, Philippe; Grevtsov, Kirill; Griffiths, Justin; Grillo, Alexander; Grimm, Kathryn; Grinstein, Sebastian; Gris, Philippe Luc Yves; Grivaz, Jean-Francois; Groh, Sabrina; Grohs, Johannes Philipp; Gross, Eilam; Grosse-Knetter, Joern; Grossi, Giulio Cornelio; Grout, Zara Jane; Guan, Liang; Guenther, Jaroslav; Guescini, Francesco; Guest, Daniel; Gueta, Orel; Guido, Elisa; Guillemin, Thibault; Guindon, Stefan; Gul, Umar; Gumpert, Christian; Guo, Jun; Guo, Yicheng; Gupta, Shaun; Gustavino, Giuliano; Gutierrez, Phillip; Gutierrez Ortiz, Nicolas Gilberto; Gutschow, Christian; Guyot, Claude; Gwenlan, Claire; Gwilliam, Carl; Haas, Andy; Haber, Carl; Hadavand, Haleh Khani; Haddad, Nacim; Hadef, Asma; Haefner, Petra; Hageböck, Stephan; Hajduk, Zbigniew; Hakobyan, Hrachya; Haleem, Mahsana; Haley, Joseph; Hall, David; Halladjian, Garabed; Hallewell, Gregory David; Hamacher, Klaus; Hamal, Petr; Hamano, Kenji; Hamilton, Andrew; Hamity, Guillermo Nicolas; Hamnett, Phillip George; Han, Liang; Hanagaki, Kazunori; Hanawa, Keita; Hance, Michael; Haney, Bijan; Hanke, Paul; Hanna, Remie; Hansen, Jørgen Beck; Hansen, Jorn Dines; Hansen, Maike Christina; Hansen, Peter Henrik; Hara, Kazuhiko; Hard, Andrew; Harenberg, Torsten; Hariri, Faten; Harkusha, Siarhei; Harrington, Robert; Harrison, Paul Fraser; Hartjes, Fred; Hasegawa, Makoto; Hasegawa, Yoji; Hasib, A; Hassani, Samira; Haug, Sigve; Hauser, Reiner; Hauswald, Lorenz; Havranek, Miroslav; Hawkes, Christopher; Hawkings, Richard John; Hawkins, Anthony David; Hayashi, Takayasu; Hayden, Daniel; Hays, Chris; Hays, Jonathan Michael; Hayward, Helen; Haywood, Stephen; Head, Simon; Heck, Tobias; Hedberg, Vincent; Heelan, Louise; Heim, Sarah; Heim, Timon; Heinemann, Beate; Heinrich, Lukas; Hejbal, Jiri; Helary, Louis; Hellman, Sten; Helsens, Clement; Henderson, James; Henderson, Robert; Heng, Yang; Henkelmann, Steffen; Henriques Correia, Ana Maria; Henrot-Versille, Sophie; Herbert, Geoffrey Henry; Hernández Jiménez, Yesenia; Herten, Gregor; Hertenberger, Ralf; Hervas, Luis; Hesketh, Gavin Grant; Hessey, Nigel; Hetherly, Jeffrey Wayne; Hickling, Robert; Higón-Rodriguez, Emilio; Hill, Ewan; Hill, John; Hiller, Karl Heinz; Hillier, Stephen; Hinchliffe, Ian; Hines, Elizabeth; Hinman, Rachel Reisner; Hirose, Minoru; Hirschbuehl, Dominic; Hobbs, John; Hod, Noam; Hodgkinson, Mark; Hodgson, Paul; Hoecker, Andreas; Hoeferkamp, Martin; Hoenig, Friedrich; Hohlfeld, Marc; Hohn, David; Holmes, Tova Ray; Homann, Michael; Hong, Tae Min; Hooberman, Benjamin Henry; Hopkins, Walter; Horii, Yasuyuki; Horton, Arthur James; Hostachy, Jean-Yves; Hou, Suen; Hoummada, Abdeslam; Howard, Jacob; Howarth, James; Hrabovsky, Miroslav; Hristova, Ivana; Hrivnac, Julius; Hryn'ova, Tetiana; Hrynevich, Aliaksei; Hsu, Catherine; Hsu, Pai-hsien Jennifer; Hsu, Shih-Chieh; Hu, Diedi; Hu, Qipeng; Huang, Yanping; Hubacek, Zdenek; Hubaut, Fabrice; Huegging, Fabian; Huffman, Todd Brian; Hughes, Emlyn; Hughes, Gareth; Huhtinen, Mika; Hülsing, Tobias Alexander; Huseynov, Nazim; Huston, Joey; Huth, John; Iacobucci, Giuseppe; Iakovidis, Georgios; Ibragimov, Iskander; Iconomidou-Fayard, Lydia; Ideal, Emma; Idrissi, Zineb; Iengo, Paolo; Igonkina, Olga; Iizawa, Tomoya; Ikegami, Yoichi; Ikeno, Masahiro; Ilchenko, Iurii; Iliadis, Dimitrios; Ilic, Nikolina; Ince, Tayfun; Introzzi, Gianluca; Ioannou, Pavlos; Iodice, Mauro; Iordanidou, Kalliopi; Ippolito, Valerio; Irles Quiles, Adrian; Isaksson, Charlie; Ishino, Masaya; Ishitsuka, Masaki; Ishmukhametov, Renat; Issever, Cigdem; Istin, Serhat; Iturbe Ponce, Julia Mariana; Iuppa, Roberto; Ivarsson, Jenny; Iwanski, Wieslaw; Iwasaki, Hiroyuki; Izen, Joseph; Izzo, Vincenzo; Jabbar, Samina; Jackson, Brett; Jackson, Matthew; Jackson, Paul; Jain, Vivek; Jakobi, Katharina Bianca; Jakobs, Karl; Jakobsen, Sune; Jakoubek, Tomas; Jamin, David Olivier; Jana, Dilip; Jansen, Eric; Jansky, Roland; Janssen, Jens; Janus, Michel; Jarlskog, Göran; Javadov, Namig; Javůrek, Tomáš; Jeanneau, Fabien; Jeanty, Laura; Jejelava, Juansher; Jeng, Geng-yuan; Jennens, David; Jenni, Peter; Jentzsch, Jennifer; Jeske, Carl; Jézéquel, Stéphane; Ji, Haoshuang; Jia, Jiangyong; Jiang, Hai; Jiang, Yi; Jiggins, Stephen; Jimenez Pena, Javier; Jin, Shan; Jinaru, Adam; Jinnouchi, Osamu; Johansson, Per; Johns, Kenneth; Johnson, William Joseph; Jon-And, Kerstin; Jones, Graham; Jones, Roger; Jones, Sarah; Jones, Tim; Jongmanns, Jan; Jorge, Pedro; Jovicevic, Jelena; Ju, Xiangyang; Juste Rozas, Aurelio; Köhler, Markus Konrad; Kaci, Mohammed; Kaczmarska, Anna; Kado, Marumi; Kagan, Harris; Kagan, Michael; Kahn, Sebastien Jonathan; Kajomovitz, Enrique; Kalderon, Charles William; Kaluza, Adam; Kama, Sami; Kamenshchikov, Andrey; Kanaya, Naoko; Kaneti, Steven; Kantserov, Vadim; Kanzaki, Junichi; Kaplan, Benjamin; Kaplan, Laser Seymour; Kapliy, Anton; Kar, Deepak; Karakostas, Konstantinos; Karamaoun, Andrew; Karastathis, Nikolaos; Kareem, Mohammad Jawad; Karentzos, Efstathios; Karnevskiy, Mikhail; Karpov, Sergey; Karpova, Zoya; Karthik, Krishnaiyengar; Kartvelishvili, Vakhtang; Karyukhin, Andrey; Kasahara, Kota; Kashif, Lashkar; Kass, Richard; Kastanas, Alex; Kataoka, Yousuke; Kato, Chikuma; Katre, Akshay; Katzy, Judith; Kawade, Kentaro; Kawagoe, Kiyotomo; Kawamoto, Tatsuo; Kawamura, Gen; Kazama, Shingo; Kazanin, Vassili; Keeler, Richard; Kehoe, Robert; Keller, John; Kempster, Jacob Julian; Keoshkerian, Houry; Kepka, Oldrich; Kerševan, Borut Paul; Kersten, Susanne; Keyes, Robert; Khalil-zada, Farkhad; Khandanyan, Hovhannes; Khanov, Alexander; Kharlamov, Alexey; Khoo, Teng Jian; Khovanskiy, Valery; Khramov, Evgeniy; Khubua, Jemal; Kido, Shogo; Kim, Hee Yeun; Kim, Shinhong; Kim, Young-Kee; Kimura, Naoki; Kind, Oliver Maria; King, Barry; King, Matthew; King, Samuel Burton; Kirk, Julie; Kiryunin, Andrey; Kishimoto, Tomoe; Kisielewska, Danuta; Kiss, Florian; Kiuchi, Kenji; Kivernyk, Oleh; Kladiva, Eduard; Klein, Matthew Henry; Klein, Max; Klein, Uta; Kleinknecht, Konrad; Klimek, Pawel; Klimentov, Alexei; Klingenberg, Reiner; Klinger, Joel Alexander; Klioutchnikova, Tatiana; Kluge, Eike-Erik; Kluit, Peter; Kluth, Stefan; Knapik, Joanna; Kneringer, Emmerich; Knoops, Edith; Knue, Andrea; Kobayashi, Aine; Kobayashi, Dai; Kobayashi, Tomio; Kobel, Michael; Kocian, Martin; Kodys, Peter; Koffas, Thomas; Koffeman, Els; Kogan, Lucy Anne; Kohlmann, Simon; Kohriki, Takashi; Koi, Tatsumi; Kolanoski, Hermann; Kolb, Mathis; Koletsou, Iro; Komar, Aston; Komori, Yuto; Kondo, Takahiko; Kondrashova, Nataliia; Köneke, Karsten; König, Adriaan; Kono, Takanori; Konoplich, Rostislav; Konstantinidis, Nikolaos; Kopeliansky, Revital; Koperny, Stefan; Köpke, Lutz; Kopp, Anna Katharina; Korcyl, Krzysztof; Kordas, Kostantinos; Korn, Andreas; Korol, Aleksandr; Korolkov, Ilya; Korolkova, Elena; Kortner, Oliver; Kortner, Sandra; Kosek, Tomas; Kostyukhin, Vadim; Kotov, Vladislav; Kotwal, Ashutosh; Kourkoumeli-Charalampidi, Athina; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Kouskoura, Vasiliki; Koutsman, Alex; Kowalewski, Robert Victor; Kowalski, Tadeusz; Kozanecki, Witold; Kozhin, Anatoly; Kramarenko, Viktor; Kramberger, Gregor; Krasnopevtsev, Dimitriy; Krasny, Mieczyslaw Witold; Krasznahorkay, Attila; Kraus, Jana; Kravchenko, Anton; Kretz, Moritz; Kretzschmar, Jan; Kreutzfeldt, Kristof; Krieger, Peter; Krizka, Karol; Kroeninger, Kevin; Kroha, Hubert; Kroll, Joe; Kroseberg, Juergen; Krstic, Jelena; Kruchonak, Uladzimir; Krüger, Hans; Krumnack, Nils; Kruse, Amanda; Kruse, Mark; Kruskal, Michael; Kubota, Takashi; Kucuk, Hilal; Kuday, Sinan; Kuechler, Jan Thomas; Kuehn, Susanne; Kugel, Andreas; Kuger, Fabian; Kuhl, Andrew; Kuhl, Thorsten; Kukhtin, Victor; Kukla, Romain; Kulchitsky, Yuri; Kuleshov, Sergey; Kuna, Marine; Kunigo, Takuto; Kupco, Alexander; Kurashige, Hisaya; Kurochkin, Yurii; Kus, Vlastimil; Kuwertz, Emma Sian; Kuze, Masahiro; Kvita, Jiri; Kwan, Tony; Kyriazopoulos, Dimitrios; La Rosa, Alessandro; La Rosa Navarro, Jose Luis; La Rotonda, Laura; Lacasta, Carlos; Lacava, Francesco; Lacey, James; Lacker, Heiko; Lacour, Didier; Lacuesta, Vicente Ramón; Ladygin, Evgueni; Lafaye, Remi; Laforge, Bertrand; Lagouri, Theodota; Lai, Stanley; Lambourne, Luke; Lammers, Sabine; Lampen, Caleb; Lampl, Walter; Lançon, Eric; Landgraf, Ulrich; Landon, Murrough; Lang, Valerie Susanne; Lange, J örn Christian; Lankford, Andrew; Lanni, Francesco; Lantzsch, Kerstin; Lanza, Agostino; Laplace, Sandrine; Lapoire, Cecile; Laporte, Jean-Francois; Lari, Tommaso; Lasagni Manghi, Federico; Lassnig, Mario; Laurelli, Paolo; Lavrijsen, Wim; Law, Alexander; Laycock, Paul; Lazovich, Tomo; Le Dortz, Olivier; Le Guirriec, Emmanuel; Le Menedeu, Eve; LeBlanc, Matthew Edgar; LeCompte, Thomas; Ledroit-Guillon, Fabienne Agnes Marie; Lee, Claire Alexandra; Lee, Shih-Chang; Lee, Lawrence; Lefebvre, Guillaume; Lefebvre, Michel; Legger, Federica; Leggett, Charles; Lehan, Allan; Lehmann Miotto, Giovanna; Lei, Xiaowen; Leight, William Axel; Leisos, Antonios; Leister, Andrew Gerard; Leite, Marco Aurelio Lisboa; Leitner, Rupert; Lellouch, Daniel; Lemmer, Boris; Leney, Katharine; Lenz, Tatjana; Lenzi, Bruno; Leone, Robert; Leone, Sandra; Leonidopoulos, Christos; Leontsinis, Stefanos; Leroy, Claude; Lester, Christopher; Levchenko, Mikhail; Levêque, Jessica; Levin, Daniel; Levinson, Lorne; Levy, Mark; Lewis, Adrian; Leyko, Agnieszka; Leyton, Michael; Li, Bing; Li, Haifeng; Li, Ho Ling; Li, Lei; Li, Liang; Li, Shu; Li, Xingguo; Li, Yichen; Liang, Zhijun; Liao, Hongbo; Liberti, Barbara; Liblong, Aaron; Lichard, Peter; Lie, Ki; Liebal, Jessica; Liebig, Wolfgang; Limbach, Christian; Limosani, Antonio; Lin, Simon; Lin, Tai-Hua; Lindquist, Brian Edward; Lipeles, Elliot; Lipniacka, Anna; Lisovyi, Mykhailo; Liss, Tony; Lissauer, David; Lister, Alison; Litke, Alan; Liu, Bo; Liu, Dong; Liu, Hao; Liu, Hongbin; Liu, Jian; Liu, Jianbei; Liu, Kun; Liu, Lulu; Liu, Miaoyuan; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yanlin; Liu, Yanwen; Livan, Michele; Lleres, Annick; Llorente Merino, Javier; Lloyd, Stephen; Lo Sterzo, Francesco; Lobodzinska, Ewelina; Loch, Peter; Lockman, William; Loebinger, Fred; Loevschall-Jensen, Ask Emil; Loew, Kevin Michael; Loginov, Andrey; Lohse, Thomas; Lohwasser, Kristin; Lokajicek, Milos; Long, Brian Alexander; Long, Jonathan David; Long, Robin Eamonn; Looper, Kristina Anne; Lopes, Lourenco; Lopez Mateos, David; Lopez Paredes, Brais; Lopez Paz, Ivan; Lopez Solis, Alvaro; Lorenz, Jeanette; Lorenzo Martinez, Narei; Losada, Marta; Lösel, Philipp Jonathan; Lou, XinChou; Lounis, Abdenour; Love, Jeremy; Love, Peter; Lu, Haonan; Lu, Nan; Lubatti, Henry; Luci, Claudio; Lucotte, Arnaud; Luedtke, Christian; Luehring, Frederick; Lukas, Wolfgang; Luminari, Lamberto; Lundberg, Olof; Lund-Jensen, Bengt; Lynn, David; Lysak, Roman; Lytken, Else; Ma, Hong; Ma, Lian Liang; Maccarrone, Giovanni; Macchiolo, Anna; Macdonald, Calum Michael; Maček, Boštjan; Machado Miguens, Joana; Madaffari, Daniele; Madar, Romain; Maddocks, Harvey Jonathan; Mader, Wolfgang; Madsen, Alexander; Maeda, Junpei; Maeland, Steffen; Maeno, Tadashi; Maevskiy, Artem; Magradze, Erekle; Mahlstedt, Joern; Maiani, Camilla; Maidantchik, Carmen; Maier, Andreas Alexander; Maier, Thomas; Maio, Amélia; Majewski, Stephanie; Makida, Yasuhiro; Makovec, Nikola; Malaescu, Bogdan; Malecki, Pawel; Maleev, Victor; Malek, Fairouz; Mallik, Usha; Malon, David; Malone, Caitlin; Maltezos, Stavros; Malyshev, Vladimir; Malyukov, Sergei; Mamuzic, Judita; Mancini, Giada; Mandelli, Beatrice; Mandelli, Luciano; Mandić, Igor; Maneira, José; Manhaes de Andrade Filho, Luciano; Manjarres Ramos, Joany; Mann, Alexander; Mansoulie, Bruno; Mantifel, Rodger; Mantoani, Matteo; Manzoni, Stefano; Mapelli, Livio; March, Luis; Marchiori, Giovanni; Marcisovsky, Michal; Marjanovic, Marija; Marley, Daniel; Marroquim, Fernando; Marsden, Stephen Philip; Marshall, Zach; Marti, Lukas Fritz; Marti-Garcia, Salvador; Martin, Brian Thomas; Martin, Tim; Martin, Victoria Jane; Martin dit Latour, Bertrand; Martinez, Mario; Martin-Haugh, Stewart; Martoiu, Victor Sorin; Martyniuk, Alex; Marx, Marilyn; Marzano, Francesco; Marzin, Antoine; Masetti, Lucia; Mashimo, Tetsuro; Mashinistov, Ruslan; Masik, Jiri; Maslennikov, Alexey; Massa, Ignazio; Massa, Lorenzo; Mastrandrea, Paolo; Mastroberardino, Anna; Masubuchi, Tatsuya; Mättig, Peter; Mattmann, Johannes; Maurer, Julien; Maxfield, Stephen; Maximov, Dmitriy; Mazini, Rachid; Mazza, Simone Michele; Mc Fadden, Neil Christopher; Mc Goldrick, Garrin; Mc Kee, Shawn Patrick; McCarn, Allison; McCarthy, Robert; McCarthy, Tom; McFarlane, Kenneth; Mcfayden, Josh; Mchedlidze, Gvantsa; McMahon, Steve; McPherson, Robert; Medinnis, Michael; Meehan, Samuel; Mehlhase, Sascha; Mehta, Andrew; Meier, Karlheinz; Meineck, Christian; Meirose, Bernhard; Mellado Garcia, Bruce Rafael; Meloni, Federico; Mengarelli, Alberto; Menke, Sven; Meoni, Evelin; Mercurio, Kevin Michael; Mergelmeyer, Sebastian; Mermod, Philippe; Merola, Leonardo; Meroni, Chiara; Merritt, Frank; Messina, Andrea; Metcalfe, Jessica; Mete, Alaettin Serhan; Meyer, Carsten; Meyer, Christopher; Meyer, Jean-Pierre; Meyer, Jochen; Meyer Zu Theenhausen, Hanno; Middleton, Robin; Miglioranzi, Silvia; Mijović, Liza; Mikenberg, Giora; Mikestikova, Marcela; Mikuž, Marko; Milesi, Marco; Milic, Adriana; Miller, David; Mills, Corrinne; Milov, Alexander; Milstead, David; Minaenko, Andrey; Minami, Yuto; Minashvili, Irakli; Mincer, Allen; Mindur, Bartosz; Mineev, Mikhail; Ming, Yao; Mir, Lluisa-Maria; Mistry, Khilesh; Mitani, Takashi; Mitrevski, Jovan; Mitsou, Vasiliki A; Miucci, Antonio; Miyagawa, Paul; Mjörnmark, Jan-Ulf; Moa, Torbjoern; Mochizuki, Kazuya; Mohapatra, Soumya; Mohr, Wolfgang; Molander, Simon; Moles-Valls, Regina; Monden, Ryutaro; Mondragon, Matthew Craig; Mönig, Klaus; Monk, James; Monnier, Emmanuel; Montalbano, Alyssa; Montejo Berlingen, Javier; Monticelli, Fernando; Monzani, Simone; Moore, Roger; Morange, Nicolas; Moreno, Deywis; Moreno Llácer, María; Morettini, Paolo; Mori, Daniel; Mori, Tatsuya; Morii, Masahiro; Morinaga, Masahiro; Morisbak, Vanja; Moritz, Sebastian; Morley, Anthony Keith; Mornacchi, Giuseppe; Morris, John; Mortensen, Simon Stark; Morvaj, Ljiljana; Mosidze, Maia; Moss, Josh; Motohashi, Kazuki; Mount, Richard; Mountricha, Eleni; Mouraviev, Sergei; Moyse, Edward; Muanza, Steve; Mudd, Richard; Mueller, Felix; Mueller, James; Mueller, Ralph Soeren Peter; Mueller, Thibaut; Muenstermann, Daniel; Mullen, Paul; Mullier, Geoffrey; Munoz Sanchez, Francisca Javiela; Murillo Quijada, Javier Alberto; Murray, Bill; Musheghyan, Haykuhi; Myagkov, Alexey; Myska, Miroslav; Nachman, Benjamin Philip; Nackenhorst, Olaf; Nadal, Jordi; Nagai, Koichi; Nagai, Ryo; Nagai, Yoshikazu; Nagano, Kunihiro; Nagasaka, Yasushi; Nagata, Kazuki; Nagel, Martin; Nagy, Elemer; Nairz, Armin Michael; Nakahama, Yu; Nakamura, Koji; Nakamura, Tomoaki; Nakano, Itsuo; Namasivayam, Harisankar; Naranjo Garcia, Roger Felipe; Narayan, Rohin; Narrias Villar, Daniel Isaac; Naryshkin, Iouri; Naumann, Thomas; Navarro, Gabriela; Nayyar, Ruchika; Neal, Homer; Nechaeva, Polina; Neep, Thomas James; Nef, Pascal Daniel; Negri, Andrea; Negrini, Matteo; Nektarijevic, Snezana; Nellist, Clara; Nelson, Andrew; Nemecek, Stanislav; Nemethy, Peter; Nepomuceno, Andre Asevedo; Nessi, Marzio; Neubauer, Mark; Neumann, Manuel; Neves, Ricardo; Nevski, Pavel; Newman, Paul; Nguyen, Duong Hai; Nickerson, Richard; Nicolaidou, Rosy; Nicquevert, Bertrand; Nielsen, Jason; Nikiforov, Andriy; Nikolaenko, Vladimir; Nikolic-Audit, Irena; Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos; Nilsen, Jon Kerr; Nilsson, Paul; Ninomiya, Yoichi; Nisati, Aleandro; Nisius, Richard; Nobe, Takuya; Nodulman, Lawrence; Nomachi, Masaharu; Nomidis, Ioannis; Nooney, Tamsin; Norberg, Scarlet; Nordberg, Markus; Novgorodova, Olga; Nowak, Sebastian; Nozaki, Mitsuaki; Nozka, Libor; Ntekas, Konstantinos; Nurse, Emily; Nuti, Francesco; O'grady, Fionnbarr; O'Neil, Dugan; O'Shea, Val; Oakham, Gerald; Oberlack, Horst; Obermann, Theresa; Ocariz, Jose; Ochi, Atsuhiko; Ochoa, Ines; Ochoa-Ricoux, Juan Pedro; Oda, Susumu; Odaka, Shigeru; Ogren, Harold; Oh, Alexander; Oh, Seog; Ohm, Christian; Ohman, Henrik; Oide, Hideyuki; Okawa, Hideki; Okumura, Yasuyuki; Okuyama, Toyonobu; Olariu, Albert; Oleiro Seabra, Luis Filipe; Olivares Pino, Sebastian Andres; Oliveira Damazio, Denis; Olszewski, Andrzej; Olszowska, Jolanta; Onofre, António; Onogi, Kouta; Onyisi, Peter; Oram, Christopher; Oreglia, Mark; Oren, Yona; Orestano, Domizia; Orlando, Nicola; Orr, Robert; Osculati, Bianca; Ospanov, Rustem; Otero y Garzon, Gustavo; Otono, Hidetoshi; Ouchrif, Mohamed; Ould-Saada, Farid; Ouraou, Ahmimed; Oussoren, Koen Pieter; Ouyang, Qun; Ovcharova, Ana; Owen, Mark; Owen, Rhys Edward; Ozcan, Veysi Erkcan; Ozturk, Nurcan; Pachal, Katherine; Pacheco Pages, Andres; Padilla Aranda, Cristobal; Pagáčová, Martina; Pagan Griso, Simone; Paige, Frank; Pais, Preema; Pajchel, Katarina; Palacino, Gabriel; Palestini, Sandro; Palka, Marek; Pallin, Dominique; Palma, Alberto; Panagiotopoulou, Evgenia; Pandini, Carlo Enrico; Panduro Vazquez, William; Pani, Priscilla; Panitkin, Sergey; Pantea, Dan; Paolozzi, Lorenzo; Papadopoulou, Theodora; Papageorgiou, Konstantinos; Paramonov, Alexander; Paredes Hernandez, Daniela; Parker, Michael Andrew; Parker, Kerry Ann; Parodi, Fabrizio; Parsons, John; Parzefall, Ulrich; Pascuzzi, Vincent; Pasqualucci, Enrico; Passaggio, Stefano; Pastore, Fernanda; Pastore, Francesca; Pásztor, Gabriella; Pataraia, Sophio; Patel, Nikhul; Pater, Joleen; Pauly, Thilo; Pearce, James; Pearson, Benjamin; Pedersen, Lars Egholm; Pedersen, Maiken; Pedraza Lopez, Sebastian; Pedro, Rute; Peleganchuk, Sergey; Pelikan, Daniel; Penc, Ondrej; Peng, Cong; Peng, Haiping; Penning, Bjoern; Penwell, John; Perepelitsa, Dennis; Perez Codina, Estel; Perini, Laura; Pernegger, Heinz; Perrella, Sabrina; Peschke, Richard; Peshekhonov, Vladimir; Peters, Krisztian; Peters, Yvonne; Petersen, Brian; Petersen, Troels; Petit, Elisabeth; Petridis, Andreas; Petridou, Chariclia; Petroff, Pierre; Petrolo, Emilio; Petrucci, Fabrizio; Pettersson, Nora Emilia; Peyaud, Alan; Pezoa, Raquel; Phillips, Peter William; Piacquadio, Giacinto; Pianori, Elisabetta; Picazio, Attilio; Piccaro, Elisa; Piccinini, Maurizio; Pickering, Mark Andrew; Piegaia, Ricardo; Pilcher, James; Pilkington, Andrew; Pin, Arnaud Willy J; Pina, João Antonio; Pinamonti, Michele; Pinfold, James; Pingel, Almut; Pires, Sylvestre; Pirumov, Hayk; Pitt, Michael; Plazak, Lukas; Pleier, Marc-Andre; Pleskot, Vojtech; Plotnikova, Elena; Plucinski, Pawel; Pluth, Daniel; Poettgen, Ruth; Poggioli, Luc; Pohl, David-leon; Polesello, Giacomo; Poley, Anne-luise; Policicchio, Antonio; Polifka, Richard; Polini, Alessandro; Pollard, Christopher Samuel; Polychronakos, Venetios; Pommès, Kathy; Pontecorvo, Ludovico; Pope, Bernard; Popeneciu, Gabriel Alexandru; Popovic, Dragan; Poppleton, Alan; Pospisil, Stanislav; Potamianos, Karolos; Potrap, Igor; Potter, Christina; Potter, Christopher; Poulard, Gilbert; Poveda, Joaquin; Pozdnyakov, Valery; Pozo Astigarraga, Mikel Eukeni; Pralavorio, Pascal; Pranko, Aliaksandr; Prell, Soeren; Price, Darren; Price, Lawrence; Primavera, Margherita; Prince, Sebastien; Proissl, Manuel; Prokofiev, Kirill; Prokoshin, Fedor; Protopapadaki, Eftychia-sofia; Protopopescu, Serban; Proudfoot, James; Przybycien, Mariusz; Puddu, Daniele; Puldon, David; Purohit, Milind; Puzo, Patrick; Qian, Jianming; Qin, Gang; Qin, Yang; Quadt, Arnulf; Quarrie, David; Quayle, William; Queitsch-Maitland, Michaela; Quilty, Donnchadha; Raddum, Silje; Radeka, Veljko; Radescu, Voica; Radhakrishnan, Sooraj Krishnan; Radloff, Peter; Rados, Pere; Ragusa, Francesco; Rahal, Ghita; Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Rammensee, Michael; Rangel-Smith, Camila; Rauscher, Felix; Rave, Stefan; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Raymond, Michel; Read, Alexander Lincoln; Readioff, Nathan Peter; Rebuzzi, Daniela; Redelbach, Andreas; Redlinger, George; Reece, Ryan; Reeves, Kendall; Rehnisch, Laura; Reichert, Joseph; Reisin, Hernan; Rembser, Christoph; Ren, Huan; Rescigno, Marco; Resconi, Silvia; Rezanova, Olga; Reznicek, Pavel; Rezvani, Reyhaneh; Richter, Robert; Richter, Stefan; Richter-Was, Elzbieta; Ricken, Oliver; Ridel, Melissa; Rieck, Patrick; Riegel, Christian Johann; Rieger, Julia; Rifki, Othmane; Rijssenbeek, Michael; Rimoldi, Adele; Rinaldi, Lorenzo; Ristić, Branislav; Ritsch, Elmar; Riu, Imma; Rizatdinova, Flera; Rizvi, Eram; Robertson, Steven; Robichaud-Veronneau, Andree; Robinson, Dave; Robinson, James; Robson, Aidan; Roda, Chiara; Rodina, Yulia; Rodriguez Perez, Andrea; Roe, Shaun; Rogan, Christopher Sean; Røhne, Ole; Romaniouk, Anatoli; Romano, Marino; Romano Saez, Silvestre Marino; Romero Adam, Elena; Rompotis, Nikolaos; Ronzani, Manfredi; Roos, Lydia; Ros, Eduardo; Rosati, Stefano; Rosbach, Kilian; Rose, Peyton; Rosenthal, Oliver; Rossetti, Valerio; Rossi, Elvira; Rossi, Leonardo Paolo; Rosten, Jonatan; Rosten, Rachel; Rotaru, Marina; Roth, Itamar; Rothberg, Joseph; Rousseau, David; Royon, Christophe; Rozanov, Alexandre; Rozen, Yoram; Ruan, Xifeng; Rubbo, Francesco; Rubinskiy, Igor; Rud, Viacheslav; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Rühr, Frederik; Ruiz-Martinez, Aranzazu; Rurikova, Zuzana; Rusakovich, Nikolai; Ruschke, Alexander; Russell, Heather; Rutherfoord, John; Ruthmann, Nils; Ryabov, Yury; Rybar, Martin; Rybkin, Grigori; Ryder, Nick; Ryzhov, Andrey; Saavedra, Aldo; Sabato, Gabriele; Sacerdoti, Sabrina; Sadrozinski, Hartmut; Sadykov, Renat; Safai Tehrani, Francesco; Saha, Puja; Sahinsoy, Merve; Saimpert, Matthias; Saito, Tomoyuki; Sakamoto, Hiroshi; Sakurai, Yuki; Salamanna, Giuseppe; Salamon, Andrea; Salazar Loyola, Javier Esteban; Salek, David; Sales De Bruin, Pedro Henrique; Salihagic, Denis; Salnikov, Andrei; Salt, José; Salvatore, Daniela; Salvatore, Pasquale Fabrizio; Salvucci, Antonio; Salzburger, Andreas; Sammel, Dirk; Sampsonidis, Dimitrios; Sanchez, Arturo; Sánchez, Javier; Sanchez Martinez, Victoria; Sandaker, Heidi; Sandbach, Ruth Laura; Sander, Heinz Georg; Sanders, Michiel; Sandhoff, Marisa; Sandoval, Carlos; Sandstroem, Rikard; Sankey, Dave; Sannino, Mario; Sansoni, Andrea; Santoni, Claudio; Santonico, Rinaldo; Santos, Helena; Santoyo Castillo, Itzebelt; Sapp, Kevin; Sapronov, Andrey; Saraiva, João; Sarrazin, Bjorn; Sasaki, Osamu; Sasaki, Yuichi; Sato, Koji; Sauvage, Gilles; Sauvan, Emmanuel; Savage, Graham; Savard, Pierre; Sawyer, Craig; Sawyer, Lee; Saxon, James; Sbarra, Carla; Sbrizzi, Antonio; Scanlon, Tim; Scannicchio, Diana; Scarcella, Mark; Scarfone, Valerio; Schaarschmidt, Jana; Schacht, Peter; Schaefer, Douglas; Schaefer, Ralph; Schaeffer, Jan; Schaepe, Steffen; Schaetzel, Sebastian; Schäfer, Uli; Schaffer, Arthur; Schaile, Dorothee; Schamberger, R Dean; Scharf, Veit; Schegelsky, Valery; Scheirich, Daniel; Schernau, Michael; Schiavi, Carlo; Schillo, Christian; Schioppa, Marco; Schlenker, Stefan; Schmieden, Kristof; Schmitt, Christian; Schmitt, Sebastian; Schmitt, Stefan; Schmitz, Simon; Schneider, Basil; Schnellbach, Yan Jie; Schnoor, Ulrike; Schoeffel, Laurent; Schoening, Andre; Schoenrock, Bradley Daniel; Schopf, Elisabeth; Schorlemmer, Andre Lukas; Schott, Matthias; Schouten, Doug; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Schramm, Steven; Schreyer, Manuel; Schuh, Natascha; Schultens, Martin Johannes; Schultz-Coulon, Hans-Christian; Schulz, Holger; Schumacher, Markus; Schumm, Bruce; Schune, Philippe; Schwanenberger, Christian; Schwartzman, Ariel; Schwarz, Thomas Andrew; Schwegler, Philipp; Schweiger, Hansdieter; Schwemling, Philippe; Schwienhorst, Reinhard; Schwindling, Jerome; Schwindt, Thomas; Sciolla, Gabriella; Scuri, Fabrizio; Scutti, Federico; Searcy, Jacob; Seema, Pienpen; Seidel, Sally; Seiden, Abraham; Seifert, Frank; Seixas, José; Sekhniaidze, Givi; Sekhon, Karishma; Sekula, Stephen; Seliverstov, Dmitry; Semprini-Cesari, Nicola; Serfon, Cedric; Serin, Laurent; Serkin, Leonid; Sessa, Marco; Seuster, Rolf; Severini, Horst; Sfiligoj, Tina; Sforza, Federico; Sfyrla, Anna; Shabalina, Elizaveta; Shaikh, Nabila Wahab; Shan, Lianyou; Shang, Ruo-yu; Shank, James; Shapiro, Marjorie; Shatalov, Pavel; Shaw, Kate; Shaw, Savanna Marie; Shcherbakova, Anna; Shehu, Ciwake Yusufu; Sherwood, Peter; Shi, Liaoshan; Shimizu, Shima; Shimmin, Chase Owen; Shimojima, Makoto; Shiyakova, Mariya; Shmeleva, Alevtina; Shoaleh Saadi, Diane; Shochet, Mel; Shojaii, Seyedruhollah; Shrestha, Suyog; Shulga, Evgeny; Shupe, Michael; Sicho, Petr; Sidebo, Per Edvin; Sidiropoulou, Ourania; Sidorov, Dmitri; Sidoti, Antonio; Siegert, Frank; Sijacki, Djordje; Silva, José; Silverstein, Samuel; Simak, Vladislav; Simard, Olivier; Simic, Ljiljana; Simion, Stefan; Simioni, Eduard; Simmons, Brinick; Simon, Dorian; Simon, Manuel; Sinervo, Pekka; Sinev, Nikolai; Sioli, Maximiliano; Siragusa, Giovanni; Sivoklokov, Serguei; Sjölin, Jörgen; Sjursen, Therese; Skinner, Malcolm Bruce; Skottowe, Hugh Philip; Skubic, Patrick; Slater, Mark; Slavicek, Tomas; Slawinska, Magdalena; Sliwa, Krzysztof; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Smart, Ben; Smestad, Lillian; Smirnov, Sergei; Smirnov, Yury; Smirnova, Lidia; Smirnova, Oxana; Smith, Matthew; Smith, Russell; Smizanska, Maria; Smolek, Karel; Snesarev, Andrei; Snidero, Giacomo; Snyder, Scott; Sobie, Randall; Socher, Felix; Soffer, Abner; Soh, Dart-yin; Sokhrannyi, Grygorii; Solans Sanchez, Carlos; Solar, Michael; Soldatov, Evgeny; Soldevila, Urmila; Solodkov, Alexander; Soloshenko, Alexei; Solovyanov, Oleg; Solovyev, Victor; Sommer, Philip; Song, Hong Ye; Soni, Nitesh; Sood, Alexander; Sopczak, Andre; Sopko, Vit; Sorin, Veronica; Sosa, David; Sotiropoulou, Calliope Louisa; Soualah, Rachik; Soukharev, Andrey; South, David; Sowden, Benjamin; Spagnolo, Stefania; Spalla, Margherita; Spangenberg, Martin; Spanò, Francesco; Sperlich, Dennis; Spettel, Fabian; Spighi, Roberto; Spigo, Giancarlo; Spiller, Laurence Anthony; Spousta, Martin; St Denis, Richard Dante; Stabile, Alberto; Staerz, Steffen; Stahlman, Jonathan; Stamen, Rainer; Stamm, Soren; Stanecka, Ewa; Stanek, Robert; Stanescu, Cristian; Stanescu-Bellu, Madalina; Stanitzki, Marcel Michael; Stapnes, Steinar; Starchenko, Evgeny; Stark, Giordon; Stark, Jan; Staroba, Pavel; Starovoitov, Pavel; Staszewski, Rafal; Steinberg, Peter; Stelzer, Bernd; Stelzer, Harald Joerg; Stelzer-Chilton, Oliver; Stenzel, Hasko; Stewart, Graeme; Stillings, Jan Andre; Stockton, Mark; Stoebe, Michael; Stoicea, Gabriel; Stolte, Philipp; Stonjek, Stefan; Stradling, Alden; Straessner, Arno; Stramaglia, Maria Elena; Strandberg, Jonas; Strandberg, Sara; Strandlie, Are; Strauss, Michael; Strizenec, Pavol; Ströhmer, Raimund; Strom, David; Stroynowski, Ryszard; Strubig, Antonia; Stucci, Stefania Antonia; Stugu, Bjarne; Styles, Nicholas Adam; Su, Dong; Su, Jun; Subramaniam, Rajivalochan; Suchek, Stanislav; Sugaya, Yorihito; Suk, Michal; Sulin, Vladimir; Sultansoy, Saleh; Sumida, Toshi; Sun, Siyuan; Sun, Xiaohu; Sundermann, Jan Erik; Suruliz, Kerim; Susinno, Giancarlo; Sutton, Mark; Suzuki, Shota; Svatos, Michal; Swiatlowski, Maximilian; Sykora, Ivan; Sykora, Tomas; Ta, Duc; Taccini, Cecilia; Tackmann, Kerstin; Taenzer, Joe; Taffard, Anyes; Tafirout, Reda; Taiblum, Nimrod; Takai, Helio; Takashima, Ryuichi; Takeda, Hiroshi; Takeshita, Tohru; Takubo, Yosuke; Talby, Mossadek; Talyshev, Alexey; Tam, Jason; Tan, Kong Guan; Tanaka, Junichi; Tanaka, Reisaburo; Tanaka, Shuji; Tannenwald, Benjamin Bordy; Tapia Araya, Sebastian; Tapprogge, Stefan; Tarem, Shlomit; Tartarelli, Giuseppe Francesco; Tas, Petr; Tasevsky, Marek; Tashiro, Takuya; Tassi, Enrico; Tavares Delgado, Ademar; Tayalati, Yahya; Taylor, Aaron; Taylor, Geoffrey; Taylor, Pierre Thor Elliot; Taylor, Wendy; Teischinger, Florian Alfred; Teixeira-Dias, Pedro; Temming, Kim Katrin; Temple, Darren; Ten Kate, Herman; Teng, Ping-Kun; Teoh, Jia Jian; Tepel, Fabian-Phillipp; Terada, Susumu; Terashi, Koji; Terron, Juan; Terzo, Stefano; Testa, Marianna; Teuscher, Richard; Theveneaux-Pelzer, Timothée; Thomas, Juergen; Thomas-Wilsker, Joshuha; Thompson, Emily; Thompson, Paul; Thompson, Ray; Thompson, Stan; Thomsen, Lotte Ansgaard; Thomson, Evelyn; Thomson, Mark; Tibbetts, Mark James; Ticse Torres, Royer Edson; Tikhomirov, Vladimir; Tikhonov, Yury; Timoshenko, Sergey; Tiouchichine, Elodie; Tipton, Paul; Tisserant, Sylvain; Todome, Kazuki; Todorov, Theodore; Todorova-Nova, Sharka; Tojo, Junji; Tokár, Stanislav; Tokushuku, Katsuo; Tolley, Emma; Tomlinson, Lee; Tomoto, Makoto; Tompkins, Lauren; Toms, Konstantin; Tong, Baojia(Tony); Torrence, Eric; Torres, Heberth; Torró Pastor, Emma; Toth, Jozsef; Touchard, Francois; Tovey, Daniel; Trefzger, Thomas; Tremblet, Louis; Tricoli, Alessandro; Trigger, Isabel Marian; Trincaz-Duvoid, Sophie; Tripiana, Martin; Trischuk, William; Trocmé, Benjamin; Trofymov, Artur; Troncon, Clara; Trottier-McDonald, Michel; Trovatelli, Monica; Truong, Loan; Trzebinski, Maciej; Trzupek, Adam; Tseng, Jeffrey; Tsiareshka, Pavel; Tsipolitis, Georgios; Tsirintanis, Nikolaos; Tsiskaridze, Shota; Tsiskaridze, Vakhtang; Tskhadadze, Edisher; Tsui, Ka Ming; Tsukerman, Ilya; Tsulaia, Vakhtang; Tsuno, Soshi; Tsybychev, Dmitri; Tudorache, Alexandra; Tudorache, Valentina; Tuna, Alexander Naip; Tupputi, Salvatore; Turchikhin, Semen; Turecek, Daniel; Turgeman, Daniel; Turra, Ruggero; Turvey, Andrew John; Tuts, Michael; Tylmad, Maja; Tyndel, Mike; Ueda, Ikuo; Ueno, Ryuichi; Ughetto, Michael; Ukegawa, Fumihiko; Unal, Guillaume; Undrus, Alexander; Unel, Gokhan; Ungaro, Francesca; Unno, Yoshinobu; Unverdorben, Christopher; Urban, Jozef; Urquijo, Phillip; Urrejola, Pedro; Usai, Giulio; Usanova, Anna; Vacavant, Laurent; Vacek, Vaclav; Vachon, Brigitte; Valderanis, Chrysostomos; Valencic, Nika; Valentinetti, Sara; Valero, Alberto; Valery, Loic; Valkar, Stefan; Vallecorsa, Sofia; Valls Ferrer, Juan Antonio; Van Den Wollenberg, Wouter; Van Der Deijl, Pieter; van der Geer, Rogier; van der Graaf, Harry; van Eldik, Niels; van Gemmeren, Peter; Van Nieuwkoop, Jacobus; van Vulpen, Ivo; van Woerden, Marius Cornelis; Vanadia, Marco; Vandelli, Wainer; Vanguri, Rami; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Vardanyan, Gagik; Vari, Riccardo; Varnes, Erich; Varol, Tulin; Varouchas, Dimitris; Vartapetian, Armen; Varvell, Kevin; Vazeille, Francois; Vazquez Schroeder, Tamara; Veatch, Jason; Veloce, Laurelle Maria; Veloso, Filipe; Veneziano, Stefano; Ventura, Andrea; Venturi, Manuela; Venturi, Nicola; Venturini, Alessio; Vercesi, Valerio; Verducci, Monica; Verkerke, Wouter; Vermeulen, Jos; Vest, Anja; Vetterli, Michel; Viazlo, Oleksandr; Vichou, Irene; Vickey, Trevor; Vickey Boeriu, Oana Elena; Viehhauser, Georg; Viel, Simon; Vigne, Ralph; Villa, Mauro; Villaplana Perez, Miguel; Vilucchi, Elisabetta; Vincter, Manuella; Vinogradov, Vladimir; Vivarelli, Iacopo; Vlachos, Sotirios; Vladoiu, Dan; Vlasak, Michal; Vogel, Marcelo; Vokac, Petr; Volpi, Guido; Volpi, Matteo; von der Schmitt, Hans; von Toerne, Eckhard; Vorobel, Vit; Vorobev, Konstantin; Vos, Marcel; Voss, Rudiger; Vossebeld, Joost; Vranjes, Nenad; Vranjes Milosavljevic, Marija; Vrba, Vaclav; Vreeswijk, Marcel; Vuillermet, Raphael; Vukotic, Ilija; Vykydal, Zdenek; Wagner, Peter; Wagner, Wolfgang; Wahlberg, Hernan; Wahrmund, Sebastian; Wakabayashi, Jun; Walder, James; Walker, Rodney; Walkowiak, Wolfgang; Wallangen, Veronica; Wang, Chao; Wang, Chao; Wang, Fuquan; Wang, Haichen; Wang, Hulin; Wang, Jike; Wang, Jin; Wang, Kuhan; Wang, Rui; Wang, Song-Ming; Wang, Tan; Wang, Tingting; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Wanotayaroj, Chaowaroj; Warburton, Andreas; Ward, Patricia; Wardrope, David Robert; Washbrook, Andrew; Watkins, Peter; Watson, Alan; Watson, Ian; Watson, Miriam; Watts, Gordon; Watts, Stephen; Waugh, Ben; Webb, Samuel; Weber, Michele; Weber, Stefan Wolf; Webster, Jordan S; Weidberg, Anthony; Weinert, Benjamin; Weingarten, Jens; Weiser, Christian; Weits, Hartger; Wells, Phillippa; Wenaus, Torre; Wengler, Thorsten; Wenig, Siegfried; Wermes, Norbert; Werner, Matthias; Werner, Per; Wessels, Martin; Wetter, Jeffrey; Whalen, Kathleen; Wharton, Andrew Mark; White, Andrew; White, Martin; White, Ryan; White, Sebastian; Whiteson, Daniel; Wickens, Fred; Wiedenmann, Werner; Wielers, Monika; Wienemann, Peter; Wiglesworth, Craig; Wiik-Fuchs, Liv Antje Mari; Wildauer, Andreas; Wilkens, Henric George; Williams, Hugh; Williams, Sarah; Willis, Christopher; Willocq, Stephane; Wilson, John; Wingerter-Seez, Isabelle; Winklmeier, Frank; Winter, Benedict Tobias; Wittgen, Matthias; Wittkowski, Josephine; Wollstadt, Simon Jakob; Wolter, Marcin Wladyslaw; Wolters, Helmut; Wosiek, Barbara; Wotschack, Jorg; Woudstra, Martin; Wozniak, Krzysztof; Wu, Mengqing; Wu, Miles; Wu, Sau Lan; Wu, Xin; Wu, Yusheng; Wyatt, Terry Richard; Wynne, Benjamin; Xella, Stefania; Xu, Da; Xu, Lailin; Yabsley, Bruce; Yacoob, Sahal; Yakabe, Ryota; Yamaguchi, Daiki; Yamaguchi, Yohei; Yamamoto, Akira; Yamamoto, Shimpei; Yamanaka, Takashi; Yamauchi, Katsuya; Yamazaki, Yuji; Yan, Zhen; Yang, Haijun; Yang, Hongtao; Yang, Yi; Yang, Zongchang; Yao, Weiming; Yap, Yee Chinn; Yasu, Yoshiji; Yatsenko, Elena; Yau Wong, Kaven Henry; Ye, Jingbo; Ye, Shuwei; Yeletskikh, Ivan; Yen, Andy L; Yildirim, Eda; Yorita, Kohei; Yoshida, Rikutaro; Yoshihara, Keisuke; Young, Charles; Young, Christopher John; Youssef, Saul; Yu, David Ren-Hwa; Yu, Jaehoon; Yu, Jiaming; Yu, Jie; Yuan, Li; Yuen, Stephanie P; Yusuff, Imran; Zabinski, Bartlomiej; Zaidan, Remi; Zaitsev, Alexander; Zakharchuk, Nataliia; Zalieckas, Justas; Zaman, Aungshuman; Zambito, Stefano; Zanello, Lucia; Zanzi, Daniele; Zeitnitz, Christian; Zeman, Martin; Zemla, Andrzej; Zeng, Jian Cong; Zeng, Qi; Zengel, Keith; Zenin, Oleg; Ženiš, Tibor; Zerwas, Dirk; Zhang, Dongliang; Zhang, Fangzhou; Zhang, Guangyi; Zhang, Huijun; Zhang, Jinlong; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Ruiqi; Zhang, Xueyao; Zhang, Zhiqing; Zhao, Xiandong; Zhao, Yongke; Zhao, Zhengguo; Zhemchugov, Alexey; Zhong, Jiahang; Zhou, Bing; Zhou, Chen; Zhou, Lei; Zhou, Li; Zhou, Mingliang; Zhou, Ning; Zhu, Cheng Guang; Zhu, Hongbo; Zhu, Junjie; Zhu, Yingchun; Zhuang, Xuai; Zhukov, Konstantin; Zibell, Andre; Zieminska, Daria; Zimine, Nikolai; Zimmermann, Christoph; Zimmermann, Stephanie; Zinonos, Zinonas; Zinser, Markus; Ziolkowski, Michael; Živković, Lidija; Zobernig, Georg; Zoccoli, Antonio; zur Nedden, Martin; Zurzolo, Giovanni; Zwalinski, Lukasz

    2016-08-08

    A search for singly produced vector-like $Q$ quarks, where $Q$ can be either a $T$ quark with charge $+2/3$ or a $Y$ quark with charge $-4/3$, is performed in proton--proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ and was produced with a centre-of-mass energy of $\\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV. This analysis targets $Q \\to Wb$ decays where the $W$ boson decays leptonically. A veto on massive large-radius jets is used to reject the dominant $t\\bar{t}$ background. The reconstructed $Q$-candidate mass, ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 TeV, is used in the search to discriminate signal from background processes. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed, and limits are set on the $Q \\to Wb$ cross-section times branching ratio. The results are also interpreted as limits on the $QWb$ coupling and the mixing with the Standard Model sector for a singlet $T$ quark or a $Y$ quark from a doublet. $T$ quarks with masses below 0.95...

  19. Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication by noncoplanar polychlorinated biphenyls: Inhibitory potencies and screening for potential mode(s) of action

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Machala, M.; Bláha, L.; Vondráček, Jan; Trosko, J. E.; Scott, J.; Upham, B. L.

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 76, č. 1 (2003), s. 102-111 ISSN 1096-6080 R&D Projects: GA MZe QC0194; GA ČR GA525/00/D101 Grant - others:National Institute of Health(US) P42 ES04911-07 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5004920 Keywords : WB-F344 cell line * gap junction * PCB congeners Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 3.067, year: 2003

  20. Diagnostic Challenges in Prostate Cancer and 68Ga-PSMA PET Imaging: A Game Changer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaman, Maseeh uz; Fatima, Nosheen; Zaman, Areeba; Sajid, Mahwsih; Zaman, Unaiza; Zaman, Sidra

    2017-10-26

    Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequent solid tumor in men and the third most common cause of cancer mortality among men in developed countries. Current imaging modalities like ultrasound (US), computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and choline based positron emission (PET) tracing have disappointing sensitivity for detection of nodal metastasis and small tumor recurrence. This poses a diagnostic challenge in staging of intermediate to high risk PC and restaging of patients with biochemical recurrence (PSA >0.2 ng/ml). Gallium-68 labeled prostate specific membrane antigen (68Ga-PSMA) PET imaging has now emerged with a higher diagnostic yield. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT or PET/MRI can be expected to offer a one-stop-shop for staging and restaging of PC. PSMA ligands labeled with alpha and beta emitters have also shown promising therapeutic efficacy for nodal, bone and visceral metastasis. Therefore a PSMA based theranostics approach for detection, staging, treatment, and follow-up of PC would appear to be highly valuable to achieve personalized PC treatment. Creative Commons Attribution License

  1. Polarization-engineered GaN/InGaN/GaN tunnel diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnamoorthy, Sriram; Nath, Digbijoy N.; Akyol, Fatih; Park, Pil Sung; Esposto, Michele; Rajan, Siddharth

    2010-01-01

    We report on the design and demonstration of polarization-engineered GaN/InGaN/GaN tunnel junction diodes with high current density and low tunneling turn-on voltage. Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin calculations were used to model and design tunnel junctions with narrow band gap InGaN-based barrier layers. N-polar p-GaN/In 0.33 Ga 0.67 N/n-GaN heterostructure tunnel diodes were grown using molecular beam epitaxy. Efficient interband tunneling was achieved close to zero bias with a high current density of 118 A/cm 2 at a reverse bias of 1 V, reaching a maximum current density up to 9.2 kA/cm 2 . These results represent the highest current density reported in III-nitride tunnel junctions and demonstrate the potential of III-nitride tunnel devices for a broad range of optoelectronic and electronic applications.

  2. Automated synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of [{sup 68}Ga]Ga-AMBA, and the synthesis and characterization of {sup nat}Ga-AMBA and [{sup 67}Ga]Ga-AMBA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cagnolini, Aldo; Chen Jianqing; Ramos, Kimberly; Marie Skedzielewski, Tina; Lantry, Laura E.; Nunn, Adrian D.; Swenson, Rolf E. [Ernst Felder Laboratories, Bracco Research USA Inc., 305 College Road East, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Linder, Karen E., E-mail: karen.e.linder@gmail.co [Ernst Felder Laboratories, Bracco Research USA Inc., 305 College Road East, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

    2010-12-15

    Ga-AMBA (Ga-DO3A-CH{sub 2}CO-G-[4-aminobenzoyl]-QWAVGHLM-NH{sub 2}) is a bombesin-like agonist with high affinity for gastrin releasing peptide receptors (GRP-R). Syntheses for {sup nat}Ga-AMBA, [{sup 67}Ga]Ga-AMBA and [{sup 68}Ga]Ga-AMBA were developed. The preparation of HPLC-purified and Sep-Pak purified [{sup 68}Ga]Ga-AMBA were fully automated, using the built-in radiodetector of the Tracerlab FX F-N synthesizer to monitor fractionated {sup 68}Ge/{sup 68}Ga generator elution and purification. The total synthesis time, including the fractional elution of the generator, was 20 min for Sep-Pak purified material and 40 min for HPLC-purified [{sup 68}Ga]Ga-AMBA. Both [{sup 67}Ga]Ga-AMBA and [{sup 177}Lu]Lu-AMBA showed comparable high affinity for GRP-R in the human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 in vitro (k{sub D}=0.46{+-}0.07; 0.44{+-}0.08 nM), high internalization (78; 77%) and low efflux from cells at 2 h (2.4{+-}0.7; 2.9{+-}1.8%). Biodistribution results in PC-3 tumor-bearing male nude mice showed comparable uptake for [{sup 177}Lu]Lu-, [{sup 111}In]In-, [{sup 67}Ga]Ga- and [{sup 68}Ga]Ga-AMBA.

  3. Strain Balanced AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN nanomembrane HEMTs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Tzu-Hsuan; Xiong, Kanglin; Park, Sung Hyun; Yuan, Ge; Ma, Zhenqiang; Han, Jung

    2017-07-25

    Single crystal semiconductor nanomembranes (NM) are important in various applications such as heterogeneous integration and flexible devices. This paper reports the fabrication of AlGaN/GaN NMs and NM high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). Electrochemical etching is used to slice off single-crystalline AlGaN/GaN layers while preserving their microstructural quality. A double heterostructure design with a symmetric strain profile is employed to ensure minimal residual strain in freestanding NMs after release. The mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), formed by the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, is noticeably superior to previously reported values of many other NMs. AlGaN/GaN nanomembrane HEMTs are fabricated on SiO 2 and flexible polymeric substrates. Excellent electrical characteristics, including a high ON/OFF ratio and transconductance, suggest that III-Nitrides nanomembranes are capable of supporting high performance applications.

  4. Parametric Net Influx Rate Images of 68Ga-DOTATOC and 68Ga-DOTATATE: Quantitative Accuracy and Improved Image Contrast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilan, Ezgi; Sandström, Mattias; Velikyan, Irina; Sundin, Anders; Eriksson, Barbro; Lubberink, Mark

    2017-05-01

    68 Ga-DOTATOC and 68 Ga-DOTATATE are radiolabeled somatostatin analogs used for the diagnosis of somatostatin receptor-expressing neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), and SUV measurements are suggested for treatment monitoring. However, changes in net influx rate ( K i ) may better reflect treatment effects than those of the SUV, and accordingly there is a need to compute parametric images showing K i at the voxel level. The aim of this study was to evaluate parametric methods for computation of parametric K i images by comparison to volume of interest (VOI)-based methods and to assess image contrast in terms of tumor-to-liver ratio. Methods: Ten patients with metastatic NETs underwent a 45-min dynamic PET examination followed by whole-body PET/CT at 1 h after injection of 68 Ga-DOTATOC and 68 Ga-DOTATATE on consecutive days. Parametric K i images were computed using a basis function method (BFM) implementation of the 2-tissue-irreversible-compartment model and the Patlak method using a descending aorta image-derived input function, and mean tumor K i values were determined for 50% isocontour VOIs and compared with K i values based on nonlinear regression (NLR) of the whole-VOI time-activity curve. A subsample of healthy liver was delineated in the whole-body and K i images, and tumor-to-liver ratios were calculated to evaluate image contrast. Correlation ( R 2 ) and agreement between VOI-based and parametric K i values were assessed using regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The R 2 between NLR-based and parametric image-based (BFM) tumor K i values was 0.98 (slope, 0.81) and 0.97 (slope, 0.88) for 68 Ga-DOTATOC and 68 Ga-DOTATATE, respectively. For Patlak analysis, the R 2 between NLR-based and parametric-based (Patlak) tumor K i was 0.95 (slope, 0.71) and 0.92 (slope, 0.74) for 68 Ga-DOTATOC and 68 Ga-DOTATATE, respectively. There was no bias between NLR and parametric-based K i values. Tumor-to-liver contrast was 1.6 and 2.0 times higher in the parametric

  5. [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED uptake mimicking lymph node metastasis in coeliac ganglia: an important pitfall in clinical practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krohn, Thomas; Vogg, Andreas; Heinzel, Alexander; Behrendt, Florian F. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Verburg, Frederik A.; Mottaghy, Felix M. [RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aachen (Germany); Maastricht University Medical Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht (Netherlands); Pufe, Thomas [RWTH University Aachen, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Aachen (Germany); Neuhuber, Winfried [University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Anatomy I, Erlangen (Germany)

    2014-09-24

    To determine the frequency of seemingly pathological retroperitoneal uptake in the location of the coeliac ganglia in patients undergoing [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED PET/CT. The study included 85 men with prostate cancer referred for [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED PET/CT. The PET/CT scans were evaluated for the local finding in the prostate and the presence of lymph node metastases, distant metastases and coeliac ganglia. The corresponding standardized uptake values (SUV) were determined. SUVmax to background uptake (gluteal muscle SUVmean) ratios were calculated for the ganglia and lymph node metastases. Immunohistochemistry was performed on the ganglia. In 76 of the 85 patients (89.4 %) at least one ganglion with tracer uptake was found. For the ganglia, SUVmax and SUVmax to background SUVmean ratios were 2.97 ± 0.88 and 7.98 ± 2.84 (range 1.57-6.38 and 2.83-30.6), respectively, and 82.8 % of all ganglia showed an uptake ratio of >5.0. For lymph node metastases, SUVmax and SUVmax to background SUVmean ratios were 8.5 ± 7.0 and 23.31 ± 22.23 (range 2.06-35.9 and 5.25-115.8), respectively. In 35 patients (41.2 %), no lymph node metastases were found but tracer uptake was seen in the ganglia. Immunohistochemistry confirmed strong PSMA expression in the ganglia. Coeliac ganglia show a relevant [{sup 68}Ga]PSMA-HBED uptake in most patients and may mimic lymph node metastases. (orig.)

  6. Diagnostic accuracy of whole-brain CT perfusion in the detection of acute infratentorial infarctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bollwein, Christine; Sommer, Wieland H.; Thierfelder, Kolja M.; Reiser, Maximilian F. [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital of Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Plate, Annika; Straube, Andreas; Baumgarten, Louisa von [Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital of Munich, Department of Neurology, Munich (Germany); Janssen, Hendrik [South Nuremberg Hospital, Department of Neuroradiology, Nuremberg (Germany)

    2016-11-15

    Although the diagnostic performance of whole-brain computed tomographic perfusion (WB-CTP) in the detection of supratentorial infarctions is well established, its value in the detection of infratentorial strokes remains less well defined. We examined its diagnostic accuracy in the detection of infratentorial infarctions and compared it to nonenhanced computed tomography (NECT), aiming to identify factors influencing its detection rate. Out of a cohort of 1380 patients who underwent WB-CTP due to suspected stroke, we retrospectively included all patients with MRI-confirmed infratentorial strokes and compared it to control patients without infratentorial strokes. Two blinded readers evaluated NECT and four different CTP maps independently for the presence and location of infratentorial ischemic perfusion deficits. The study was designed as a retrospective case-control study and included 280 patients (cases/controls = 1/3). WB-CTP revealed a greater diagnostic sensitivity than NECT (41.4 vs. 17.1 %, P = 0.003). The specificity, however, was comparable (93.3 vs. 95.0 %). Mean transit time (MTT) and time to drain (TTD) were the most sensitive (41.4 and 40.0 %) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) the most specific (99.5 %) perfusion maps. Infarctions detected using WB-CTP were significantly larger than those not detected (15.0 vs. 2.2 ml; P = 0.0007); infarct location, however, did not influence the detection rate. The detection of infratentorial infarctions can be improved by assessing WB-CTP as part of the multimodal stroke workup. However, it remains a diagnostic challenge, especially small volume infarctions in the brainstem are likely to be missed. (orig.)

  7. Diagnostic accuracy of whole-brain CT perfusion in the detection of acute infratentorial infarctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bollwein, Christine; Sommer, Wieland H.; Thierfelder, Kolja M.; Reiser, Maximilian F.; Plate, Annika; Straube, Andreas; Baumgarten, Louisa von; Janssen, Hendrik

    2016-01-01

    Although the diagnostic performance of whole-brain computed tomographic perfusion (WB-CTP) in the detection of supratentorial infarctions is well established, its value in the detection of infratentorial strokes remains less well defined. We examined its diagnostic accuracy in the detection of infratentorial infarctions and compared it to nonenhanced computed tomography (NECT), aiming to identify factors influencing its detection rate. Out of a cohort of 1380 patients who underwent WB-CTP due to suspected stroke, we retrospectively included all patients with MRI-confirmed infratentorial strokes and compared it to control patients without infratentorial strokes. Two blinded readers evaluated NECT and four different CTP maps independently for the presence and location of infratentorial ischemic perfusion deficits. The study was designed as a retrospective case-control study and included 280 patients (cases/controls = 1/3). WB-CTP revealed a greater diagnostic sensitivity than NECT (41.4 vs. 17.1 %, P = 0.003). The specificity, however, was comparable (93.3 vs. 95.0 %). Mean transit time (MTT) and time to drain (TTD) were the most sensitive (41.4 and 40.0 %) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) the most specific (99.5 %) perfusion maps. Infarctions detected using WB-CTP were significantly larger than those not detected (15.0 vs. 2.2 ml; P = 0.0007); infarct location, however, did not influence the detection rate. The detection of infratentorial infarctions can be improved by assessing WB-CTP as part of the multimodal stroke workup. However, it remains a diagnostic challenge, especially small volume infarctions in the brainstem are likely to be missed. (orig.)

  8. Performance Analysis of GaN Capping Layer Thickness on GaN/AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, N; Periasamy, C; Chaturvedi, N

    2018-07-01

    In this paper, we present an investigation of the impact of GaN capping layer and AlGaN layer thickness on the two-dimensional (2D)-electron mobility and the carrier concentration which was formed close to the AlGaN/GaN buffer layer for Al0.25Ga0.75N/GaN and GaN/Al0.25Ga0.75N/GaN heterostructures deposited on sapphire substrates. The results of our analysis clearly indicate that expanding the GaN capping layer thickness from 1 nm to 100 nm prompts an increment in the electron concentration at hetero interface. As consequence of which drain current was additionally increments with GaN cap layer thicknesses, and eventually saturates at approximately 1.85 A/mm for capping layer thickness greater than 40 nm. Interestingly, for the same structure, the 2D-electron mobility, decrease monotonically with GaN capping layer thickness, and saturate at approximately 830 cm2/Vs for capping layer thickness greater than 50 nm. A device with a GaN cap layer didn't exhibit gate leakage current. Furthermore, it was observed that the carrier concentration was first decrease 1.03 × 1019/cm3 to 6.65 × 1018/cm3 with AlGaN Layer thickness from 5 to 10 nm and after that it increases with the AlGaN layer thickness from 10 to 30 nm. The same trend was followed for electric field distributions. Electron mobility decreases monotonically with AlGaN layer thickness. Highest electron mobility 1354 cm2/Vs were recorded for the AlGaN layer thickness of 5 nm. Results obtained are in good agreement with published experimental data.

  9. Accuracy and Utility of Deformable Image Registration in {sup 68}Ga 4D PET/CT Assessment of Pulmonary Perfusion Changes During and After Lung Radiation Therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hardcastle, Nicholas, E-mail: nick.hardcastle@gmail.com [Department of Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne (Australia); Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong (Australia); Hofman, Michael S. [Molecular Imaging, Centre for Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia); Hicks, Rodney J. [Molecular Imaging, Centre for Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia); Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne (Australia); Callahan, Jason [Molecular Imaging, Centre for Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia); Kron, Tomas [Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Monash University, Clayton (Australia); The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, Melbourne University, Victoria (Australia); MacManus, Michael P.; Ball, David L. [Division of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne (Australia); The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne (Australia); Jackson, Price [Department of Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne (Australia); Siva, Shankar [Division of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne (Australia)

    2015-09-01

    Purpose: Measuring changes in lung perfusion resulting from radiation therapy dose requires registration of the functional imaging to the radiation therapy treatment planning scan. This study investigates registration accuracy and utility for positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging in radiation therapy for non–small cell lung cancer. Methods: {sup 68}Ga 4-dimensional PET/CT ventilation-perfusion imaging was performed before, during, and after radiation therapy for 5 patients. Rigid registration and deformable image registration (DIR) using B-splines and Demons algorithms was performed with the CT data to obtain a deformation map between the functional images and planning CT. Contour propagation accuracy and correspondence of anatomic features were used to assess registration accuracy. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine statistical significance. Changes in lung perfusion resulting from radiation therapy dose were calculated for each registration method for each patient and averaged over all patients. Results: With B-splines/Demons DIR, median distance to agreement between lung contours reduced modestly by 0.9/1.1 mm, 1.3/1.6 mm, and 1.3/1.6 mm for pretreatment, midtreatment, and posttreatment (P<.01 for all), and median Dice score between lung contours improved by 0.04/0.04, 0.05/0.05, and 0.05/0.05 for pretreatment, midtreatment, and posttreatment (P<.001 for all). Distance between anatomic features reduced with DIR by median 2.5 mm and 2.8 for pretreatment and midtreatment time points, respectively (P=.001) and 1.4 mm for posttreatment (P>.2). Poorer posttreatment results were likely caused by posttreatment pneumonitis and tumor regression. Up to 80% standardized uptake value loss in perfusion scans was observed. There was limited change in the loss in lung perfusion between registration methods; however, Demons resulted in larger interpatient variation compared with rigid and B-splines registration

  10. Atomic-scale structure of irradiated GaN compared to amorphised GaP and GaAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ridgway, M.C.; Everett, S.E.; Glover, C.J.; Kluth, S.M.; Kluth, P.; Johannessen, B.; Hussain, Z.S.; Llewellyn, D.J.; Foran, G.J.; Azevedo, G. de M.

    2006-01-01

    We have compared the atomic-scale structure of ion irradiated GaN to that of amorphised GaP and GaAs. While continuous and homogenous amorphised layers were easily achieved in GaP and GaAs, ion irradiation of GaN yielded both structural and chemical inhomogeneities. Transmission electron microscopy revealed GaN crystallites and N 2 bubbles were interspersed within an amorphous GaN matrix. The crystallite orientation was random relative to the unirradiated epitaxial structure, suggesting their formation was irradiation-induced, while the crystallite fraction was approximately constant for all ion fluences beyond the amorphisation threshold, consistent with a balance between amorphisation and recrystallisation processes. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements at the Ga K-edge showed short-range order was retained in the amorphous phase for all three binary compounds. For ion irradiated GaN, the stoichiometric imbalance due to N 2 bubble formation was not accommodated by Ga-Ga bonding in the amorphous phase or precipitation of metallic Ga but instead by a greater reduction in Ga coordination number

  11. Positron emission tomography with 68Ga-EDTA in the diagnosis and localization of CSF fistulas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergstrand, G.; Bergstroem, M.; Eriksson, L.; Edner, G.; Widen, L.

    1982-01-01

    Five patients with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea were investigated with computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) to localize the site of a CSF fistula. After intrathecal injection of 10 MBq of 68 Ga-EDTA, radioactivity was demonstrated in the basal cisterns. In three cases, the site of the fistula was visualized with PET. It is not always possible to demonstrate a CSF leakage with CT cisternography (CTC) using metrizamide, particularly in cases with minute fistulas or intermittent CSF rhinorrhea. With further experience and improved PET techniques, it may be possible to detect even very small fistulas

  12. Concerted evolution of the tandemly repeated genes encoding primate U2 small nuclear RNA (the RNU2 locus) does not prevent rapid diversification of the (CT){sub n} {center_dot} (GA){sub n} microsatellite embedded within the U2 repeat unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liao, D.; Weiner, A.M. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)

    1995-12-10

    The RNU2 locus encoding human U2 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) is organized as a nearly perfect tandem array containing 5 to 22 copies of a 5.8-kb repeat unit. Just downstream of the U2 snRNA gene in each 5.8-kb repeat unit lies a large (CT){sub n}{center_dot}(GA){sub n} dinucleotide repeat (n {approx} 70). This form of genomic organization, in which one repeat is embedded within another, provides an unusual opportunity to study the balance of forces maintaining the homogeneity of both kinds of repeats. Using a combination of field inversion gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction, we have been able to study the CT microsatellites within individual U2 tandem arrays. We find that the CT microsatellites within an RNU2 allele exhibit significant length polymorphism, despite the remarkable homogeneity of the surrounding U2 repeat units. Length polymorphism is due primarily to loss or gain of CT dinucleotide repeats, but other types of deletions, insertions, and substitutions are also frequent. Polymorphism is greatly reduced in regions where pure (CT){sub n} tracts are interrupted by occasional G residues, suggesting that irregularities stabilize both the length and the sequence of the dinucleotide repeat. We further show that the RNU2 loci of other catarrhine primates (gorilla, chimpanzee, ogangutan, and baboon) contain orthologous CT microsatellites; these also exhibit length polymorphism, but are highly divergent from each other. Thus, although the CT microsatellite is evolving far more rapidly than the rest of the U2 repeat unit, it has persisted through multiple speciation events spanning >35 Myr. The persistence of the CT microsatellite, despite polymorphism and rapid evolution, suggests that it might play a functional role in concerted evolution of the RNU2 loci, perhaps as an initiation site for recombination and/or gene conversion. 70 refs., 5 figs.

  13. Functional imaging in phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma with 68Ga-DOTA-Tyr3-octreotide positron emission tomography and 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Uprimny, Christian; Decristoforo, Clemens; Gabriel, Michael; Warwitz, Boris; Waitz, Dietmar; Kendler, Dorota; Virgolini, Irene Johanna; Santner, Wolfram; Kranewitter, Christof

    2011-01-01

    68 Ga-DOTA-Tyr 3 -octreotide positron emission tomography ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET) has proven to be superior to 111 In-DTPA-D-Phe 1 -octreotide ( 111 In-octreotide) planar scintigraphy and SPECT imaging in neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Because of these promising results, we compared the accuracy of 123 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ( 123 I-MIBG) imaging with PET in the diagnosis and staging of metastatic phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma, referring to radiological imaging as reference standard. Three male and eight female patients (age range 3 to 68 years) with biochemically and histologically proven disease were included in this study. Three male and three female patients were suffering from phaeochromocytoma, and five female patients from neuroblastoma. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT or MRI, functional imaging with 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and 123 I-MIBG imaging. Imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and on a per-lesion basis. On a per-patient basis, both 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and 123 I-MIBG showed a sensitivity of 100%, when compared with anatomical imaging. In phaeochromocytoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC was 91.7% and that of 123 I-MIBG was 63.3%. In neuroblastoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC was 97.2% and that of 123 I-MIBG was 90.7%. Overall, in this patient cohort, 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 257 lesions, anatomical imaging identified 216 lesions, and 123 I-MIBG identified only 184 lesions. In this patient group, the overall sensitivity of 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET on a lesion basis was 94.4% (McNemar p 123 I-MIBG was 76.9% (McNemar p 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC PET may be superior to 123 I-MIBG gamma-scintigraphy and even to the reference CT/MRI technique in providing particularly valuable information for pretherapeutic staging of phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma. (orig.)

  14. Functional imaging in phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma with 68Ga-DOTA-Tyr 3-octreotide positron emission tomography and 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Uprimny, Christian; Decristoforo, Clemens; Gabriel, Michael; Santner, Wolfram; Kranewitter, Christof; Warwitz, Boris; Waitz, Dietmar; Kendler, Dorota; Virgolini, Irene Johanna

    2011-05-01

    (68)Ga-DOTA-Tyr(3)-octreotide positron emission tomography ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET) has proven to be superior to (111)In-DTPA-D-Phe(1)-octreotide ((111)In-octreotide) planar scintigraphy and SPECT imaging in neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Because of these promising results, we compared the accuracy of (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) imaging with PET in the diagnosis and staging of metastatic phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma, referring to radiological imaging as reference standard. Three male and eight female patients (age range 3 to 68 years) with biochemically and histologically proven disease were included in this study. Three male and three female patients were suffering from phaeochromocytoma, and five female patients from neuroblastoma. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT or MRI, functional imaging with (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and (123)I-MIBG imaging. Imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and on a per-lesion basis. On a per-patient basis, both (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (123)I-MIBG showed a sensitivity of 100%, when compared with anatomical imaging. In phaeochromocytoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC was 91.7% and that of (123)I-MIBG was 63.3%. In neuroblastoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC was 97.2% and that of (123)I-MIBG was 90.7%. Overall, in this patient cohort, (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 257 lesions, anatomical imaging identified 216 lesions, and (123)I-MIBG identified only 184 lesions. In this patient group, the overall sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET on a lesion basis was 94.4% (McNemar p<0.0001) and that of (123)I-MIBG was 76.9% (McNemar p<0.0001). Our analysis in this relatively small patient cohort indicates that (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET may be superior to (123)I-MIBG gamma-scintigraphy and even to the reference CT/MRI technique in providing particularly valuable information for pretherapeutic staging of phaeochromocytoma and

  15. Usefulness of Ga-67 citrate whole body imaging, chest spot imaging, and chest SPECT in sarcoidosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueno, Kyoichi; Nishi, Koichi; Namura, Masanobu; Kawashima, Yoshio; Kurumaya, Hiroshi

    1999-01-01

    To assess the sensitivity, and the relative role of Ga-67 whole body, chest spot imaging, and chest SPECT, we retrospectively studied 34 cases of sarcoidosis (24 biopsy proven, 10 clinically diagnosed) with Ga-67 (111 MBq), and compared the results of lung (25 cases), muscle (25 cases), skin (3 cases), and myocardial (2 cases) biopsies. Ga-67 chest SPECT (single photon emission CT) were done in 17 cases with Siemens MultiSPECT3. Ga-67 planar imaging visualized only 2 of 12 (16.7%) lung biopsy-positive cases, 5 of 12 (41.6%) muscle biopsy-positive cases, 2 of 3 (66.7%) skin biopsy-positive cases. However, Ga-67 imaging revealed the lesions in 1 of 9 (11.1%) of muscle biopsy-negative cases, in 2 of 3 (66.7%) of skin biopsy-negative cases, and in 1 of 2 myocardial biopsy-negative cases. Ga-67 chest SPECT visualized 14 hilar lymphadenopathy (LN), 3 supraclavicular LN, and 1 myocardial sarcoidosis. Although both SPECT, and planar spot imaging detected the lesions equally, the former showed them more clearly. Compared with various biopsies, the sensitivity of Ga-67 imaging was not so high. However, Ga-67 imaging is non-invasive, easy to perform the whole body imaging, and can detect the activity of the lesions. Ga-67 SPECT showed clear imaging of the hilar, mediastinal LN, and potentially fatal myocardial sarcoidosis. (author)

  16. Predicting a graphene-like WB4 nanosheet with a double Dirac cone, an ultra-high Fermi velocity and significant gap opening by spin-orbit coupling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chunmei; Jiao, Yalong; Ma, Fengxian; Bottle, Steven; Zhao, Mingwen; Chen, Zhongfang; Du, Aijun

    2017-02-15

    The zero-band gap nature of graphene prevents it from performing as a semi-conductor in modern electronics. Although various graphene modification strategies have been developed to address this limitation, the very small band gap of these materials and the suppressed charge carrier mobility of the devices developed still significantly hinder graphene's applications. In this work, a two dimensional (2D) WB 4 monolayer, which exhibits a double Dirac cone, was conceived and assessed using density functional theory (DFT) methods, which would provide a sizable band gap while maintaining higher charge mobility with a Fermi velocity of 1.099 × 10 6 m s -1 . Strong spin-orbit-coupling can generate an observable band gap of up to 0.27 eV that primarily originates from the d-orbit of the heavy metal atom W; therefore a 2D WB 4 nanosheet would be operable at room temperature (T = 300 K) and would be a promising candidate to fabricate nanoelectronics in the upcoming post-silicon era. The phonon-spectrum and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations further demonstrate the dynamic and thermal stability of such nanosheets, thus, suggesting a potentially synthesizable Dirac material.

  17. Tc-99m-MDP/Ga-67 SPECT in the evaluation of otitis externa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tumeh, S.S.; Hamdan, U.; Desisto, W.; English, R.J.

    1988-01-01

    Four patients with otitis externa were studied with Tc-99m MDP and Ga-67 single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In addition to the abnormal uptake in the external ear seen with planar imaging, SPECT demonstrated mastoid uptake (proved clinically) that was not appreciated with planar imaging in three patients, one of whom had negative x-ray computed tomographic (CT) findings. In one patient, SPECT demonstrated midline uptake in the skull base that was not depicted by x-ray CF.No false-positive results were seen. The authors conclude that Tc-99m MDP/Ga-67 SPECT is superior to planar imaging and should be used in the evaluation of otitis externa

  18. Comparison of qualitative and quantitative CT and MRI parameters for monitoring of longitudinal spine involvement in patients with multiple myeloma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horger, M.; Thaiss, W.M.; Fritz, J.; Ditt, H.; Weisel, K.; Haap, M.; Kloth, Christopher

    2018-01-01

    To compare qualitative and quantitative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters for longitudinal disease monitoring of multiple myeloma (MM) of the axial skeleton. We included 31 consecutive patients (17 m; mean age 59.20 ± 8.08 years) with MM, who underwent all baseline (n = 31) and at least one or more (n = 47) follow-up examinations consisting of multi-parametric non-enhanced whole-body MRI ( WB MRI) and non-enhanced whole-body reduced-dose thin-section MDCT (NEWBMDCT) between 06/2013 and 09/2016. We classified response according to qualitative CT criteria into progression (PD), stable(SD), partial/very good partial (PR/VGPR) and complete response(CR), grouping the latter three together for statistical analysis because CT cannot reliably assess PR and CR. Qualitative MR-response criteria were defined and grouped similarly to CT using longitudinal quantification of signal-intensity changes on T1w/STIR/ T2*w and calculating ADC-values. Standard of reference was the hematological laboratory (M-gradient). Hematological response categories were CR (14/47, 29.7%), PR (2/47, 4.2%), SD (16/47, 34.0%) and PD (15/47, 29.9%). Qualitative-CT-evaluation showed PD in 12/47 (25.5%) and SD/PR/VGPR/CR in 35/47 (74.5%) cases. These results were confirmed by quantitative-CT in all focal lytic lesions (p < 0.001). Quantitative-CT at sites with diffuse bone involvement showed significant increase of maximum bone attenuation (p < 0.001*) and significant decrease of minimal bone (p < 0.002*) in the SD/PR/VGPR/CR group. Qualitative MRI showed PD in 14/47 (29.7%) and SD/PR/VGPR/CR in 33/47 (70.3%). Quantitative MRI diagnosis showed a statistically significant decrease in signal intensity on short tau inversion recovery sequences (STIR) in bone marrow in patients with diffuse bone marrow involvement achieving SD/PR/VGPR/CR (p < 0.001*). Imaging response monitoring using MRI is superior to CT only if qualitative parameters are used, whereas there was no

  19. Comparison of qualitative and quantitative CT and MRI parameters for monitoring of longitudinal spine involvement in patients with multiple myeloma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horger, M.; Thaiss, W.M. [Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Tuebingen (Germany); Fritz, J. [Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States); Ditt, H. [Siemens AG Healthcare, Sector Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Forchheim (Germany); Weisel, K. [Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Department of Internal Medicine II, Tuebingen (Germany); Haap, M. [Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Tuebingen, (Germany); Kloth, Christopher [University Hospital Ulm, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Ulm (Germany)

    2018-03-15

    To compare qualitative and quantitative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters for longitudinal disease monitoring of multiple myeloma (MM) of the axial skeleton. We included 31 consecutive patients (17 m; mean age 59.20 ± 8.08 years) with MM, who underwent all baseline (n = 31) and at least one or more (n = 47) follow-up examinations consisting of multi-parametric non-enhanced whole-body MRI ({sub WB}MRI) and non-enhanced whole-body reduced-dose thin-section MDCT (NEWBMDCT) between 06/2013 and 09/2016. We classified response according to qualitative CT criteria into progression (PD), stable(SD), partial/very good partial (PR/VGPR) and complete response(CR), grouping the latter three together for statistical analysis because CT cannot reliably assess PR and CR. Qualitative MR-response criteria were defined and grouped similarly to CT using longitudinal quantification of signal-intensity changes on T1w/STIR/ T2*w and calculating ADC-values. Standard of reference was the hematological laboratory (M-gradient). Hematological response categories were CR (14/47, 29.7%), PR (2/47, 4.2%), SD (16/47, 34.0%) and PD (15/47, 29.9%). Qualitative-CT-evaluation showed PD in 12/47 (25.5%) and SD/PR/VGPR/CR in 35/47 (74.5%) cases. These results were confirmed by quantitative-CT in all focal lytic lesions (p < 0.001). Quantitative-CT at sites with diffuse bone involvement showed significant increase of maximum bone attenuation (p < 0.001*) and significant decrease of minimal bone (p < 0.002*) in the SD/PR/VGPR/CR group. Qualitative MRI showed PD in 14/47 (29.7%) and SD/PR/VGPR/CR in 33/47 (70.3%). Quantitative MRI diagnosis showed a statistically significant decrease in signal intensity on short tau inversion recovery sequences (STIR) in bone marrow in patients with diffuse bone marrow involvement achieving SD/PR/VGPR/CR (p < 0.001*). Imaging response monitoring using MRI is superior to CT only if qualitative parameters are used, whereas there was

  20. Spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis of InGaN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures using a parametric dielectric function model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, J.; Ramakrishnan, A.; Obloh, H.; Kunzer, M.; Koehler, K.; Johs, B.

    2000-01-01

    Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) has been used for the characterization of AlGaN/GaN and InGaN/GaN heterostructures. The resulting pseudodielectric function spectra were analyzed using a multilayer approach, describing the dielectric functions of the individual layers by a parametric oscillator model. From this analysis, the dielectric function spectra of GaN, Al x Ga 1-x N (x le 0.16), and In 0.13 Ga 0.87 N were deduced. Further, the dependence of the Al x Ga 1-x N band gap energy on the Al mole fraction was derived and compared with photoluminescence data recorded on the same material. The SE band gap data are compatible with a bowing parameter close to 1 eV for the composition dependence of the Al x Ga 1-x N gap energy. Finally, the parametric dielectric functions have been used to model the pseudodielectric function spectrum of a complete GaN/AlGaN/InGaN LED structure

  1. InGaP/InGaAsN/GaAs NpN double-heterojunction bipolar transistor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, P. C.; Baca, A. G.; Li, N. Y.; Xie, X. M.; Hou, H. Q.; Armour, E.

    2000-01-01

    We have demonstrated a functional NpN double-heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) using InGaAsN for the base layer. The InGaP/In 0.03 Ga 0.97 As 0.99 N 0.01 /GaAs DHBT has a low V ON of 0.81 V, which is 0.13 V lower than in a InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT). The lower turn-on voltage is attributed to the smaller band gap (1.20 eV) of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown In 0.03 Ga 0.97 As 0.99 N 0.01 base layer. GaAs is used for the collector; thus the breakdown voltage (BV CEO ) is 10 V, consistent with the BV CEO of InGaP/GaAs HBTs of comparable collector thickness and doping level. To alleviate the current blocking phenomenon caused by the larger conduction band discontinuity between InGaAsN and GaAs, a graded InGaAs layer with δ doping is inserted at the base-collector junction. The improved device has a peak current gain of seven with ideal current-voltage characteristics. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  2. Targeting post-infarct inflammation by PET imaging: comparison of {sup 68}Ga-citrate and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE with {sup 18}F-FDG in a mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thackeray, James T. [Hannover Medical School, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover (Germany); Hannover Medical School, Division of Molecular and Translational Cardiology, Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hannover (Germany); Bankstahl, Jens P.; Walte, Almut; Wittneben, Alexander; Bengel, Frank M. [Hannover Medical School, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover (Germany); Wang, Yong; Korf-Klingebiel, Mortimer; Wollert, Kai C. [Hannover Medical School, Division of Molecular and Translational Cardiology, Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hannover (Germany)

    2014-08-12

    Imaging of inflammation early after myocardial infarction (MI) is a promising approach to the guidance of novel molecular interventions that support endogenous healing processes. {sup 18}F-FDG PET has been used, but may be complicated by physiological myocyte uptake. We evaluated the potential of two alternative imaging targets: lactoferrin binding by {sup 68}Ga-citrate and somatostatin receptor binding by {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE. C57Bl/6 mice underwent permanent coronary artery ligation. Serial PET imaging was performed 3 - 7 days after MI using {sup 68}Ga-citrate, {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE, or {sup 18}F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression of myocyte glucose uptake. Myocardial perfusion was evaluated by {sup 13}N-ammonia PET and cardiac geometry by contrast-enhanced ECG-gated CT. Mice exhibited a perfusion defect of 30 - 40 % (of the total left ventricle) with apical anterolateral wall akinesia and thinning on day 7 after MI. {sup 18}F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression demonstrated distinct uptake in the infarct region, as well as in the border zone and remote myocardium. The myocardial standardized uptake value in MI mice was significantly higher than in healthy mice under ketamine/xylazine anaesthesia (1.9 ± 0.4 vs. 1.0 ± 0.1). {sup 68}Ga images exhibited high blood pool activity with no specific myocardial uptake up to 90 min after injection (tissue-to-blood contrast 0.9). {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE was rapidly cleared from the blood, but myocardial SUV was very low (0.10 ± 0.03). Neither {sup 68}Ga nor {sup 68}Ga-DOTATATE is a useful alternative to {sup 18}F-FDG for PET imaging of myocardial inflammation after MI in mice. Among the three tested approaches, {sup 18}F-FDG with ketamine/xylazine suppression of cardiomyocyte uptake remains the most practical imaging marker of post-infarct inflammation. (orig.)

  3. Enhancement of critical current density of in situ processed MgB sub 2 tapes by WB addition

    CERN Document Server

    Fujii, H; Kumakura, H

    2003-01-01

    The effect of tungsten boride (WB) addition on the microstructure and superconducting properties of Fe-sheathed MgB sub 2 tapes has been investigated. The microstructure was not influenced appreciably by the addition, whereas the superconducting properties changed. Even by a 5 mol% addition, the critical temperature (T sub c) decreased by about 0.5 K. However, the field dependence of the inductive critical current density (J sub c sub i) became smaller with the increase in the amount of addition, suggesting that pinning centres effective in a high-field region were possibly introduced. The transport critical current density (J sub c sub t) at 4.2 K increased about twice by the 5 mol% addition and reached 15 and 5 kA cm sup - sup 2 at 8 and 10 T, respectively.

  4. Effect of GaN buffer polarization on electron distribution of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Xiaoguang; Zhao, Degang; Liu, Wei; Yang, Jing; Li, Xiaojing; Li, Xiang

    2016-01-01

    The formation of 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is discussed in detail. A misunderstanding about the 2DEG sheet density expression is clarified. It is predicted by theoretical analysis and validated by self-consistent Schrodinger–Poisson numerical simulation that under the force of GaN polarization, large amounts of electrons will accumulate at the GaN/substrate interface in AlGaN/GaN/substrate HEMT structure. - Highlights: • The formation of 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is discussed in detail. • Self-consistent Schrodinger–Poisson numerical simulation is used to modulate the AlGaN/GaN/substrate structure. • It is predicted by that large amounts of electrons will accumulate at the GaN/substrate interface.

  5. Effect of GaN buffer polarization on electron distribution of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Xiaoguang; Zhao, Degang, E-mail: dgzhao@red.semi.ac.cn; Liu, Wei; Yang, Jing; Li, Xiaojing; Li, Xiang

    2016-06-15

    The formation of 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is discussed in detail. A misunderstanding about the 2DEG sheet density expression is clarified. It is predicted by theoretical analysis and validated by self-consistent Schrodinger–Poisson numerical simulation that under the force of GaN polarization, large amounts of electrons will accumulate at the GaN/substrate interface in AlGaN/GaN/substrate HEMT structure. - Highlights: • The formation of 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is discussed in detail. • Self-consistent Schrodinger–Poisson numerical simulation is used to modulate the AlGaN/GaN/substrate structure. • It is predicted by that large amounts of electrons will accumulate at the GaN/substrate interface.

  6. Dynamic 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and static image in NET patients. Correlation of parameters during PRRT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Binnebeek, Sofie; Koole, Michel; Terwinghe, Christelle; Baete, Kristof; Vanbilloen, Bert; Haustermans, Karine; Clement, Paul M; Bogaerts, Kris; Verbruggen, Alfons; Nackaerts, Kris; Van Cutsem, Eric; Verslype, Chris; Mottaghy, Felix M; Deroose, Christophe M

    2016-06-28

    To investigate the relationship between the dynamic parameters (Ki) and static image-derived parameters of 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET, to determine which static parameter best reflects underlying somatostatin-receptor-expression (SSR) levels on neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). 20 patients with metastasized NETs underwent a dynamic and static 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET before PRRT and at 7 and 40 weeks after the first administration of 90Y-DOTATOC (in total 4 cycles were planned); 175 lesions were defined and analyzed on the dynamic as well as static scans. Quantitative analysis was performed using the software PMOD. One to five target lesions per patient were chosen and delineated manually on the baseline dynamic scan and further, on the corresponding static 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET and the dynamic and static 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET at the other time-points; SUVmax and SUVmean of the lesions was assessed on the other six scans. The input function was retrieved from the abdominal aorta on the images. Further on, Ki was calculated using the Patlak-Plot. At last, 5 reference regions for normalization of SUVtumour were delineated on the static scans resulting in 5 ratios (SUVratio). SUVmax and SUVmean of the tumoural lesions on the dynamic 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET had a very strong correlation with the corresponding parameters in the static scan (R²: 0.94 and 0.95 respectively). SUVmax, SUVmean and Ki of the lesions showed a good linear correlation; the SUVratios correlated poorly with Ki. A significantly better correlation was noticed between Ki and SUVtumour(max and mean) (p dynamic parameter Ki correlates best with the absolute SUVtumour, SUVtumour best reflects underlying SSR-levels in NETs.

  7. Focal uptake of 68Ga-DOTATOC in the pancreas: pathological or physiological correlate in patients with neuroendocrine tumours?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Ibraheem, Akram; Bundschuh, Ralph Alexander; Notni, Johannes; Winter, Anna; Wester, Hans-Juergen; Schwaiger, Markus; Scheidhauer, Klemens; Buck, Andreas

    2011-01-01

    Neuroendocrine tumours are frequently located in the upper abdomen and especially in the pancreas. Imaging of the abdomen with somatostatin analogs such as 68 Ga-DOTA-Phe 1 -Tyr 3 -octreotide (DOTATOC) is a standard approach for imaging neuroendocrine cancer, but is still challenging due to physiological and technical considerations in this area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to further investigate the origin of 68 Ga-DOTATOC findings in the pancreas. Forty-three consecutive patients with neuroendocrine tumours were examined by 68 Ga-DOTATOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT for staging or restaging. As imaging of the upper abdomen is frequently affected by breathing artefacts, PET and CT data were analysed for misalignment and rearranged if necessary. Any noticeable uptake in the pancreas was described. Tracer uptake in the head of the pancreas and the liver was measured by means of maximum and average standard uptake value (SUV max , SUV av ). The reference standards (malignant versus benign) for correlation with PET findings were clinical and radiological follow-up (mean follow-up time 14 months) (n = 37) or histological confirmation (n = 6). In 23 of 43 studies (54%) misalignment between PET and CT data was found with a mean value of 1.4 cm. Visual assessment demonstrated that 20 of 43 scans (46.6%) showed no uptake in the head of the pancreas. Of 43 scans, 23 (53.4%) showed noticeable uptake with focal pattern in the head of the pancreas in 10 scans and irregular pattern in 13 scans. Follow-up indicated malignant pancreatic lesions in three patients. The pancreatic head to liver SUV av ratios in these patients ranged from 1.62 to 6.85, whereas in cases of uptake without known malignancy ratios ranged from 0.56 to 1.19. Considering SUV max , the ratio ranged from 3.24 to 9.1 and from 0.84 to 1.47, respectively. No statistically significant difference was noted between uptake in the head of the pancreas and the liver in patients without malignant

  8. Positron Tomographic Imaging Of The Liver With Ga-68 Iron Hydroxide Colloid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Bharath; Miller, Tom R.; Siegel, Barry A.; Mathias, Carla J.; Markham, Joanne; Ehrhardt, Gary J.; Welch, Michael J.

    1980-08-01

    A new radiopharmaceutical, 68Ga-iron hydroxide colloid, for hepatic imaging by positron emission tomography (PET) was prepared from the eluate of a "Ge-68Ga solvent extraction generator. In rats, 84% of the administered dose of colloid localized in the liver and 4.6% accumulated in the spleen. Initial imaging studies in normal dogs showed close correspondence of the findings by PET and transmission computed tomography (CT). PET with 68Ga-colloid was performed in 10 patients with hepatic metastases demonstrated by conventional scintigraphy with 99mTc-sulfur colloid. All focal defects noted on the conventional scintigrams were easily identified and generally seen more clearly by PET. In one patient, lesions not identified on the initial 99mTc-sulfur colloid images were demonstrated by PET. The positron tomographic images were compared with those obtained by CT in 7 patients; the two studies showed comparable findings in 5 patients, whereas PET more clearly showed multiple lesions in 2. Our results suggest that PET is a suitable technique for obtaining high-contrast, cross-sectional images of large abdominal organs. Emission computed tomography with positron-emitting radionuclides shows promise as an important new tool for clinical research (1-4). Unfortunately, wide clinical application of positron-emission tomography (PET) is presently limited by the need for an expensive, hospital-based cyclotron facility and highly trained professional and technical personnel to synthesize the radiopharmaceuticals labeled with the very short-lived radionuclides 11c, 13N, 150 and 18 F that are employed most commonly in such studies. These difficulties may be circumvented in part by the use of a simple generator system that produces the positron-emitting radionuclide 68Ga (T1/2 = 68 min) from the long-lived parent 68Ge (T1/2 = 275 days) (5-7). A large number of radiopharmaceuticals of potential clinical interest may be prepared readily from the eluate of such a generator (6

  9. Growth of InGaN multiple quantum wells and GaN eplilayer on GaN substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sung-Nam; Paek, H.S.; Son, J.K.; Sakong, T.; Yoon, E.; Nam, O.H.; Park, Y.

    2006-01-01

    We investigated that the surface morphology of GaN epilayers was significantly affected by the surface tilt orientation of GaN substrate. Surface morphologies of GaN epilayers on GaN substrates show three types: mirror, wavy, and hillock. These surface morphologies are dependent on the surface orientation of GaN substrates. It is found that the hillock morphology of GaN epilayer was formed on the GaN substrate with surface tilt orientation less than 0.1 o . As the surface tilt angle increased to 0.35 o , the surface morphology varied from hillock to wavy morphology. Above a surface tilt angle of 0.4 o , surface morphology changed to the mirror-like type morphology. Additionally, these three types of GaN surface morphology also affected the optical quality of GaN epilayers as well as InGaN multiple quantum wells on GaN substrates by non-uniform In incorporation on the different surface morphologies of GaN epilayers

  10. AlGaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs double pulse doped pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor structures on InGaAs substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoke, W. E.; Lyman, P. S.; Mosca, J. J.; McTaggart, R. A.; Lemonias, P. J.; Beaudoin, R. M.; Torabi, A.; Bonner, W. A.; Lent, B.; Chou, L.-J.; Hsieh, K. C.

    1997-10-01

    Double pulse doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) structures have been grown on InxGa1-xAs (x=0.025-0.07) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. A strain compensated, AlGaInAs/GaAs superlattice was used for improved resistivity and breakdown. Excellent electrical and optical properties were obtained for 110-Å-thick InGaAs channel layers with indium concentrations up to 31%. A room temperature mobility of 6860 cm2/V s with 77 K sheet density of 4.0×1012cm-2 was achieved. The InGaAs channel photoluminescence intensity was equivalent to an analogous structure on a GaAs substrate. To reduce strain PHEMT structures with a composite InGaP/AlGaAs Schottky layer were also grown. The structures also exhibited excellent electrical and optical properties. Transmission electron micrographs showed planar channel interfaces for highly strained In0.30Ga0.70As channel layers.

  11. Two new Np--Ga phases: α-NpGa2 and metastable m-NpGa2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giessen, B.C.; Elliott, R.O.

    1976-01-01

    Following an earlier study of metastable Np-rich Np--Ga alloys, rapidly quenched Np--Ga alloys with 63 to 80 at. pct. Ga were prepared and studied. Two new NpGa 2 phases, both with an AlB 2 type structure, were found: α-NpGa 2 , with a = 4.246A, c = 4.060A, c/a = 0.956, and m-NpGa 2 , with a = 4.412A, c = 3.642A, c/a = 0.825. While m-NpGa 2 was observed only in very fast quenched (splat cooled) samples and appears to be metastable, α-NpGa 2 is probably an equilibrium phase. In a splat cooled alloy with 75 at. pct. Ga, another, unidentified, metastable phase was observed. Crystal chemical discussions of atomic volumes, interatomic distances and axial ratios are given; the volume difference between the two forms of NpGa 2 is correlated with a valence change of Np

  12. Measurement of B(t ---> Wb)/B(t ---> Wq) at s**(1/2) = 1.96-TeV

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abazov, V.M.; Abbott, B.; Abolins, M.; Acharya, B.S.; Adams, M.; Adams, T.; Agelou, M.; Agram, J.-L.; Ahn, S.H.; Ahsan, M.; Alexeev, G.D.; /Buenos Aires U. /Rio de

    2006-03-01

    The authors present the measurement of R = {Beta}(t {yields} Wb)/{Beta}(t {yields} Wq) in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, using 230 pb{sup -1} of data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. They fit simultaneously R and the number (N{sub t{bar t}}) of selected top quark pairs (t{bar t}), to the number of identified b-quark jets in events with one electron or one muon, three or more jets, and high transverse energy imbalance. To improve sensitivity, kinematical properties of events with no identified b-quark jets are included in the fit. They measure R = 1.03{sub -0.17}{sup +0.19}(stat+syst), in good agreement with the standard model. They set lower limits of R > 0.61 and |V{sub tb}| > 0.78 at 95% confidence level.

  13. Correlation between Standardized Uptake Value of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Pathological Classification of Neuroendocrine Tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaewput, Chalermrat; Suppiah, Subapriya; Vinjamuri, Sobhan

    2018-01-01

    The aim of our study was to correlate tumor uptake of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with the pathological grade of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT examinations in 41 patients with histopathologically proven NETs were included in the study. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and averaged SUV SUV mean of "main tumor lesions" were calculated for quantitative analyses after background subtraction. Uptake on main tumor lesions was compared and correlated with the tumor histological grade based on Ki-67 index and pathological differentiation. Classification was performed into three grades according to Ki-67 levels; low grade: Ki-67 20. Pathological differentiation was graded into well- and poorly differentiated groups. The values were compared and evaluated for correlation and agreement between the two parameters was performed. Our study revealed negatively fair agreement between SUV max of tumor and Ki-67 index ( r = -0.241) and negatively poor agreement between SUV mean of tumor and Ki-67 index ( r = -0.094). SUV max of low-grade, intermediate-grade, and high-grade Ki-67 index is 26.18 ± 14.56, 30.71 ± 24.44, and 6.60 ± 4.59, respectively. Meanwhile, SUV mean of low-grade, intermediate-grade, and high-grade Ki-67 is 8.92 ± 7.15, 9.09 ± 5.18, and 3.00 ± 1.38, respectively. As expected, there was statistically significant decreased SUV max and SUV mean in high-grade tumors (poorly differentiated NETs) as compared with low- and intermediate-grade tumors (well-differentiated NETs). SUV of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC PET/CT is not correlated with histological grade of NETs. However, there was statistically significant decreased tumor uptake of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC in poorly differentiated NETs as compared with the well-differentiated group. As a result of this pilot study, we confirm that the lower tumor uptake of 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC may be associated with aggressive behavior and may, therefore, result in poor prognosis.

  14. Antisites and anisotropic diffusion in GaAs and GaSb

    KAUST Repository

    Tahini, H. A.; Bracht, H.; Chroneos, Alexander; Grimes, R. W.; Murphy, S. T.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2013-01-01

    The significant diffusion of Ga under Ga-rich conditions in GaAs and GaSb is counter intuitive as the concentration of Ga vacancies should be depressed although Ga vacancies are necessary to interpret the experimental evidence for Ga transport

  15. Photoluminescence characterization of GaAs/GaAs0.64P0.19Sb0.17/GaAs heterostructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, J.Y.; Chen, B.H.; Huang, Y.S.; Chin, Y.C.; Tsai, H.S.; Lin, H.H.; Tiong, K.K.

    2013-01-01

    Interfacial characteristics of GaAs/GaAs 0.64 P 0.19 Sb 0.17 GaAs heterostructures and emission properties of a quaternary GaAs 0.64 P 0.19 Sb 0.17 layer were studied by excitation-power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The GaAs-to-GaAsPSb upper interface related emission feature and signals from GaAsPSb and GaAs were observed and characterized. The upper interface related emission peak was attributed to the radiative recombination of spatially separated electron–hole pairs and suggesting the type-II alignment at the GaAs/GaAsPSb interface. The localized excitonic emission feature of GaAsPSb revealed a blueshift due to the saturation effect of localized states and showed a fast thermal-quench with the increase of temperature. The temperature variation of the band edge emission signal of GaAsPSb was found to follow that of GaAs closely. -- Highlights: ► PL characterization of GaAs/GaAsPSb/GaAs heterostructure. ► Type-II alignment at the GaAs/GaAsPSb interface. ► Near-band-edge emission lines of GaAsPSb

  16. GaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with AlN/GaN/InGaN multiple quantum wells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Hung-Ming; Lai, Wei-Chih; Chen, Wei-Shou; Chang, Shoou-Jinn

    2015-04-06

    We demonstrate indium gallium nitride/gallium nitride/aluminum nitride (AlN/GaN/InGaN) multi-quantum-well (MQW) ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to improve light output power. Similar to conventional UV LEDs with AlGaN/InGaN MQWs, UV LEDs with AlN/GaN/InGaN MQWs have forward voltages (V(f)'s) ranging from 3.21 V to 3.29 V at 350 mA. Each emission peak wavelength of AlN/GaN/InGaN MQW UV LEDs presents 350 mA output power greater than that of the corresponding emission peak wavelength of AlGaN/InGaN MQW UV LEDs. The light output power at 350mA of AlN/GaN/InGaN MQWs UV LEDs with 375 nm emission wavelength can reach around 26.7% light output power enhancement in magnitude compared to the AlGaN/InGaN MQWs UV LEDs with same emission wavelength. But 350mA light output power of AlN/GaN/InGaN MQWs UV LEDs with emission wavelength of 395nm could only have light output power enhancement of 2.43% in magnitude compared with the same emission wavelength AlGaN/InGaN MQWs UV LEDs. Moreover, AlN/GaN/InGaN MQWs present better InGaN thickness uniformity, well/barrier interface quality and less large size pits than AlGaN/InGaN MQWs, causing AlN/GaN/InGaN MQW UV LEDs to have less reverse leakage currents at -20 V. Furthermore, AlN/GaN/InGaN MQW UV LEDs have the 2-kV human body mode (HBM) electrostatic discharge (ESD) pass yield of 85%, which is 15% more than the 2-kV HBM ESD pass yield of AlGaN/InGaN MQW UV LEDs of 70%.

  17. Shot noise reduction in the AlGaAs/GaAs- and InGaP/GaAs-based HBTs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakalas, Paulius; Schroeter, Michael; Zampardi, Peter; Zirath, Herbert

    2003-05-01

    Noise parameters of AlGaAs/GaAs and InGaP/GaAs HBTs were measured in microwave frequency range and modeled using the small-signal equivalent circuit approach. Correlated current noise sources in the base and collector currents with thermal noise in the circuit resistive elements were accounted for by the model and yielded good agreement with the measured data. This enabled an extraction of the different noise source contributions to minimum noise figure (NFmin) in AlGaAs/GaAs and InGaP/GaAs HBTs. Decomposition of the (NFmin) in to the different contributors showed that the main noise sources in investigated HBTs are correlated base and collector current shot noise. The observed minimum of NFmin versus frequency at lower collector current is explained by the reduction of the emitter/base junction shot noise component due to the spike in the emitter/base junction and associated accumulation of the quasi-thermalized electrons forming a space charge, which screens the electron transfer through the barrier. The bias (VCE) increase creates an efficient electric field in collector/base junction, capable of 'washing out' the accumulated charge. Such shot noise reduction in HBTs could be exploited in the LNA for the RF application.

  18. High breakdown voltage in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs using AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN quantum-well electron-blocking layers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ya-Ju; Yao, Yung-Chi; Huang, Chun-Ying; Lin, Tai-Yuan; Cheng, Li-Lien; Liu, Ching-Yun; Wang, Mei-Tan; Hwang, Jung-Min

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we numerically study an enhancement of breakdown voltage in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) by using the AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN quantum-well (QW) electron-blocking layer (EBL) structure. This concept is based on the superior confinement of two-dimensional electron gases (2-DEGs) provided by the QW EBL, resulting in a significant improvement of breakdown voltage and a remarkable suppression of spilling electrons. The electron mobility of 2-DEG is hence enhanced as well. The dependence of thickness and composition of QW EBL on the device breakdown is also evaluated and discussed.

  19. Self-consistent simulation of carrier confinement characteristics in (AlyGa1−yN/AlN)SLs/GaN/(InxGa1−xN/GaN)MQW/GaN heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Jieqin; Wang Xiaoliang; Xiao Hongling; Wang Cuimei; Yin Haibo; Chen Hong; Feng Chun; Jiang Lijuan

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We present calculations of carrier confinement characteristics. ► An optimization of In x Ga 1−x N/GaN multiquantum-well (MQW) was made. ► 2DEG sheet carrier density in designed heterostructure is greatly increased. ► Interface roughness and alloy disorder scattering reduced. ► Carrier mobility will be improved in designed heterostructure. - Abstract: We present calculations of carrier confinement characteristics in (Al y Ga 1−y N/AlN)SLs/GaN/(In x Ga 1−x N/GaN)MQW/GaN heterojunction structure in the presence of spontaneous and piezoelectrically induced polarization effects. The calculations were made using a self-consistent solution of the Schrödinger, Poisson, potential and charge balance equations. An optimization of In x Ga 1−x N/GaN multiquantum-well (MQW) was made firstly including thickness of GaN channel, InGaN, and indium composition of In x Ga 1−x N in order to increase carrier density and mobility, and the influence of pairs of AlGaN/AlN superlattices (SLs) and InGaN/GaN MQWs on structure was discussed. Theoretical calculations clearly indicate that the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet carrier density in designed heterostructure is greatly increased due to the enhancing of carrier confinement compared to those in conventional AlGaN/GaN one at the similar Al composition. Furthermore, the calculated carrier distribution shows that carrier mobility will be improved by reducing interface roughness and alloy disorder scattering in designed heterostructure.

  20. AlGaN/GaN double-channel HEMT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quan Si; Hao Yue; Ma Xiaohua; Zheng Pengtian; Xie Yuanbin

    2010-01-01

    The fabrication of AlGaN/GaN double-channel high electron mobility transistors on sapphire substrates is reported. Two carrier channels are formed in an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN/GaN multilayer structure. The DC performance of the resulting double-channel HEMT shows a wider high transconductance region compared with single-channel HEMT. Simulations provide an explanation for the influence of the double-channel on the high transconductance region. The buffer trap is suggested to be related to the wide region of high transconductance. The RF characteristics are also studied. (semiconductor devices)

  1. Antisites and anisotropic diffusion in GaAs and GaSb

    KAUST Repository

    Tahini, H. A.

    2013-10-02

    The significant diffusion of Ga under Ga-rich conditions in GaAs and GaSb is counter intuitive as the concentration of Ga vacancies should be depressed although Ga vacancies are necessary to interpret the experimental evidence for Ga transport. To reconcile the existence of Ga vacancies under Ga-rich conditions, transformation reactions have been proposed. Here, density functional theory is employed to calculate the formation energies of vacancies on both sublattices and the migration energy barriers to overcome the formation of the vacancy-antisite defect. Transformation reactions enhance the vacancy concentration in both materials and migration energy barriers indicate that Ga vacancies will dominate.

  2. AlGaN nanocolumns and AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN nanostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ristic, J.; Sanchez-Garcia, M.A.; Ulloa, J.M.; Calleja, E. [Departamento de Ingenieria Electronica, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Sanchez-Paramo, J.; Calleja, J.M. [Departamento de Fisica de Materiales, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Jahn, U.; Trampert, A.; Ploog, K.H. [Paul-Drude-Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

    2002-12-01

    This work reports on the characterization of hexagonal, single crystal AlGaN nanocolumns with diameters in the range of 30 to 100 nm grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates. The change of the flux ratio between the Al and the total III-element controls the alloy composition. The Al composition trend versus the Al flux is consistent both with the E{sub 2} phonon energy values measured by inelastic light scattering and the luminescence emission peaks position. High quality low dimensional AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN heterostructures with five GaN quantum discs, 2 and 4 nm thick, embedded into the AlGaN columns, were designed in order to study the quantum confinement effects. (Abstract Copyright [2002], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  3. Preparation and evaluation of 68Ga-ECC as a PET renal imaging agent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mizaei, Alireza; Jaililan, Amir Reza; Mazidi, Mohammad; Aghanejad, Ayuob; Yousefnia, Hassan; Shabani, Gholamli; Ardaneh, Khosro; Geramifar, Patham; Beiki, Davood

    2015-01-01

    Development of a gallium-68-labeled renal tracer can be a good substitute for Tc-99m, a known SPECT tracer. In this study, effort was made to develop 68 Ga-ethylenecysteamine cysteine ( 68 Ga-ECC). Ga-ECC was prepared using generator-based 68 GaCl3 and ethylenecysteamine cysteine (ECC) at optimized conditions. Stability of the complex was checked in human serum followed by partition coefficient determination of the tracer. The biodistribution of the tracer in rats was studied using tissue counting and PET/CT imaging up to 120 min. Ga-ECC was prepared at optimized conditions in 15 min at 90 °C (radiochemical purity ≈97 ± 0.88 % ITLC, >99 % HPLC, specific activity: 210 ± 5 GBq/mM). 68 Ga-ECC was a water-soluble complex based on partition coefficient data (log P; −1.378) and was stable in the presence of human serum for 2 h at 37 °C. The biodistribution of the tracer demonstrated high kidney excretion of the tracer in 10–20 min. The SUV max ratios of the liver to left kidney were 0.38 and 0.39 for 30 and 90 min, respectively, indicating high kidney uptake. Initial biodistribution results showed significant kidney and urinary excretion of the tracer comparable to that of the homologous 99m Tc compound. The complex could be a possible PET kidney imaging agent with a fast imaging time

  4. Calibration of Ga-68 activity for PET applications in Cuba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    García Rodríguez, Lourdes; Oropesa Verdecia, Pilar; Serra Águila, Rolando A.; Moreno León, Yecenia; Jénez Magaña, Yoel; Pérez LoretdeMola, Nayla; Bell Hechavarría, Ailec; Mas Ruiz, Javier; Cassette, Philippe

    2016-01-01

    A Ga-68 solution was used to calibrate the activity concentration using the double-triple coincidence ratio (TDCR) method of liquid scintillation for the first time in the country. The expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of the concentration of Ga-68 activity in the calibrated solution was equal to 2%. For measurements, the commercial liquid scintillation counter HIDEXTM was used. Samples were prepared by adding between 40 and 50 mg of the radioactive solution to 15 mL of ULTIMAGOLD ™ scintillating cocktail. For the estimation of Ga-68 counting efficiencies in the samples used for the calibration, a FORTRAN program developed by the National Institute of Metrology of France for the magnitudes of ionizing radiation, LNHB, was used. The validation of the method was carried out by the calibration of a standard solution of Na-22, also positronic emitter with similar disintegration scheme to Ga-68. The difference between the concentration of Na-22 activity measured using the TDCR method and the certified reference value traceable to the National Institute of Metrology of the United States (NIST) was 0.15%. With the solution of Ga-68 standardized by the TDCR method the calibration of the secondary standard activity meter, model CAPINTEC CRCTM 15R, was carried out for a geometry of 2R flask with 1mL of radioactive solution. Afterwards, this standard activity meter was calibrated for the measurement of Ga-68 in the geometries of interest in nuclear medicine: Flask 15R with 6 mL of radioactive solution, 2.5 mL syringe with 2 mL of radioactive solution and 5 mL syringe with 2 mL of radioactive solution. The results presented in this paper constitute the necessary metrological support for the introduction of new PET and PET / CT technologies into medical practice in Cuba.

  5. Physiological and tumoral uptake of 68Ga-DOTATATE. Standardized uptake values and challenges in interpretation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuyumcu, Serkan; Oezkan, Zeynep Goezde; Sanli, Yasemin; Yilmaz, Ebru; Mudun, Ayse; Adalet, Isik; Unal, Seher

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study is to determine the range of standardized uptake value (SUV) max of 68Ga-DOTA-tyr3-octreotate (DOTATATE) in normal organs and tumoral lesions and establish uptake unrelated to neuroendocrine tumors (NET). One hundred and twenty patients (57 men, 63 women), who underwent 68 Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging in our institution were analyzed. Patients were indicated for 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging to detect primary tumor or metastasis of suspected or previously known NET, to determine somatostatin receptor (SSTR) positivity and to detect occult source of ectopic Cushing syndrome. Normal range of uptake was calculated for the organs that were proven to have no pathology by either conventional radiological imaging or clinical follow-up, using SUV max as a semiquantitative measure. Uptake and tumor to background (T/B) ratios of tumoral lesions in liver, pancreas, bone, brain and lymph nodes were calculated. Uptakes due to lesions unrelated to NET were also documented. Significant uptake was found in spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, liver and pituitary gland with mean SUV max of 24.67, 14.30, 13.73, 9.12 and 9.74 respectively. Uptake was measured separately for the pancreatic head and body separately, however, besides a slightly heterogeneous uptake; the difference was not statistically significant. Uptake in the tumoral lesions had high (T/B) ratios with mean SUV max of 28.72, 25.21, 18.28, 34.73 and 12.59 for liver, pancreas, bone, brain and lymph nodes, respectively. Incidental benign tumoral lesions were detected in 3 patients (2.5%) which were meningioma and fibrous dysplasia demonstrating significant and breast fibroadenoma demonstrating mild 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake. Non-neoplastic processes were detected in 4 patients (14.1%), including postsurgical inflammation, reactive lymph nodes, arthritis and demonstrated faint to mild 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake, with the exception of significant uptake in accessory spleen. 68 Ga

  6. AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures on ammono bulk GaN substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruszewski, P; Prystawko, P; Krysko, M; Smalc-Koziorowska, J; Leszczynski, M; Kasalynas, I; Nowakowska-Siwinska, A; Plesiewicz, J; Dwilinski, R; Zajac, M; Kucharski, R

    2014-01-01

    The work shows a successful fabrication of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures on the bulk GaN substrate grown by ammonothermal method providing an ultralow dislocation density of 10 4  cm −2  and wafers of size up to 2 inches in diameter. The AlGaN layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor phase epitaxy method demonstrate atomically smooth surface, flat interfaces with reproduced low dislocation density as in the substrate. The test electronic devices—Schottky diodes and transistors—were designed without surface passivation and were successfully fabricated using mask-less laser-based photolithography procedures. The Schottky barrier devices demonstrate exceptionally low reverse currents smaller by a few orders of magnitude in comparison to the Schottky diodes made of AlGaN/GaN HEMT on sapphire substrate. (paper)

  7. Dynamic bowtie filter for cone-beam/multi-slice CT.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenglin Liu

    Full Text Available A pre-patient attenuator ("bowtie filter" or "bowtie" is used to modulate an incoming x-ray beam as a function of the angle of the x-ray with respect to a patient to balance the photon flux on a detector array. While the current dynamic bowtie design is focused on fan-beam geometry, in this study we propose a methodology for dynamic bowtie design in multi-slice/cone-beam geometry. The proposed 3D dynamic bowtie is an extension of the 2D prior art. The 3D bowtie consists of a highly attenuating bowtie (HB filled in with heavy liquid and a weakly attenuating bowtie (WB immersed in the liquid of the HB. The HB targets a balanced flux distribution on a detector array when no object is in the field of view (FOV. The WB compensates for an object in the FOV, and hence is a scaled-down version of the object. The WB is rotated and translated in synchrony with the source rotation and patient translation so that the overall flux balance is maintained on the detector array. First, the mathematical models of different scanning modes are established for an elliptical water phantom. Then, a numerical simulation study is performed to compare the performance of the scanning modes in the cases of the water phantom and a patient cross-section without any bowtie and with a dynamic bowtie. The dynamic bowtie can equalize the numbers of detected photons in the case of the water phantom. In practical cases, the dynamic bowtie can effectively reduce the dynamic range of detected signals inside the FOV. Furthermore, the WB can be individualized using a 3D printing technique as the gold standard. We have extended the dynamic bowtie concept from 2D to 3D by using highly attenuating liquid and moving a scale-reduced negative copy of an object being scanned. Our methodology can be applied to reduce radiation dose and facilitate photon-counting detection.

  8. Modeling and optimization of a double-well double-barrier GaN/AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Gao, Bo; Gong, Min; Shi, Ruiying

    2017-06-01

    The influence of a GaN layer as a sub-quantum well for an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double barrier resonant tunneling diode (RTD) on device performance has been investigated by means of numerical simulation. The introduction of the GaN layer as the sub-quantum well turns the dominant transport mechanism of RTD from the 3D-2D model to the 2D-2D model and increases the energy difference between tunneling energy levels. It can also lower the effective height of the emitter barrier. Consequently, the peak current and peak-to-valley current difference of RTD have been increased. The optimal GaN sub-quantum well parameters are found through analyzing the electrical performance, energy band, and transmission coefficient of RTD with different widths and depths of the GaN sub-quantum well. The most pronounced electrical parameters, a peak current density of 5800 KA/cm2, a peak-to-valley current difference of 1.466 A, and a peak-to-valley current ratio of 6.35, could be achieved by designing RTD with the active region structure of GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8 N/GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8 N (3 nm/1.5 nm/1.5 nm/1.5 nm).

  9. Bipolar characteristics of AlGaN/AlN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction structure with AlGaN as buffer layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, Enchao; Wang, Xiaoliang; Xiao, Hongling; Wang, Cuimei; Yin, Haibo; Chen, Hong; Feng, Chun; Jiang, Lijuan; Hou, Xun; Wang, Zhanguo

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •2DEG and 2DHG coexist in the AlGaN/AlN/GaN/AlGaN DH-structure. •The sheet densities of 2DEG and 2DHG vary with buffer Al content and GaN thickness. •The conditions for the disappearance of 2DHG are discussed. •Increasing buffer Al content provides better electron confinement. •Dislocation scattering is reduced in the DH-structure. -- Abstract: This is a theoretical study of AlGaN/AlN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction (DH) structure with AlGaN as buffer layer. Our calculation shows that as the buffer Al content increases, though two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet density decreases, the channel back-barrier caused by polarization-induced electric field in GaN provides better electron confinement. And under certain conditions the DH-structure shows bipolar characteristics, with an additional two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) formed at GaN/AlGaN interface. The influence of the buffer Al content and GaN channel thickness on the 2DEG and 2DHG sheet densities are investigated, and the conditions for the disappearance of 2DHG are discussed. Also, the mobility inhibited by dislocation scattering is enhanced in DH-structure due to the enhancement of screening effect of the 2DEG

  10. Thrombus scintigraphy with Ga-67 DFO-DAS-Fibrinogen, 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawasaki, Yukiko

    1987-01-01

    In our previous in vivo study 67 Ga DFO-DAS-Fibrinogen was assessed for its usefulness as a radiopharmaceutical for the detection of thrombin in experimental animals (Report 1). The present study was undertaken to appraise the diagnostic value of 67 Ga DFO-DAS-Fibrinogen in human disease, especially in relation to blood coagulability as well as to thrombolytic drug regimen being given, in an effort to investigate its clinical applicability. Involved in this study were 48 patients with thrombosis proven by X-ray CT and other examinations. Of these 48, 42 had arterial thrombosis (20 with aortic aneurysm including the dissecting form, 11 in postoperative condition following vascular surgery with a prosthesis, 9 with intracardiac thrombosis accompanying heart disease, and 1 each with occlusive arteriosclerosis and cerebral infarction) and 6 had venous thrombosis. The 67 Ga DFO-DAS-Fibrinogen test proved to be positive in 55 % of arterial thrombin and in 50 % of venous thrombin. It is interesting to note that as high a positivity rate as 80 % was obtained for aortic aneurysm, although the positivity rate was disappointingly low for left atrial thrombin. No distinct correlation was noted to exist between the degree of accumulation of the tracer in thrombotic lesions and any of factors conceivably of clinical releavance, i.e. time elapsing from onset till testing, thrombolytic medication being given, and hematological factors. 67 Ga DFO-DAS-Fibrinogen appeared to be a radiodiagnostic agent that could possibly indicate the existing activity status of thrombosis. (author)

  11. ECV profiling of GaAs and GaN HEMT heterostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakovlev, G.; Zubkov, V.

    2018-03-01

    AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs and AlGaN/GaN HEMT heterostructures were investigated by means of electrochemical capacitance-voltage technique. A set of test structures were fabricated using various doping techniques: standard doping, δ-doping GaAs pHEMT and nondoping GaN HEMT. The concentration profiles of free charge carriers across the samples were experimentally obtained. The QW filling was analyzed and compared for different mechanisms of emitter doping and 2DEG origins.

  12. Intraindividual comparison of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE and 18F-DOPA PET in patients with well-differentiated metastatic neuroendocrine tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haug, Alexander; Auernhammer, Christoph J.; Goeke, Burkhard; Waengler, Bjoern; Tiling, Reinhold; Bartenstein, Peter; Poepperl, Gabriele; Schmidt, Gerwin

    2009-01-01

    To compare the diagnostic impact of 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE and 18 F-DOPA PET in the diagnosis of well-differentiated metastatic neuroendocrine tumours (NET). PET/CT using both 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE and 18 F-DOPA was performed in 25 patients with histologically proven metastatic NET (nine gut, five pancreas, six lung, one paranasal sinus, four with unknown primary). Analyses of PET examinations were patient-based (pathological uptake: yes/no), and based on tumour regions (primary tumour if present and metastases of liver, lung, bones and lymph nodes). The results were compared with the results of contrast enhanced CT, and with plasma serotonin levels, which were available in 24 of the 25 patients. Patient-based sensitivities were 96% for 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET and 56% for 18 F-DOPA PET. 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET delineated metastases in 54 of 55 positive metastatic tumour regions in contrast to 29 of 55 delineated by 18 F-DOPA PET. Overall, 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE was superior to 18 F-DOPA in 13 patients (two patients showed fewer positive tumour regions with 18 F-DOPA PET). The results were comparable in 12 patients. In 13 of 24 patients, plasma serotonin levels were elevated, and 11 of these 13 patients showed pathological uptake of 18 F-DOPA. Of the 11 patients with normal levels of serotonin, 3 also showed positive 18 F-DOPA uptake. In patients positive for 18 F-DOPA uptake the maximum tumour SUVs were correlated with the levels of serotonin (r=0.66, p=0.01). In this study 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET proved clearly superior to 18 F-DOPA PET for detection and staging of NET. 18 F-DOPA uptake tended to be increased in those patients with elevated plasma serotonin. We conclude that 18 F-DOPA PET should be employed in patients with NET with negative 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE PET and elevated plasma serotonin. (orig.)

  13. Comparison of electrical characteristic between AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lü Yuan-Jie; Feng Zhi-Hong; Gu Guo-Dong; Dun Shao-Bo; Yin Jia-Yun; Han Ting-Ting; Cai Shu-Jun; Lin Zhao-Jun

    2014-01-01

    Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated. Based on the measured current—voltage and capacitance—voltage curves, the electrical characteristics of AlN/GaN Schottky diode, such as Schottky barrier height, turn-on voltage, reverse breakdown voltage, ideal factor, and the current-transport mechanism, are analyzed and then compared with those of an AlGaN/GaN diode by self-consistently solving Schrödinger's and Poisson's equations. It is found that the dislocation-governed tunneling is dominant for both AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes. However, more dislocation defects and a thinner barrier layer for AlN/GaN heterostructure results in a larger tunneling probability, and causes a larger leakage current and lower reverse breakdown voltage, even though the Schottky barrier height of AlN/GaN Schottky diode is calculated to be higher that of an AlGaN/GaN diode. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  14. PET/CT with 68Gallium-DOTA-peptides in NET: An overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambrosini, Valentina; Campana, Davide; Tomassetti, Paola; Grassetto, Gaia; Rubello, Domenico; Fanti, Stefano

    2011-01-01

    In the present review article we presented the major technical innovations regarding the diagnosis of NET with PET/CT 68Ga-DOTA-peptides compounds over conventional radiologic and scintigraphic imaging, discussing both the different types of radiopharmaceuticals commercially available, trying to making a comparison on the possible advantages and drawbacks of these radiopharmaceuticals, and providing also some technical recommendations to the radiologists and nuclear physicians for using these new methodology in an appropriate manner in the clinical setting.

  15. Influence of AlGaN/GaN superlattice inserted structure on the performance of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, C.-L.; Tsai, M.-C.; Gong, J.-R.; Liao, W.-T.; Lin, P.-Y.; Yen, K.-Y.; Chang, C.-C.; Lin, H.-Y.; Hwang, S.-K.

    2007-01-01

    Investigations were conducted to explore the effect of Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 N/GaN short-period superlattice (SPSL)-inserted structures in the GaN under layer on the performance of In 0.2 Ga 0.8 N/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LEDs). The Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 N/GaN SPSL-inserted LEDs were found to exhibit improved materials and device characteristics including decrements in ideality factor and reverse leakage current. The results of etch pit counts reveal that SPSL-induced threading dislocation density reduction in the SPSL-inserted In 0.2 Ga 0.8 N/GaN MQW LED structures enables the improved LED performance

  16. Growth of GaN layers using Ga2O vapor obtained from Ga and H2O vapor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumi, Tomoaki; Taniyama, Yuuki; Takatsu, Hiroaki; Juta, Masami; Kitamoto, Akira; Imade, Mamoru; Yoshimura, Masashi; Mori, Yusuke; Isemura, Masashi

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we performed growth of GaN layers using Ga 2 O vapor synthesized from Ga and H 2 O vapor. In this process, we employed H 2 O vapor instead of HCl gas in hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) to synthesize Ga source gas. In the synthesis reaction of Ga 2 O, a Ga 2 O 3 whisker formed and covered Ga, which impeded the synthesis reaction of Ga 2 O. The formation of the Ga 2 O 3 whisker was suppressed in H 2 ambient at high temperatures. Then, we adopted this process to supply a group III precursor and obtained an epitaxial layer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement revealed that the epitaxial layer was single-crystalline GaN. Growth rate increased linearly with Ga 2 O partial pressure and reached 104 µm/h. (author)

  17. Roles of 67Ga-scintigraphy and CT in the decision of surgical treatment in cases with suspected abdominal abscess

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuwabara, Yasuo; Yasumori, Kotaro; Oshiumi, Yoshihiko; Nishitani, Hiromu; Ichiya, Yuichi

    1983-01-01

    67 Ga-scintigraphy and computed tomography in the decision of surgical treatment of abdominal abscess were evaluated in 37 clinically suspected cases. Eight of them were treated surgically. In the remaining 29 cases, 24 were treated conservatively, and 5 were confirmed not having abscesses at surgery for some other reason or autopsy. The clinical decisions in this study were considered to be appropriate, because there was no fatal case directly related to the existence of abscess. The sensitivity of 67 Ga-scintigraphy for surgically treated abscess was 88% (7/8), that of computed tomography was 100% (8/8). The specificity of 67 Ga-scintigraphy was 45% (13/29), that of computed tomography was 62% (18/29). In cases with descrepancy between 67 Ga-scintigraphy and computed tomography, computed tomography was more specific for abscess. It is concluded that in cases with negative findings in either examination, it is possible to deny a presence of abscess requring surgical treatment. However, even in cases with positive findings in both examinations, surgical treatment should be decided finally including other clinical informations. (author)

  18. Comparison of lesion detection and quantitation of tracer uptake between PET from a simultaneously acquiring whole-body PET/MR hybrid scanner and PET from PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiesmueller, Marco; Schmidt, Daniela; Beck, Michael; Kuwert, Torsten; Gall, Carl C. von; Quick, Harald H.; Navalpakkam, Bharath; Lell, Michael M.; Uder, Michael; Ritt, Philipp

    2013-01-01

    PET/MR hybrid scanners have recently been introduced, but not yet validated. The aim of this study was to compare the PET components of a PET/CT hybrid system and of a simultaneous whole-body PET/MR hybrid system with regard to reproducibility of lesion detection and quantitation of tracer uptake. A total of 46 patients underwent a whole-body PET/CT scan 1 h after injection and an average of 88 min later a second scan using a hybrid PET/MR system. The radioactive tracers used were 18 F-deoxyglucose (FDG), 18 F-ethylcholine (FEC) and 68 Ga-DOTATATE (Ga-DOTATATE). The PET images from PET/CT (PET CT ) and from PET/MR (PET MR ) were analysed for tracer-positive lesions. Regional tracer uptake in these foci was quantified using volumes of interest, and maximal and average standardized uptake values (SUV max and SUV avg , respectively) were calculated. Of the 46 patients, 43 were eligible for comparison and statistical analysis. All lesions except one identified by PET CT were identified by PET MR (99.2 %). In 38 patients (88.4 %), the same number of foci were identified by PET CT and by PET MR . In four patients, more lesions were identified by PET MR than by PET CT , in one patient PET CT revealed an additional focus compared to PET MR . The mean SUV max and SUV avg of all lesions determined by PET MR were by 21 % and 11 % lower, respectively, than the values determined by PET CT (p CT and PET MR were minor, but statistically significant. Nevertheless, a more detailed study of the quantitative accuracy of PET MR and the factors governing it is needed to ultimately assess its accuracy in measuring tissue tracer concentrations. (orig.)

  19. Photoluminescence study of the nitrogen content effect on GaAs/GaAs1-xNx/GaAs/AlGaAs: (Si) quantum well

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamdouni, A.; Bousbih, F.; Ben bouzid, S.; Aloulou, S.; Harmand, J.C.; Chtourou, R.

    2008-01-01

    We study the effect of nitrogen content in modulation-doped GaAs/GaAs 1-x N x /GaAs/GaAlAs:(Si) quantum well using low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy. The samples were grown on GaAs (001) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy with different nitrogen compositions. The variation of the nitrogen composition from 0.04% to 0.32% associated to the bi-dimensional electron gas gives a new interaction mode between the nitrogen localized states and the GaAs 1-x N x /GaAs energies levels. The red-shift observed in photoluminescence spectra as function of nitrogen content has been interpreted in the frame of the band anticrossing model

  20. Characteristics study of 2DEG transport properties of AlGaN/GaN and AlGaAs/GaAs-based HEMT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lenka, T. R.; Panda, A. K.

    2011-01-01

    Growth of wide bandgap material over narrow bandgap material, results into a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the heterointerface due to the conduction band discontinuity. In this paper the 2DEG transport properties of AlGaN/GaN-based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is discussed and its effect on various characteristics such as 2DEG density, C-V characteristics and Sheet resistances for different mole fractions are presented. The obtained results are also compared with AlGaAs/GaAs-based HEMT for the same structural parameter as like AlGaN/GaN-based HEMT. The calculated results of electron sheet concentration as a function of the Al mole fraction are in excellent agreement with some experimental data available in the literature.

  1. Preparation and evaluation of {sup 68}Ga-ECC as a PET renal imaging agent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mizaei, Alireza; Jaililan, Amir Reza; Mazidi, Mohammad; Aghanejad, Ayuob; Yousefnia, Hassan; Shabani, Gholamli; Ardaneh, Khosro [Radiation Application Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Geramifar, Patham; Beiki, Davood [Research Center for Nuclear Medicine, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-09-15

    Development of a gallium-68-labeled renal tracer can be a good substitute for Tc-99m, a known SPECT tracer. In this study, effort was made to develop {sup 68}Ga-ethylenecysteamine cysteine ({sup 68}Ga-ECC). Ga-ECC was prepared using generator-based {sup 68}GaCl3 and ethylenecysteamine cysteine (ECC) at optimized conditions. Stability of the complex was checked in human serum followed by partition coefficient determination of the tracer. The biodistribution of the tracer in rats was studied using tissue counting and PET/CT imaging up to 120 min. Ga-ECC was prepared at optimized conditions in 15 min at 90 °C (radiochemical purity ≈97 ± 0.88 % ITLC, >99 % HPLC, specific activity: 210 ± 5 GBq/mM). {sup 68}Ga-ECC was a water-soluble complex based on partition coefficient data (log P; −1.378) and was stable in the presence of human serum for 2 h at 37 °C. The biodistribution of the tracer demonstrated high kidney excretion of the tracer in 10–20 min. The SUV{sub max} ratios of the liver to left kidney were 0.38 and 0.39 for 30 and 90 min, respectively, indicating high kidney uptake. Initial biodistribution results showed significant kidney and urinary excretion of the tracer comparable to that of the homologous {sup 99m}Tc compound. The complex could be a possible PET kidney imaging agent with a fast imaging time.

  2. Metal-interconnection-free integration of InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes with AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Chao; Cai, Yuefei; Liu, Zhaojun; Ma, Jun; Lau, Kei May, E-mail: eekmlau@ust.hk [Photonics Technology Center, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon (Hong Kong)

    2015-05-04

    We report a metal-interconnection-free integration scheme for InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) and AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by combining selective epi removal (SER) and selective epitaxial growth (SEG) techniques. SER of HEMT epi was carried out first to expose the bottom unintentionally doped GaN buffer and the sidewall GaN channel. A LED structure was regrown in the SER region with the bottom n-type GaN layer (n-electrode of the LED) connected to the HEMTs laterally, enabling monolithic integration of the HEMTs and LEDs (HEMT-LED) without metal-interconnection. In addition to saving substrate real estate, minimal interface resistance between the regrown n-type GaN and the HEMT channel is a significant improvement over metal-interconnection. Furthermore, excellent off-state leakage characteristics of the driving transistor can also be guaranteed in such an integration scheme.

  3. Metal-interconnection-free integration of InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes with AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Chao; Cai, Yuefei; Liu, Zhaojun; Ma, Jun; Lau, Kei May

    2015-01-01

    We report a metal-interconnection-free integration scheme for InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) and AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by combining selective epi removal (SER) and selective epitaxial growth (SEG) techniques. SER of HEMT epi was carried out first to expose the bottom unintentionally doped GaN buffer and the sidewall GaN channel. A LED structure was regrown in the SER region with the bottom n-type GaN layer (n-electrode of the LED) connected to the HEMTs laterally, enabling monolithic integration of the HEMTs and LEDs (HEMT-LED) without metal-interconnection. In addition to saving substrate real estate, minimal interface resistance between the regrown n-type GaN and the HEMT channel is a significant improvement over metal-interconnection. Furthermore, excellent off-state leakage characteristics of the driving transistor can also be guaranteed in such an integration scheme

  4. Strain-balanced InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Den Broeck, D. M.; Hosalli, A. M.; Bedair, S. M. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Bharrat, D.; El-Masry, N. A. [Department of Material Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

    2014-07-21

    InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures suffer from a high amount of compressive strain in the InGaN wells and the accompanied piezoelectric field resulting in both a blue shift in emission and a reduction of emission intensity. We report the growth of In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N/GaN “strain-balanced” multiple quantum wells (SBMQWs) grown on thick In{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N templates for x > y by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. SBMQWs consist of alternating layers of In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N wells and GaN barriers under compressive and tensile stress, respectively, which have been lattice matched to a thick In{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N template. Growth of the In{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N template is also detailed in order to achieve thick, relaxed In{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N grown on GaN without the presence of V-grooves. When compared to conventional In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N/GaN MQWs grown on GaN, the SBMQW structures exhibit longer wavelength emission and higher emission intensity for the same InN mole fraction due to a reduction in the well strain and piezoelectric field. By matching the average lattice constant of the MQW active region to the lattice constant of the In{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N template, essentially an infinite number of periods can be grown using the SBMQW growth method without relaxation-related effects. SBMQWs can be utilized to achieve longer wavelength emission in light emitting diodes without the use of excess indium and can be advantageous in addressing the “green gap.”.

  5. DFT study on the adsorption of diethyl, ethyl methyl, and dimethyl ethers on the surface of gallium doped graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shokuhi Rad, Ali, E-mail: a.shokuhi@gmail.com [Department of Chemical Engineering, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sani, Emad; Binaeian, Ehsan [Department of Chemical Engineering, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Peyravi, Majid; Jahanshahi, Mohsen [Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • Adsorption of three ether molecules on the surface of Ga-doped graphene has been investigated. • High degree of adsorption for all analytes is found. • Ga-doped graphene shows p-type semiconductor property upon adsorption of ether molecules. - Abstract: In this study, we used density functional theory (DFT) to search on the adsorption properties of three important compounds of ether family; diethyl ether (DEE), ethyl methyl ether (EME), and dimethyl ether (DME) on the surface of Gallium doped graphene (GaG). We used three functionals (B3LYP, wb97xd, and MPW1PW91) for optimization and calculation of adsorption energy. After fully optimization, we scrutinized on the charge allocations on the adsorbed ethers as well as GaG (at the area of interaction) based on natural bond orbitals (NBO). Besides, we have calculated the amount of charge transfer upon adsorption of each analyte. We revel that GaG is an ideal adsorbent for chemisorption of all above-mentioned ethers. There is a little difference between the values of adsorption; −123.5, −120, and −118.3 kJ/mol (based on wb97xd) for DEE, EME, and DME, respectively. We found significant changes in the electronic structure of both adsorbent and adsorbate upon adsorption. Moreover, results of charge analyses confirm GaG is a p-type semiconductor.

  6. DFT study on the adsorption of diethyl, ethyl methyl, and dimethyl ethers on the surface of gallium doped graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shokuhi Rad, Ali; Sani, Emad; Binaeian, Ehsan; Peyravi, Majid; Jahanshahi, Mohsen

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Adsorption of three ether molecules on the surface of Ga-doped graphene has been investigated. • High degree of adsorption for all analytes is found. • Ga-doped graphene shows p-type semiconductor property upon adsorption of ether molecules. - Abstract: In this study, we used density functional theory (DFT) to search on the adsorption properties of three important compounds of ether family; diethyl ether (DEE), ethyl methyl ether (EME), and dimethyl ether (DME) on the surface of Gallium doped graphene (GaG). We used three functionals (B3LYP, wb97xd, and MPW1PW91) for optimization and calculation of adsorption energy. After fully optimization, we scrutinized on the charge allocations on the adsorbed ethers as well as GaG (at the area of interaction) based on natural bond orbitals (NBO). Besides, we have calculated the amount of charge transfer upon adsorption of each analyte. We revel that GaG is an ideal adsorbent for chemisorption of all above-mentioned ethers. There is a little difference between the values of adsorption; −123.5, −120, and −118.3 kJ/mol (based on wb97xd) for DEE, EME, and DME, respectively. We found significant changes in the electronic structure of both adsorbent and adsorbate upon adsorption. Moreover, results of charge analyses confirm GaG is a p-type semiconductor.

  7. Comparison of CT numbers between cone-beam CT and multi-detector CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dong Soo; Han, Won Jeong; Kim, Eun Kyung

    2010-01-01

    To compare the CT numbers on 3 cone-beam CT (CBCT) images with those on multi-detector CT (MDCT) image using CT phantom and to develop linear regressive equations using CT numbers to material density for all the CT scanner each. Mini CT phantom comprised of five 1 inch thick cylindrical models with 1.125 inches diameter of materials with different densities (polyethylene, polystyrene, plastic water, nylon and acrylic) was used. It was scanned in 3 CBCTs (i-CAT, Alphard VEGA, Implagraphy SC) and 1 MDCT (Somatom Emotion). The images were saved as DICOM format and CT numbers were measured using OnDemand 3D. CT numbers obtained from CBCTs and MDCT images were compared and linear regression analysis was performed for the density, ρ(g/cm 3 ), as the dependent variable in terms of the CT numbers obtained from CBCTs and MDCT images. CT numbers on i-CAT and Implagraphy CBCT images were smaller than those on Somatom Emotion MDCT image (p<0.05). Linear relationship on a range of materials used for this study were ρ=0.001 H+1.07 with R2 value of 0.999 for Somatom Emotion, ρ=0.002 H+1.09 with R2 value of 0.991 for Alphard VEGA, ρ=0.001 H+1.43 with R2 value of 0.980 for i-CAT and ρ=0.001 H+1.30 with R2 value of 0.975 for Implagraphy. CT numbers on i-CAT and Implagraphy CBCT images were not same as those on Somatom Emotion MDCT image. The linear regressive equations to determine the density from the CT numbers with very high correlation coefficient were obtained on three CBCT and MDCT scan.

  8. Comparison of CT numbers between cone-beam CT and multi-detector CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Dong Soo; Han, Won Jeong; Kim, Eun Kyung [Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2010-06-15

    To compare the CT numbers on 3 cone-beam CT (CBCT) images with those on multi-detector CT (MDCT) image using CT phantom and to develop linear regressive equations using CT numbers to material density for all the CT scanner each. Mini CT phantom comprised of five 1 inch thick cylindrical models with 1.125 inches diameter of materials with different densities (polyethylene, polystyrene, plastic water, nylon and acrylic) was used. It was scanned in 3 CBCTs (i-CAT, Alphard VEGA, Implagraphy SC) and 1 MDCT (Somatom Emotion). The images were saved as DICOM format and CT numbers were measured using OnDemand 3D. CT numbers obtained from CBCTs and MDCT images were compared and linear regression analysis was performed for the density, {rho}(g/cm{sup 3}), as the dependent variable in terms of the CT numbers obtained from CBCTs and MDCT images. CT numbers on i-CAT and Implagraphy CBCT images were smaller than those on Somatom Emotion MDCT image (p<0.05). Linear relationship on a range of materials used for this study were {rho}=0.001 H+1.07 with R2 value of 0.999 for Somatom Emotion, {rho}=0.002 H+1.09 with R2 value of 0.991 for Alphard VEGA, {rho}=0.001 H+1.43 with R2 value of 0.980 for i-CAT and {rho}=0.001 H+1.30 with R2 value of 0.975 for Implagraphy. CT numbers on i-CAT and Implagraphy CBCT images were not same as those on Somatom Emotion MDCT image. The linear regressive equations to determine the density from the CT numbers with very high correlation coefficient were obtained on three CBCT and MDCT scan.

  9. Evaluation of the Possible Utilization of 68Ga-DOTATOC in Diagnosis of Adenocarcinoma Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zolghadri, Samaneh; Naderi, Mojdeh; Yousefnia, Hassan; Alirezapour, Behrouz; Beiki, Davood

    2018-01-01

    Studies have indicated advantageous properties of [DOTA-DPhe 1 , Tyr 3 ] octreotide (DOTATOC) in tumor models and labeling with gallium. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women, and most of these cancers are often an adenocarcinoma. Due to the importance of target to non-target ratios in the efficacy of diagnosis, the pharmacokinetic of 68 Ga-DOTATOC in an adenocarcinoma breast cancer animal model was studied in this research, and the optimized time for imaging was determined. 68 Ga was obtained from 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator. The complex was prepared at optimized conditions. Radiochemical purity of the complex was checked using both HPLC and ITLC methods. Biodistribution of the complex was studied in BALB/c mice bearing adenocarcinoma breast cancer. Also, PET/CT imaging was performed up to 120 min post injection. The complex was produced with radiochemical purity of greater than 98% and specific activity of about 40 GBq/mM at optimized conditions. Biodistribution of the complex was studied in BALB/c mice bearing adenocarcinoma breast cancer indicated fast blood clearance and significant uptake in the tumor. Significant tumor: blood and tumor:muscle uptake ratios were observed even at early times post-injection. PET/CT images were also confirmed the considerable accumulation of the tracer in the tumor. Generally, the results proved the possible application of the radiolabelled complex for the detection of the adenocarcinoma breast cancer and according to the pharmacokenitic data, the suitable time for imaging was determined as at least 30 min after injection.

  10. Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition growth of high-mobility AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures on GaN templates and native GaN substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Jr-Tai, E-mail: jrche@ifm.liu.se; Hsu, Chih-Wei; Forsberg, Urban; Janzén, Erik [Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE 581 83 Linköping (Sweden)

    2015-02-28

    Severe surface decomposition of semi-insulating (SI) GaN templates occurred in high-temperature H{sub 2} atmosphere prior to epitaxial growth in a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system. A two-step heating process with a surface stabilization technique was developed to preserve the GaN template surface. Utilizing the optimized heating process, a high two-dimensional electron gas mobility ∼2000 cm{sup 2}/V·s was obtained in a thin AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure with an only 100-nm-thick GaN spacer layer homoepitaxially grown on the GaN template. This technique was also demonstrated viable for native GaN substrates to stabilize the surface facilitating two-dimensional growth of GaN layers. Very high residual silicon and oxygen concentrations were found up to ∼1 × 10{sup 20 }cm{sup −3} at the interface between the GaN epilayer and the native GaN substrate. Capacitance-voltage measurements confirmed that the residual carbon doping controlled by growth conditions of the GaN epilayer can be used to successfully compensate the donor-like impurities. State-of-the-art structural properties of a high-mobility AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure was then realized on a 1 × 1 cm{sup 2} SI native GaN substrate; the full width at half maximum of the X-ray rocking curves of the GaN (002) and (102) peaks are only 21 and 14 arc sec, respectively. The surface morphology of the heterostructure shows uniform parallel bilayer steps, and no morphological defects were noticeable over the entire epi-wafer.

  11. Spin injection in epitaxial MnGa(111)/GaN(0001) heterostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zube, Christian; Malindretos, Joerg; Watschke, Lars; Zamani, Reza R.; Disterheft, David; Ulbrich, Rainer G.; Rizzi, Angela; Iza, Michael; Keller, Stacia; DenBaars, Steven P.

    2018-01-01

    Ferromagnetic MnGa(111) layers were grown on GaN(0001) by molecular beam epitaxy. MnGa/GaN Schottky diodes with a doping level of around n = 7 × 1018 cm-3 were fabricated to achieve single step tunneling across the metal/semiconductor junction. Below the GaN layer, a thin InGaN quantum well served as optical spin detector ("spin-LED"). For electron spin injection from MnGa into GaN and subsequent spin transport through a 45 nm (70 nm) thick GaN layer, we observe a circular polarization of 0.3% (0.2%) in the electroluminescence at 80 K. Interface mixing, spin polarization losses during electrical transport in the GaN layer, and spin relaxation in the InGaN quantum well are discussed in relation with the low value of the optically detected spin polarization.

  12. High throughput static and dynamic small animal imaging using clinical PET/CT: potential preclinical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aide, Nicolas; Desmonts, Cedric; Agostini, Denis; Bardet, Stephane; Bouvard, Gerard; Beauregard, Jean-Mathieu; Roselt, Peter; Neels, Oliver; Beyer, Thomas; Kinross, Kathryn; Hicks, Rodney J.

    2010-01-01

    The objective of the study was to evaluate state-of-the-art clinical PET/CT technology in performing static and dynamic imaging of several mice simultaneously. A mouse-sized phantom was imaged mimicking simultaneous imaging of three mice with computation of recovery coefficients (RCs) and spillover ratios (SORs). Fifteen mice harbouring abdominal or subcutaneous tumours were imaged on clinical PET/CT with point spread function (PSF) reconstruction after injection of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose or [18F]fluorothymidine. Three of these mice were imaged alone and simultaneously at radial positions -5, 0 and 5 cm. The remaining 12 tumour-bearing mice were imaged in groups of 3 to establish the quantitative accuracy of PET data using ex vivo gamma counting as the reference. Finally, a dynamic scan was performed in three mice simultaneously after the injection of 68 Ga-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). For typical lesion sizes of 7-8 mm phantom experiments indicated RCs of 0.42 and 0.76 for ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) and PSF reconstruction, respectively. For PSF reconstruction, SOR air and SOR water were 5.3 and 7.5%, respectively. A strong correlation (r 2 = 0.97, p 2 = 0.98; slope = 0.89, p 2 = 0.96; slope = 0.62, p 68 Ga-EDTA dynamic acquisition. New generation clinical PET/CT can be used for simultaneous imaging of multiple small animals in experiments requiring high throughput and where a dedicated small animal PET system is not available. (orig.)

  13. Tumor targeting using {sup 67}Ga-DOTA-Bz-folate - investigations of methods to improve the tissue distribution of radiofolates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, Cristina, E-mail: cristina.mueller@psi.ch [Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences ETH-PSI-USZ, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Vlahov, Iontcho R.; Santhapuram, Hari Krishna R.; Leamon, Christopher P. [Endocyte Inc., West Lafayette, IN 47906 (United States); Schibli, Roger [Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences ETH-PSI-USZ, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2011-07-15

    Introduction: Use of folic acid radioconjugates for folate receptor (FR) targeting is a promising strategy for imaging purposes as well as for potential therapy of cancer and inflammatory diseases due to the frequent FR overexpression found on cancer cells and activated macrophages. Herein, we report on preclinical results using a novel DOTA-Bz-EDA-folate conjugate radiolabeled with [{sup 67}Ga]-gallium. Methods: DOTA-Bz-EDA-folate was prepared by conjugation of ethylenediamine-({gamma})-folate with 2-(p-isothiocyanobenzyl)-DOTA. Radiolabeling was carried out with {sup 67}GaCl{sub 3} according to standard procedures. Biodistribution studies of the tracer were performed in mice bearing FR-positive KB tumor xenografts. The effects on radiofolate biodistribution with coadministered renal uptake-blocking amino acids, diuretic agents, antifolates as well as different routes of administration were likewise investigated. Supportive imaging studies were performed using a small-animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT scanner. Results: {sup 67}Ga-DOTA-Bz-EDA-folate showed a high and specific accumulation in tumors (6.30%{+-}0.75% ID/g, 1 h pi and 6.08%{+-}0.89% ID/g, 4 h pi). Nonspecific radioactivity uptake in nontargeted tissues was negligible, but significant accumulation was found in FR-positive kidneys, which resulted in unfavorably low tumor-to-kidney ratios (<0.1). Coadministered amino acids or diuretics did not effectively reduce renal accumulation; in contrast, predosed pemetrexed did significantly reduce kidney uptake (<29% of control values). The SPECT/CT studies confirmed the excellent tumor-to-background contrast of {sup 67}Ga-radiofolate and the favorable reduction in kidney uptake (with improved imaging quality) resulting from pemetrexed administration. Conclusion: Conventional methods to reduce kidney uptake of radiofolates fail. However, the novel {sup 67}Ga-radiolabeled DOTA-Bz-EDA-folate can effectively be used to image FR

  14. Role of AlGaN/GaN interface traps on negative threshold voltage shift in AlGaN/GaN HEMT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malik, Amit; Sharma, Chandan; Laishram, Robert; Bag, Rajesh Kumar; Rawal, Dipendra Singh; Vinayak, Seema; Sharma, Rajesh Kumar

    2018-04-01

    This article reports negative shift in the threshold-voltage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with application of reverse gate bias stress. The device is biased in strong pinch-off and low drain to source voltage condition for a fixed time duration (reverse gate bias stress), followed by measurement of transfer characteristics. Negative threshold voltage shift after application of reverse gate bias stress indicates the presence of more carriers in channel as compared to the unstressed condition. We propose the presence of AlGaN/GaN interface states to be the reason of negative threshold voltage shift, and developed a process to electrically characterize AlGaN/GaN interface states. We verified the results with Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) ATLAS simulation and got a good match with experimental measurements.

  15. 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and somatostatin receptor (sst1-sst5) expression in normal human tissue: correlation of sst2 mRNA and SUVmax

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boy, Christian; Poeppel, Thorsten D.; Jentzen, Walter; Brandau, Wolfgang; Bockisch, Andreas; Heusner, Till A.; Antoch, Gerald; Redmann-Bischofs, Anja; Unger, Nicole; Mann, Klaus; Petersenn, Stephan

    2011-01-01

    By targeting somatostatin receptors (sst) radiopeptides have been established for both diagnosis and therapy. For physiologically normal human tissues the study provides a normative database of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and sst mRNA. A total of 120 patients were subjected to diagnostic 68 Ga-DOTATOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT (age range 19-83 years). SUV max values were measured in physiologically normal tissues defined by normal morphology, absence of surgical intervention and absence of metastatic spread during clinical follow-up. Expression of sst subtypes (sst1-sst5) was measured independently in pooled adult normal human tissue by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). SUV max revealed a region-specific pattern (e.g., mean ± SD, spleen 31.1 ± 10.9, kidney 16.9 ± 5.3, liver 12.8 ± 3.6, stomach 7.0 ± 3.1, head of pancreas 6.2 ± 2.3, small bowel 4.8 ± 1.8, thyroid 4.7 ± 2.2, bone 3.9 ± 1.3, large bowel 2.9 ± 0.8, muscle 2.1 ± 0.5, parotid gland 1.9 ± 0.6, axillary lymph node 0.8 ± 0.3 and lung 0.7 ± 0.3). SUV max was age independent. Gender differences were evident within the thyroid (female/male: 3.7 ± 1.6/5.5 ± 2.4, p max values exclusively correlated with sst2 expression (r = 0.846, p max with the expression of the other four subtypes. In normal human tissues 68 Ga-DOTATOC imaging has been related to the expression of sst2 at the level of mRNA. The novel normative database may improve diagnostics, monitoring and therapy of sst-expressing tumours or inflammation on a molecular basis. (orig.)

  16. Near-surface depletion of antimony during the growth of GaAsSb and GaAs/GaAsSb nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kauko, H.; Helvoort, A. T. J. van, E-mail: a.helvoort@ntnu.no [Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim (Norway); Fimland, B. O.; Munshi, A. M. [Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Grieb, T.; Müller, K.; Rosenauer, A. [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Universität Bremen, Bremen (Germany)

    2014-10-14

    The near-surface reduction of the Sb mole fraction during the growth of GaAsSb nanowires (NWs) and GaAs NWs with GaAsSb inserts has been studied using quantitative high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). A model for diffusion of Sb in the hexagonal NWs was developed and employed in combination with the quantitative STEM analysis. GaAsSb NWs grown by Ga-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and GaAs/GaAsSb NWs grown by Ga- and Au-assisted MBE were investigated. At the high temperatures employed in the NW growth, As-Sb exchange at and outward diffusion of Sb towards the surface take place, resulting in reduction of the Sb concentration at and near the surface in the GaAsSb NWs and the GaAsSb inserts. In GaAsSb NWs, an increasing near-surface depletion of Sb was observed towards the bottom of the NW due to longer exposure to the As beam flux. In GaAsSb inserts, an increasing change in the Sb concentration profile was observed with increasing post-insert axial GaAs growth time, resulting from a combined effect of radial GaAs overgrowth and diffusion of Sb. The effect of growth temperature on the diffusion of Sb in the GaAsSb inserts was identified. The consequences of these findings for growth optimization and the optoelectronic properties of GaAsSb are discussed.

  17. AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors with Multi-MgxNy/GaN Buffer

    OpenAIRE

    Chang, P. C.; Lee, K. H.; Wang, Z. H.; Chang, S. J.

    2014-01-01

    We report the fabrication of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with multi-MgxNy/GaN buffer. Compared with conventional HEMT devices with a low-temperature GaN buffer, smaller gate and source-drain leakage current could be achieved with this new buffer design. Consequently, the electron mobility was larger for the proposed device due to the reduction of defect density and the corresponding improvement of crystalline quality as result of using the multi-MgxNy/GaN buffer.

  18. Reducing Threshold of Multi Quantum Wells InGaN Laser Diode by Using InGaN/GaN Waveguide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, Rafid A.; Ibrahim, Kamarulazizi

    2010-07-01

    ISE TCAD (Integrated System Engineering Technology Computer Aided Design) software simulation program has been utilized to help study the effect of using InGaN/GaN as a waveguide instead of conventional GaN waveguide for multi quantum wells violet InGaN laser diode (LD). Simulation results indicate that the threshold of the LD has been reduced by using InGaN/GaN waveguide where InGaN/GaN waveguide increases the optical confinement factor which leads to increase the confinement carriers at the active region of the LD.

  19. Carrier confinement effects of InxGa1-xN/GaN multi quantum disks with GaN surface barriers grown in GaN nanorods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Youngsin; Chan, Christopher C. S.; Taylor, Robert A.; Kim, Nammee; Jo, Yongcheol; Lee, Seung W.; Yang, Woochul; Im, Hyunsik

    2018-04-01

    Structural and optical properties of InxGa1-xN/GaN multi quantum disks (QDisks) grown on GaN nanorods by molecular beam epitaxy have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy and micro-photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Two types of InGaN QDisks were grown: a pseudo-3D confined InGaN pillar-type QDisks embedded in GaN nanorods; and QDisks in flanged cone type GaN nanorods. The PL emission peak and excitation dependent PL behavior of the pillar-type Qdisks differ greatly from those of the flanged cone type QDisks. Time resolved PL was carried out to probe the differences in charge carrier dynamics. The results suggest that by constraining the formation of InGaN QDisks within the centre of the nanorod, carriers are restricted from migrating to the surface, decreasing the surface recombination at high carrier densities.

  20. Carrier quenching in InGaP/GaAs double heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wells, Nathan P., E-mail: nathan.p.wells@aero.org; Driskell, Travis U.; Hudson, Andrew I.; LaLumondiere, Stephen D.; Lotshaw, William T. [The Aerospace Corporation, Physical Sciences Laboratories, P.O. Box 92957, Los Angeles, California 90009 (United States); Forbes, David V.; Hubbard, Seth M. [NanoPower Research Labs, Rochester Institute of Technology, 156 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)

    2015-08-14

    Photoluminescence measurements on a series of GaAs double heterostructures demonstrate a rapid quenching of carriers in the GaAs layer at irradiance levels below 0.1 W/cm{sup 2} in samples with a GaAs-on-InGaP interface. These results indicate the existence of non-radiative defect centers at or near the GaAs-on-InGaP interface, consistent with previous reports showing the intermixing of In and P when free As impinges on the InGaP surface during growth. At low irradiance, these defect centers can lead to sub-ns carrier lifetimes. The defect centers involved in the rapid carrier quenching can be saturated at higher irradiance levels and allow carrier lifetimes to reach hundreds of nanoseconds. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a nearly three orders of magnitude decrease in carrier lifetime at low irradiance in a simple double heterostructure. Carrier quenching occurs at irradiance levels near the integrated Air Mass Zero (AM0) and Air Mass 1.5 (AM1.5) solar irradiance. Additionally, a lower energy photoluminescence band is observed both at room and cryogenic temperatures. The temperature and time dependence of the lower energy luminescence is consistent with the presence of an unintentional InGaAs or InGaAsP quantum well that forms due to compositional mixing at the GaAs-on-InGaP interface. Our results are of general interest to the photovoltaic community as InGaP is commonly used as a window layer in GaAs based solar cells.

  1. Stimulated emission in heterostructures with double InGaAs/GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells, grown on GaAs and Ge/Si(001) substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yablonsky, A. N., E-mail: yablonsk@ipm.sci-nnov.ru; Morozov, S. V.; Gaponova, D. M.; Aleshkin, V. Ya. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation); Shengurov, V. G.; Zvonkov, B. N.; Vikhrova, O. V.; Baidus’, N. V. [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Krasil’nik, Z. F. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation)

    2016-11-15

    We report the observation of stimulated emission in heterostructures with double InGaAs/GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells, grown on Si(001) substrates with the application of a relaxed Ge buffer layer. Stimulated emission is observed at 77 K under pulsed optical pumping at a wavelength of 1.11 μm, i.e., in the transparency range of bulk silicon. In similar InGaAs/GaAsSb/GaAs structures grown on GaAs substrates, room-temperature stimulated emission is observed at 1.17 μm. The results obtained are promising for integration of the structures into silicon-based optoelectronics.

  2. Growth of (20 anti 21)AlGaN, GaN and InGaN by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ploch, S.; Wernicke, T.; Rass, J.; Pristovsek, M. [TU Berlin, Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Weyers, M. [Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Kneissl, M. [TU Berlin, Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    Green InGaN-based laser diodes on (20 anti 21)GaN substrates have recently demonstrated performances exceeding those of conventional (0001) oriented devices. However little is known regarding the growth parameters. We have investigated growth of AlGaN, GaN and InGaN on (20 anti 21)GaN substrates by MOVPE. Smooth GaN layers with a rms roughness <0.5 nm were obtained by low growth temperatures and reactor pressures. The layers exhibit undulations along [10 anti 14] similar to the GaN substrate. AlGaN and InGaN layers exhibit an increased surface roughness. Undulation bunching was observed and attributed to reduced adatom surface mobility due to the binding energy of Al and the low growth temperature for InGaN respectively or strain relaxation. AlGaN and InGaN heterostructures on (20 anti 21)GaN relax by layer tilt accompanied by formation of misfit dislocations, due to shear strain of the unit cell. This relaxation mechanism leads to a reduced critical layer thickness of (20 anti 21)AlGaN layers and InGaN multi quantum wells (MQW) in comparison to (0001). PL spectral broadening of 230 meV of (20 anti 21)InGaN single QWs emitting at 415 nm can be reduced by increased growth temperature or increased number of QWs with reduced thickness.

  3. Exciton binding energy in wurtzite InGaN/GaN quantum wells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seoung-Hwan; Kim, Jong-Jae; Kim, Hwa-Min

    2004-01-01

    The internal field and carrier density effects on the exciton binding energies in wurtzite (WZ) InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) structures are investigated using the multiband effective-mass theory, and are compared with those obtained from the at-band model and with those of GaN/AlGaN QW structures. The exciton binding energy is significantly reduced with increasing sheet carrier density, suggesting that excitons are nearly bleached at densities around 10 12 cm -2 for both InGaN/GaN and GaN/AlGaN QW structures. With the inclusion of the internal field, the exciton binding energy is substantialy reduced compared to that of the at-band model in the investigated region of the wells. This can be explained by a decrease in the momentum matrix element and an increase in the inverse screening length due to the internal field. The exciton binding energy of the InGaN/GaN structure is smaller than that of the GaN/AlGaN structure because InGaN/GaN structures have a smaller momentum matrix element and a larger inverse screening length than GaN/AlGaN structures.

  4. AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors with Multi-MgxNy/GaN Buffer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. C. Chang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the fabrication of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with multi-MgxNy/GaN buffer. Compared with conventional HEMT devices with a low-temperature GaN buffer, smaller gate and source-drain leakage current could be achieved with this new buffer design. Consequently, the electron mobility was larger for the proposed device due to the reduction of defect density and the corresponding improvement of crystalline quality as result of using the multi-MgxNy/GaN buffer.

  5. InGaAs and GaAsSb strain reducing layers covering InAs/GaAs quantum dots

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hospodková, Alice; Hulicius, Eduard; Pangrác, Jiří; Oswald, Jiří; Vyskočil, Jan; Kuldová, Karla; Šimeček, Tomislav; Hazdra, P.; Caha, O.

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 312, č. 8 (2010), 1383-1387 ISSN 0022-0248 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100100719; GA ČR GA202/09/0676; GA MŠk LC510 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : low dimensional structures * photoluminescence * low-pressure MOVPE * InAs/GaAs quantum dots * semiconducting III/V materials Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.737, year: 2010

  6. InGaN nanoinclusions in an AlGaN matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sizov, V. S.; Tsatsul'nikov, A. F.; Lundin, V. V.

    2008-01-01

    GaN-based structures with InGaN quantum dots in the active region emitting in the near-ultraviolet region are studied. In this study, two types of structures, namely, with InGaN quantum dots in a GaN or AlGaN matrix, are compared. Photoluminescence spectra are obtained for both types of structures in a temperature range of 80-300 K and at various pumping densities, and electroluminescence spectra are obtained for light-emitting (LED) structures with various types of active region. It is shown that the structures with quantum dots in the AlGaN matrix are more stable thermally due to the larger localization energy compared with quantum dots in the GaN matrix. Due to this, the LED structures with quantum dots in an AlGaN matrix are more effective.

  7. 70Ge, 72Ge, 74Ge, 76Ge(d,3He)69Ga, 71Ga, 73Ga, 75Ga reactions at 26 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotbard, G.; La Rana, G.; Vergnes, M.; Berrier, G.; Kalifa, J.; Guilbaut, G.; Tamisier, R.

    1978-01-01

    The 70 Ge, 72 Ge, 74 Ge, 76 Ge(d, 3 He) 69 Ga, 71 Ga, 73 Ga, 75 Ga reactions have been studied at 26 MeV with 15 keV resolution (F.W.H.M), using the Orsay MP tandem accelerator and a split pole magnetic spectrometer. The spectroscopic factors are determined for 15 levels in 69 Ga and 11 levels in each of the 3 other Ga isotopes. Level schemes are proposed for the practically unknown 73 Ga and 75 Ga. Very simple model wave functions previously proposed for Ge nuclei are seen to reproduce quite well the measured occupation numbers for the proton orbitals. Anomalies in these occupation numbers are observed between Z=31 and 32 and between N=40 and 42, this last one corresponding to the structural transition observed recently in a comparison of the (p,t) and (t,p) reactions. These anomalies could be related to changes in the nuclear shape

  8. Radiative and non-radiative recombination in GaInN/GaN quantum wells; Strahlende und nichtstrahlende Rekombination in GaInN/GaN-Quantenfilmen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Netzel, C.

    2007-02-08

    The studies presented in this thesis deal with the occurence of V defectsin GaInN/GaN quantum film structures grown by means of organometallic gas phase epitaxy, and the effects, which have the V defects respectively the GaInN quantum films on the V-defect facets on the emission and recombination properties of the whole GaInN/GaN quantum film structure. The V-defects themselves, inverse pyramidal vacancies with hexagonal base in the semiconductor layers, arise under suitable growth conditions around the percussion violations, which extend in lattice-mismatched growth of GaN on the heterosubstrates sapphire or silicon carbide starting in growth direction through the crystal. If GaInN layers are grown over V-defect dispersed layers on the (1-101) facets of the V defects and the (0001) facets, the growth front of the structure, different growth velocities are present, which lead to differently wide GaInN quantum films on each facets.

  9. Clinical Application of colored three-dimensional CT (3D-CT) for brain tumors using helical scanning CT (HES-CT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogura, Yuko; Katada, Kazuhiro; Fujisawa, Kazuhisa; Imai, Fumihiro; Kawase, Tsukasa; Kamei, Yoshifumi; Kanno, Tetsuo; Takeshita, Gen; Koga, Sukehiko

    1995-01-01

    We applied colored three-dimensional CT (colored 3D-CT) images to distinguish brain tumors from the surrounding vascular and bony structures using a work station system and helical scanning CT (HES-CT). CT scanners with a slip-ring system were employed (TCT-900S and X vigor). A slice thickness of 2 mm and bed speed of 2 mm/s were used. The volume of contrast medium injected was 60 to 70 ml. Four to 8 colors were used for the tissue segmentation on the workstation system (xtension) using the data transferred from HES-CT. Tissue segmentation succeeded on the colored 3D-CT images in all 13 cases. The relationship between the tumors and the surrounding structures were easily recognized. The technique was useful to simulate operative fields, because deep structures could be visualized by cutting and drilling the colored 3D-CT volumetric data. On the basis of our findings, we suggest that colored 3D-CT images should be used as a supplementary aid for preoperative simulation. (author)

  10. Cubic AlGaN/GaN structures for device application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schoermann, Joerg

    2007-05-15

    The aim of this work was the growth and the characterization of cubic GaN, cubic AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and cubic AlN/GaN superlattice structures. Reduction of the surface and interface roughness was the key issue to show the potential for the use of cubic nitrides in futur devices. All structures were grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy on free standing 3C-SiC (001) substrates. In situ reflection high energy electron diffraction was first investigated to determine the Ga coverage of c-GaN during growth. Using the intensity of the electron beam as a probe, optimum growth conditions were found when a 1 monolayer coverage is formed at the surface. GaN samples grown under these conditions reveal excellent structural properties. On top of the c-GaN buffer c-AlGaN/GaN single and multiple quantum wells were deposited. The well widths ranged from 2.5 to 7.5 nm. During growth of Al{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}N/GaN quantum wells clear reflection high energy electron diffraction oscillations were observed indicating a two dimensional growth mode. We observed strong room-temperature, ultraviolet photoluminescence at about 3.3 eV with a minimum linewidth of 90 meV. The peak energy of the emission versus well width is reproduced by a square-well Poisson- Schroedinger model calculation. We found that piezoelectric effects are absent in c-III nitrides with a (001) growth direction. Intersubband transition in the wavelength range from 1.6 {mu}m to 2.1 {mu}m was systematically investigated in AlN/GaN superlattices (SL), grown on 100 nm thick c-GaN buffer layers. The SLs consisted of 20 periods of GaN wells with a thickness between 1.5 nm and 2.1 nm and AlN barriers with a thickness of 1.35 nm. The first intersubband transitions were observed in metastable cubic III nitride structures in the range between 1.6 {mu}m and 2.1 {mu}m. (orig.)

  11. Ohmic contacts to n+-GaN capped AlGaN/AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Liang; Mohammed, Fitih M.; Ofuonye, Benedict; Adesida, Ilesanmi

    2007-01-01

    Investigations of Ti/Al/Mo/Au Ohmic contact formation, premetallization plasma treatment effects, and interfacial reactions for n + -GaN capped AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures are presented. Ti thickness played an important role in determining contact performance. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirmed that thick Ti layer was necessary to fully consume the GaN cap and the top of AlGaN to enable a higher tunneling current flow. A direct correlation of plasma treatment conditions with I-V linearity, current level, and contact performance was established. The plasma-affected region is believed to extend over 20 nm into the AlGaN and GaN

  12. InGaN/GaN multilayer quantum dots yellow-green light-emitting diode with optimized GaN barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Wenbin; Wang, Lai; Wang, Jiaxing; Hao, Zhibiao; Luo, Yi

    2012-11-07

    InGaN/GaN multilayer quantum dot (QD) structure is a potential type of active regions for yellow-green light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The surface morphologies and crystalline quality of GaN barriers are critical to the uniformity of InGaN QD layers. While GaN barriers were grown in multi-QD layers, we used improved growth parameters by increasing the growth temperature and switching the carrier gas from N2 to H2 in the metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. As a result, a 10-layer InGaN/GaN QD LED is demonstrated successfully. The transmission electron microscopy image shows the uniform multilayer InGaN QDs clearly. As the injection current increases from 5 to 50 mA, the electroluminescence peak wavelength shifts from 574 to 537 nm.

  13. Thermal stability study of Cr/Au contact formed on n-type Ga-polar GaN, N-polar GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Yunju; Kim, Yangsoo; Ahn, Kwang-Soon; Kim, Hyunsoo

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The Cr/Au contact on n-type Ga-polar (0 0 0 1) GaN, N-polar (0 0 0 −1) GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN were investigated. • Thermal annealing led to a significant degradation of contact formed on N-polar n-GaN samples. • Contact degradation was shown to be closely related to the increase in the electrical resistivity of n-GaN. • Out-diffusion of Ga and N atoms was clearly observed in N-polar samples. - Abstract: The electrical characteristics and thermal stability of a Cr/Au contact formed on n-type Ga-polar (0 0 0 1) GaN, N-polar GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN were investigated. As-deposited Cr/Au showed a nearly ohmic contact behavior for all samples, i.e., the specific contact resistance was 3.2 × 10 −3 , 4.3 × 10 −4 , and 1.1 × 10 −3 Ω cm 2 for the Ga-polar, flat N-polar, and roughened N-polar samples, respectively. However, thermal annealing performed at 250 °C for 1 min in a N 2 ambient led to a significant degradation of contact, i.e., the contact resistance increased by 186, 3260, and 2030% after annealing for Ga-polar, flat N-polar, and roughened N-polar samples, respectively. This could be due to the different disruption degree of Cr/Au and GaN interface after annealing, i.e., the insignificant interfacial reaction occurred in the Ga-polar sample, while out-diffusion of Ga and N atoms was clearly observed in N-polar samples

  14. Thermal stability study of Cr/Au contact formed on n-type Ga-polar GaN, N-polar GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Yunju [School of Semiconductor and Chemical Engineering, Semiconductor Physics Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756 (Korea, Republic of); Suncheon Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Suncheon 540-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yangsoo [Suncheon Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Suncheon 540-742 (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Kwang-Soon, E-mail: kstheory@ynu.ac.kr [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyunsoo, E-mail: hskim7@jbnu.ac.kr [School of Semiconductor and Chemical Engineering, Semiconductor Physics Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-10-30

    Highlights: • The Cr/Au contact on n-type Ga-polar (0 0 0 1) GaN, N-polar (0 0 0 −1) GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN were investigated. • Thermal annealing led to a significant degradation of contact formed on N-polar n-GaN samples. • Contact degradation was shown to be closely related to the increase in the electrical resistivity of n-GaN. • Out-diffusion of Ga and N atoms was clearly observed in N-polar samples. - Abstract: The electrical characteristics and thermal stability of a Cr/Au contact formed on n-type Ga-polar (0 0 0 1) GaN, N-polar GaN, and wet-etched N-polar GaN were investigated. As-deposited Cr/Au showed a nearly ohmic contact behavior for all samples, i.e., the specific contact resistance was 3.2 × 10{sup −3}, 4.3 × 10{sup −4}, and 1.1 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm{sup 2} for the Ga-polar, flat N-polar, and roughened N-polar samples, respectively. However, thermal annealing performed at 250 °C for 1 min in a N{sub 2} ambient led to a significant degradation of contact, i.e., the contact resistance increased by 186, 3260, and 2030% after annealing for Ga-polar, flat N-polar, and roughened N-polar samples, respectively. This could be due to the different disruption degree of Cr/Au and GaN interface after annealing, i.e., the insignificant interfacial reaction occurred in the Ga-polar sample, while out-diffusion of Ga and N atoms was clearly observed in N-polar samples.

  15. Growth of β-Ga2O3 and GaN nanowires on GaN for photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, Jih-Shang; Liu, Tai-Yan; Chen, Han-Wei; Chattopadhyay, Surjit; Hsu, Geng-Ming; Basilio, Antonio M; Hsu, Yu-Kuei; Tu, Wen-Hsun; Lin, Yan-Gu; Chen, Kuei-Hsien; Li, Chien-Cheng; Wang, Sheng-Bo; Chen, Hsin-Yi; Chen, Li-Chyong

    2013-01-01

    Enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of Ga 2 O 3 and GaN nanowires (NWs) grown in situ from GaN were demonstrated. The PEC conversion efficiencies of Ga 2 O 3 and GaN NWs have been shown to be 0.906% and 1.09% respectively, in contrast to their 0.581% GaN thin film counterpart under similar experimental conditions. A low crystallinity buffer layer between the grown NWs and the substrate was found to be detrimental to the PEC performance, but the layer can be avoided at suitable growth conditions. A band bending at the surface of the GaN NWs generates an electric field that drives the photogenerated electrons and holes away from each other, preventing recombination, and was found to be responsible for the enhanced PEC performance. The enhanced PEC efficiency of the Ga 2 O 3 NWs is aided by the optical absorption through a defect band centered 3.3 eV above the valence band of Ga 2 O 3 . These findings are believed to have opened up possibilities for enabling visible absorption, either by tailoring ion doping into wide bandgap Ga 2 O 3 NWs, or by incorporation of indium to form InGaN NWs. (paper)

  16. Growth of β-Ga2O3 and GaN nanowires on GaN for photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Jih-Shang; Liu, Tai-Yan; Chattopadhyay, Surjit; Hsu, Geng-Ming; Basilio, Antonio M; Chen, Han-Wei; Hsu, Yu-Kuei; Tu, Wen-Hsun; Lin, Yan-Gu; Chen, Kuei-Hsien; Li, Chien-Cheng; Wang, Sheng-Bo; Chen, Hsin-Yi; Chen, Li-Chyong

    2013-02-08

    Enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of Ga(2)O(3) and GaN nanowires (NWs) grown in situ from GaN were demonstrated. The PEC conversion efficiencies of Ga(2)O(3) and GaN NWs have been shown to be 0.906% and 1.09% respectively, in contrast to their 0.581% GaN thin film counterpart under similar experimental conditions. A low crystallinity buffer layer between the grown NWs and the substrate was found to be detrimental to the PEC performance, but the layer can be avoided at suitable growth conditions. A band bending at the surface of the GaN NWs generates an electric field that drives the photogenerated electrons and holes away from each other, preventing recombination, and was found to be responsible for the enhanced PEC performance. The enhanced PEC efficiency of the Ga(2)O(3) NWs is aided by the optical absorption through a defect band centered 3.3 eV above the valence band of Ga(2)O(3). These findings are believed to have opened up possibilities for enabling visible absorption, either by tailoring ion doping into wide bandgap Ga(2)O(3) NWs, or by incorporation of indium to form InGaN NWs.

  17. Ultra-low dose CT attenuation correction for PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xia Ting; Kinahan, Paul E; Alessio, Adam M; De Man, Bruno; Manjeshwar, Ravindra; Asma, Evren

    2012-01-01

    A challenge for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) quantitation is patient respiratory motion, which can cause an underestimation of lesion activity uptake and an overestimation of lesion volume. Several respiratory motion correction methods benefit from longer duration CT scans that are phase matched with PET scans. However, even with the currently available, lowest dose CT techniques, extended duration cine CT scans impart a substantially high radiation dose. This study evaluates methods designed to reduce CT radiation dose in PET/CT scanning. We investigated selected combinations of dose reduced acquisition and noise suppression methods that take advantage of the reduced requirement of CT for PET attenuation correction (AC). These include reducing CT tube current, optimizing CT tube voltage, adding filtration, CT sinogram smoothing and clipping. We explored the impact of these methods on PET quantitation via simulations on different digital phantoms. CT tube current can be reduced much lower for AC than that in low dose CT protocols. Spectra that are higher energy and narrower are generally more dose efficient with respect to PET image quality. Sinogram smoothing could be used to compensate for the increased noise and artifacts at radiation dose reduced CT images, which allows for a further reduction of CT dose with no penalty for PET image quantitation. When CT is not used for diagnostic and anatomical localization purposes, we showed that ultra-low dose CT for PET/CT is feasible. The significant dose reduction strategies proposed here could enable respiratory motion compensation methods that require extended duration CT scans and reduce radiation exposure in general for all PET/CT imaging. (paper)

  18. Ultra-low dose CT attenuation correction for PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Ting; Alessio, Adam M.; De Man, Bruno; Manjeshwar, Ravindra; Asma, Evren; Kinahan, Paul E.

    2012-01-01

    A challenge for PET/CT quantitation is patient respiratory motion, which can cause an underestimation of lesion activity uptake and an overestimation of lesion volume. Several respiratory motion correction methods benefit from longer duration CT scans that are phase matched with PET scans. However, even with the currently-available, lowest dose CT techniques, extended duration CINE CT scans impart a substantially high radiation dose. This study evaluates methods designed to reduce CT radiation dose in PET/CT scanning. Methods We investigated selected combinations of dose reduced acquisition and noise suppression methods that take advantage of the reduced requirement of CT for PET attenuation correction (AC). These include reducing CT tube current, optimizing CT tube voltage, adding filtration, CT sinogram smoothing and clipping. We explored the impact of these methods on PET quantitation via simulations on different digital phantoms. Results CT tube current can be reduced much lower for AC than that in low dose CT protocols. Spectra that are higher energy and narrower are generally more dose efficient with respect to PET image quality. Sinogram smoothing could be used to compensate for the increased noise and artifacts at radiation dose reduced CT images, which allows for a further reduction of CT dose with no penalty for PET image quantitation. Conclusion When CT is not used for diagnostic and anatomical localization purposes, we showed that ultra-low dose CT for PET/CT is feasible. The significant dose reduction strategies proposed here could enable respiratory motion compensation methods that require extended duration CT scans and reduce radiation exposure in general for all PET/CT imaging. PMID:22156174

  19. Internal quantum efficiency in yellow-amber light emitting AlGaN-InGaN-GaN heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ngo, Thi Huong; Gil, Bernard; Valvin, Pierre [Laboratoire Charles Coulomb – UMR 5221, CNRS and University Montpellier, Case courier 074, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5 (France); Damilano, Benjamin; Lekhal, Kaddour; De Mierry, Philippe [CRHEA-CNRS Centre de Recherche sur l' Hétéro-Epitaxie et ses Applications, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, rue Bernard Gregory, 06560 Valbonne (France)

    2015-09-21

    We determine the internal quantum efficiency of strain-balanced AlGaN-InGaN-GaN hetero-structures designed for yellow-amber light emission, by using a recent model based on the kinetics of the photoluminescence decay initiated by Iwata et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 117, 075701 (2015)]. Our results indicate that low temperature internal quantum efficiencies sit in the 50% range and we measure that adding an AlGaN layer increases the internal quantum efficiency from 50% up to 57% with respect to the GaN-InGaN case. More dramatic, it almost doubles from 2.5% up to 4.3% at room temperature.

  20. High resolution micro-CT of low attenuating organic materials using large area photon-counting detector

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kumpová, Ivana; Vavřík, Daniel; Fíla, Tomáš; Koudelka_ml., Petr; Jandejsek, Ivan; Jakůbek, Jan; Kytýř, Daniel; Zlámal, Petr; Vopálenský, Michal; Gantar, A.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 11, č. 2 (2016), č. článku C02003. ISSN 1748-0221 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1219 Keywords : computerized tomography (CT) * computed radiography (CR) * pixelated detectors and associated VLSI electronics Subject RIV: AL - Art, Architecture, Cultural Heritage Impact factor: 1.220, year: 2016 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-0221/11/02/C02003

  1. Computational study of GaAs1-xNx and GaN1-yAsy alloys and arsenic impurities in GaN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laaksonen, K; Komsa, H-P; Arola, E; Rantala, T T; Nieminen, R M

    2006-01-01

    We have studied the structural and electronic properties of As-rich GaAs 1-x N x and N-rich GaN 1-y As y alloys in a large composition range using first-principles methods. We have systematically investigated the effect of the impurity atom configuration near both GaAs and GaN sides of the concentration range on the total energies, lattice constants and bandgaps. The N (As) atoms, replacing substitutionally As (N) atoms in GaAs (GaN), cause the surrounding Ga atoms to relax inwards (outwards), making the Ga-N (Ga-As) bond length about 15% shorter (longer) than the corresponding Ga-As (Ga-N) bond length in GaAs (GaN). The total energies of the relaxed alloy supercells and the bandgaps experience large fluctuations within different configurations and these fluctuations grow stronger if the impurity concentration is increased. Substituting As atoms with N in GaAs induces modifications near the conduction band minimum, while substituting N atoms with As in GaN modifies the states near the valence band maximum. Both lead to bandgap reduction, which is at first rapid but later slows down. The relative size of the fluctuations is much larger in the case of GaAs 1-x N x alloys. We have also looked into the question of which substitutional site (Ga or N) As occupies in GaN. We find that under Ga-rich conditions arsenic prefers the substitutional N site over the Ga site within a large range of Fermi level values

  2. Nanomaterial disordering in AlGaN/GaN UV LED structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shabunina, E I; Levinshtein, M E; Kulagina, M M; Petrov, V N; Ratnikov, V V; Smirnova, I N; Troshkov, S I; Shmidt, N M; Kurin, S Yu; Makarov, Yu N; Chernyakov, A E; Usikov, A S; Helava, H

    2015-01-01

    Multifractal analysis was applied to characterize quantitatively nanostructural disordering in HVPE-grown AlGaN/GaN UV LED structures. A higher level of leakage currents shunting the active region of LEDs by an extended defect system is correlated with higher values of multifractal parameters (MFs). As a result, the concentration of injected carriers participating in radiative recombination in the active region is reduced. MFs and the conductivity of quasi-ohmic shunts localized in an extended defect system are higher in AlGaN/GaN structures than in InGaN/GaN structures. It is one of the reasons behind the low external quantum efficiency of AlGaN/GaN UV LEDs. (paper)

  3. Asymmetric quantum-well structures for AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Lin' an, E-mail: layang@xidian.edu.cn; Li, Yue; Wang, Ying; Xu, Shengrui; Hao, Yue [State Key Discipline Laboratory of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi' an 710071 (China)

    2016-04-28

    Asymmetric quantum-well (QW) structures including the asymmetric potential-barrier and the asymmetric potential-well are proposed for AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs). Theoretical investigation gives that an appropriate decrease in Al composition and thickness for emitter barrier as well as an appropriate increase of both for collector barrier can evidently improve the negative-differential-resistance characteristic of RTD. Numerical simulation shows that RTD with a 1.5-nm-thick GaN well sandwiched by a 1.3-nm-thick Al{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}N emitter barrier and a 1.7-nm-thick Al{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}N collector barrier can yield the I-V characteristic having the peak current (Ip) and the peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 0.39 A and 3.6, respectively, about double that of RTD with a 1.5-nm-thick Al{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}N for both barriers. It is also found that an introduction of InGaN sub-QW into the diode can change the tunneling mode and achieve higher transmission coefficient of electron. The simulation demonstrates that RTD with a 2.8-nm-thick In{sub 0.03}Ga{sub 0.97}N sub-well in front of a 2.0-nm-thick GaN main-well can exhibit the I-V characteristic having Ip and PVCR of 0.07 A and 11.6, about 7 times and double the value of RTD without sub-QW, respectively. The purpose of improving the structure of GaN-based QW is to solve apparent contradiction between the device structure and the device manufacturability of new generation RTDs for sub-millimeter and terahertz applications.

  4. Clinical application of gated CT and dynamic CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishikawa, T; Oyama, Y; Ashida, H; Uji, T [Saint Marianna Univ., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Medicine

    1980-03-01

    Gated CT and dynamic CT were outlined. Experiences of portal hypertension accompanied by venous mass in posterior mediastinum and the usefulness of dynamic CT for this disease were described. Gated CT of the heart could visualize intracardiac structures and morphological abnormalities by improving technique of post-data-aquisition correlation. Changes with time in CT images of normal kidneys were discussed on patients whose unilateral or bilateral kidneys were thought to be normal and who had received dynamic scan. Dynamic scan could visualize well blood circulation and mechanism of urine excretion in the kidney, which suggests a possibility of CT to detect not only morphological abnormalities but also functional disturbance of the kidney. The effectiveness of conventional CT study might be promoted in dynamic CT of the head.

  5. White emission from non-planar InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs grown on GaN template with truncated hexagonal pyramids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ming-Lun; Yeh, Yu-Hsiang; Tu, Shang-Ju; Chen, P C; Lai, Wei-Chih; Sheu, Jinn-Kong

    2015-04-06

    Non-planar InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures are grown on a GaN template with truncated hexagonal pyramids (THPs) featuring c-plane and r-plane surfaces. The THP array is formed by the regrowth of the GaN layer on a selective-area Si-implanted GaN template. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the InGaN/GaN epitaxial layers regrown on the THPs exhibit different growth rates and indium compositions of the InGaN layer between the c-plane and r-plane surfaces. Consequently, InGaN/GaN MQW light-emitting diodes grown on the GaN THP array emit multiple wavelengths approaching near white light.

  6. Functional imaging in phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide positron emission tomography and {sup 123}I-metaiodobenzylguanidine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kroiss, Alexander; Putzer, Daniel; Uprimny, Christian; Decristoforo, Clemens; Gabriel, Michael; Warwitz, Boris; Waitz, Dietmar; Kendler, Dorota; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Santner, Wolfram; Kranewitter, Christof [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2011-05-15

    {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide positron emission tomography ({sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET) has proven to be superior to {sup 111}In-DTPA-D-Phe{sup 1}-octreotide ({sup 111}In-octreotide) planar scintigraphy and SPECT imaging in neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Because of these promising results, we compared the accuracy of {sup 123}I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ({sup 123}I-MIBG) imaging with PET in the diagnosis and staging of metastatic phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma, referring to radiological imaging as reference standard. Three male and eight female patients (age range 3 to 68 years) with biochemically and histologically proven disease were included in this study. Three male and three female patients were suffering from phaeochromocytoma, and five female patients from neuroblastoma. Comparative evaluation included morphological imaging with CT or MRI, functional imaging with {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET and {sup 123}I-MIBG imaging. Imaging results were analysed on a per-patient and on a per-lesion basis. On a per-patient basis, both {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC and {sup 123}I-MIBG showed a sensitivity of 100%, when compared with anatomical imaging. In phaeochromocytoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC was 91.7% and that of {sup 123}I-MIBG was 63.3%. In neuroblastoma patients, on a per-lesion basis, the sensitivity of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC was 97.2% and that of {sup 123}I-MIBG was 90.7%. Overall, in this patient cohort, {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET identified 257 lesions, anatomical imaging identified 216 lesions, and {sup 123}I-MIBG identified only 184 lesions. In this patient group, the overall sensitivity of {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET on a lesion basis was 94.4% (McNemar p<0.0001) and that of {sup 123}I-MIBG was 76.9% (McNemar p<0.0001). Our analysis in this relatively small patient cohort indicates that {sup 68}Ga-DOTA-TOC PET may be superior to {sup 123}I-MIBG gamma-scintigraphy and even to the reference CT/MRI technique in providing

  7. Enhanced Application of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Bladder Cancer by Adding Early Dynamic Acquisition to a Standard Delayed PET Protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Hai-Jeon; Yoo, Jang; Kim, Yemi; Lee, Dong Hyeon; Kim, Bom Sahn

    2017-10-01

    We investigated the value of early dynamic (ED) PET for the detection and characterization of bladder cancer. Fifty-two bladder cancer patients were prospectively enrolled. The study protocol was composed of ED, whole-body (WB, 60 minutes after injection), and additional delayed (AD, 120 minutes after injection) PET acquisition. Early dynamic PET was acquired for 10 minutes and reconstructed as 5 frames at 2-minute intervals. A focal radiotracer accumulation confined to the bladder wall was considered as PET positive and referred for further quantitative measurement. SUVmax on ED (SUVmax, SUVmax, SUVmax, SUVmax, and SUVmax for 5 frames), WB (SUVmax), and AD PET (SUVmax) were measured. PET results were correlated with bladder cancer pathology variables. The sensitivities of ED, WB, and AD PET for bladder cancer were 84.6%, 57.7%, and 61.2%, respectively. The sensitivity of ED PET was significantly higher than that of WB (P = 0.002) and AD PET (P = 0.008). On ED PET, SUVmax was significantly correlated with muscle invasiveness, histological grade, and pathological tumor size (P = 0.018, P = 0.030, and P = 0.030). On WB and AD PET, only pathological tumor size showed significant positive correlation with SUVmax and SUVmax (P = 0.043 and P = 0.007). Early dynamic PET can help to detect and characterize bladder cancer.

  8. Early PET imaging with [68]Ga-PSMA-11 increases the detection rate of local recurrence in prostate cancer patients with biochemical recurrence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uprimny, Christian; Kroiss, Alexander Stephan; Decristoforo, Clemens; Kendler, Dorota; Guggenberg, Elisabeth von; Nilica, Bernhard; Maffey-Steffan, Johanna; Di Santo, Gianpaolo; Virgolini, Irene Johanna [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Fritz, Josef [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Health Economics, Innsbruck (Austria); Bektic, Jasmin; Horninger, Wolfgang [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Urology, Innsbruck (Austria)

    2017-09-15

    PET/CT using {sup 68}Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen PSMA-11 (HBEDD-CC) has emerged as a promising imaging method in the diagnostic evaluation of prostate cancer (PC) patients with biochemical recurrence. However, assessment of local recurrence (LR) may be limited by intense physiologic tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder on whole-body scans, normally conducted 60 min post-tracer injection (p.i.). It could be shown on early dynamic imaging studies that {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 uptake in PC lesions occurs earlier than tracer accumulation in the urinary bladder. This study aims to investigate whether early static PET acquisition increases detection rate of local recurrence on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in comparison to PET imaging 60 min p.i. 203 consecutive PC patients with biochemical failure referred to {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT were analysed retrospectively (median prostate specific antigen (PSA) value: 1.44 ng/ml). In addition to whole-body PET/CT scans 60 min p.i., early static imaging of the pelvis was performed, starting at a median time of 283 s p.i. (range: 243-491 s). Assessment was based on visual analysis and calculation of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) of pathologic lesions present in the pelvic area found on early PET imaging and on 60 min-PET scans. 26 patients (12.8%) were judged positive for LR on PET scans 60 min p.i. (median SUV{sub max}: 10.8; range: 4.7-40.9), whereas 50 patients (24.6%) revealed a lesion suggestive of LR on early PET imaging (median SUV{sub max}: 5.9; range: 2.9-17.6), resulting in a significant rise in detection rate (p < 0.001). Equivocal findings on PET scans 60 min p.i. decreased significantly with the help of early imaging (15.8% vs. 4.5% of patients; p < 0.001). Tracer activity in the urinary bladder with a median SUV{sub max} of 8.2 was present in 63 patients on early PET scans (31.0%). However, acquisition starting time of early PET scans differed significantly in the patient groups

  9. Physical and electrical characterizations of AlGaN/GaN MOS gate stacks with AlGaN surface oxidation treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Takahiro; Watanabe, Kenta; Nozaki, Mikito; Shih, Hong-An; Nakazawa, Satoshi; Anda, Yoshiharu; Ueda, Tetsuzo; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Hosoi, Takuji; Shimura, Takayoshi; Watanabe, Heiji

    2018-06-01

    The impacts of inserting ultrathin oxides into insulator/AlGaN interfaces on their electrical properties were investigated to develop advanced AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) gate stacks. For this purpose, the initial thermal oxidation of AlGaN surfaces in oxygen ambient was systematically studied by synchrotron radiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SR-XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our physical characterizations revealed that, when compared with GaN surfaces, aluminum addition promotes the initial oxidation of AlGaN surfaces at temperatures of around 400 °C, followed by smaller grain growth above 850 °C. Electrical measurements of AlGaN/GaN MOS capacitors also showed that, although excessive oxidation treatment of AlGaN surfaces over around 700 °C has an adverse effect, interface passivation with the initial oxidation of the AlGaN surfaces at temperatures ranging from 400 to 500 °C was proven to be beneficial for fabricating high-quality AlGaN/GaN MOS gate stacks.

  10. AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with a low sub-threshold swing on free-standing GaN wafer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinke Liu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper reported AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs with low sub-threshold swing SS on free-standing GaN wafer. High quality AlGaN/GaN epi-layer has been grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD on free-standing GaN, small full-width hall maximum (FWHM of 42.9 arcsec for (0002 GaN XRD peaks and ultralow dislocation density (∼104-105 cm-2 were obtained. Due to these extremely high quality material properties, the fabricated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs achieve a low SS (∼60 mV/decade, low hysteresis of 54 mV, and high peak electron mobility μeff of ∼1456 cm2V-1s-1. Systematic study of materials properties and device characteristics exhibits that GaN-on-GaN AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are promising candidate for next generation high power device applications.

  11. Investigation of room-temperature wafer bonded GaInP/GaAs/InGaAsP triple-junction solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Wen-xian; Dai, Pan; Ji, Lian; Tan, Ming; Wu, Yuan-yuan [Key Lab of Nanodevices and Applications, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou 215123 (China); Uchida, Shiro [Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1, Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016 (Japan); Lu, Shu-long, E-mail: sllu2008@sinano.ac.cn [Key Lab of Nanodevices and Applications, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou 215123 (China); Yang, Hui [Key Lab of Nanodevices and Applications, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou 215123 (China)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • High quality InGaAsP material with a bandgap of 1.0 eV was grown by MBE. • Room-temperature wafer-bonded GaInP/GaAs/InGaAsP SCs were fabricated. • An efficiency of 30.3% of wafer-bonded triple-junction SCs was obtained. - Abstract: We report on the fabrication of III–V compound semiconductor multi-junction solar cells using the room-temperature wafer bonding technique. GaInP/GaAs dual-junction solar cells on GaAs substrate and InGaAsP single junction solar cell on InP substrate were separately grown by all-solid state molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The two cells were then bonded to a triple-junction solar cell at room-temperature. A conversion efficiency of 30.3% of GaInP/GaAs/InGaAsP wafer-bonded solar cell was obtained at 1-sun condition under the AM1.5G solar simulator. The result suggests that the room-temperature wafer bonding technique and MBE technique have a great potential to improve the performance of multi-junction solar cell.

  12. GaAsSb/InGaAs type-II quantum wells for long-wavelength lasers on GaAs substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klem, J. F.; Blum, O.; Kurtz, S. R.; Fritz, I. J.; Choquette, K. D.

    2000-01-01

    We have investigated the properties of GaAsSb/InGaAs type-II bilayer quantum-well structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy for use in long-wavelength lasers on GaAs substrates. Structures with layer strains and thicknesses designed to be thermodynamically stable against dislocation formation exhibit room-temperature photoluminescence at wavelengths as long as 1.43 μm. The photoluminescence emission wavelength is significantly affected by growth temperature and the sequence of layer growth (InGaAs/GaAsSb versus GaAsSb/InGaAs), suggesting that Sb and/or In segregation results in nonideal interfaces under certain growth conditions. At low-injection currents, double-heterostructure lasers with GaAsSb/InGaAs bilayer quantum-well active regions display electroluminescence at wavelengths comparable to those obtained in photoluminescence, but at higher currents the electroluminescence shifts to shorter wavelengths. Lasers have been obtained with threshold current densities of 120 A/cm2 at 1.17 μm, and 2.1 kA/cm2 at 1.21 μm. (c) 2000 American Vacuum Society

  13. Development of 68Ga-SCN-DOTA-Capsaicin as an Imaging Agent Targeting Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest in Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jun Young; Lee, Sang-Yeun; Kim, Gun Gyun; Hur, Min Goo; Yang, Seung Dae; Park, Jeong-Hoon; Kim, Sang Wook

    2017-06-01

    68 Ga-labeled capsaicin using a DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazocyclododecane-N,N',N″,N'″-tetraacetic acid) derivative [ 68 Ga-SCN-Benzyl(Bn)-DOTA-capsaicin] was studied for the diagnosis of breast cancers, such as MCF-7 and SK-BR-3. The standard compound, 69 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA-capsaicin, was also prepared and characterized by spectroscopic analysis. The binding affinity of 68 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA-capsaicin was evaluated by using breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, SK-BR-3) and colon cancer cell (CT-26); the biodistribution was carried out by using MCF-7-bearing nude mice, after which the positron emission tomography (PET) images were obtained at different time intervals (15-120 minutes). 68 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA-capsaicin showed a cellular uptake of 0.93% Injected Dose (ID) after 30 minutes of incubation, whereas 68 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA showed a lower uptake of 0.25% ID. The tumor-to-blood ID/g% ratios increased and were found to be 0.49, 0.22, and 0.77 for 15, 30, and 60 minutes, respectively. The small-animal PET study showed that the uptake of 68 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA-capsaicin was higher in the tumor regions even at 30 minutes after injection. These results suggest that 68 Ga-SCN-Bn-DOTA-capsaicin is a potential targeting agent for PET imaging of MCF-7.

  14. Gold free contacts to AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hajlasz, Marcin

    2018-01-01

    Transistors and diodes based on AlGaN/GaN are suitable candidates for high-voltage and high-speed electronics due to the GaN material properties such as wide bandgap, large breakdown field, high electron saturation velocity and good thermal conductivity. When thin AlGaN layer is grown epitaxially on

  15. Potential use of 68Ga-apo-transferrin as a PET imaging agent for detecting Staphylococcus aureus infection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Vijay; Boddeti, Dilip K.; Evans, Scott G.; Roesch, Frank; Howman-Giles, Robert

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: 67 Ga citrate has been extensively used to detect infection and inflammation since 1971. However, its clinical utility is compromised due to several limitations. The present project explored whether 68 Ga-apo-transferrin ( 68 Ga-TF), when prepared in vitro, is a useful agent for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of bacterial infection. Methods: An infection was induced in male Wistar rats by injecting 5x10 5 CFU units of Staphyococcus aureus in the right thigh muscle. 68 Ga-TF was synthesized by mixing 68 GaCl 3 with apo-transferrin (TF, 2 mg) in sodium carbonate (0.1 M, pH 7.0) and incubating at 40 o C for 1 h. Animals were injected with 10-15 MBq of 68 Ga-TF containing approximately 0.2 mg TF and imaged at different time intervals using Siemens Biograph PET-CT. Results: When 68 Ga-TF were injected in the infected rats, the infection lesion was detectable within 20 min post injection. The biodistribution showed the uptake at the lesion increased with time as shown by significantly increased standard uptake values for up to 4 h post injection. There was a considerable decrease in the background activity during the same period of study, giving higher target-to-muscle ratios. Blood pool activity at 3 h post injection was insignificant. 68 GaCl 3 (when not conjugated to TF) did not localize at the infection lesion up to 120 min post injection. Conclusion: The preliminary results suggest that 68 Ga-TF is capable of detecting S. aureus infection in the rat model, within an hour after intravenous injection.

  16. Clinical evaluation of 67Ga gut accumulation in 67Ga scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Hidetoshi; Ohno, Akiko; Watanabe, Youichi; Ishigaki, Takeo.

    1994-01-01

    Accumulation of 67 Ga in gut was evaluated in 67 Ga scintigraphy retrospectively in 30 patients (32 examinations). TIBC and UIBC were examined in all patients on the day when their scintigraphies were performed. Blood transfusion or Fe administration 2 months before 67 Ga scintigraphies were not carried out in any patient. Fifty percents (6/12) of male, and 40% (8/20) of female patients showed 67 Ga accumulation in gut. There was significant correlation between 67 Ga accumulation in gut and low ion-saturation ratio for transferrin. Excretion of 67 Ga bound with transferrin from liver was thought to be an important factor of 67 ga accumulation in gut. (author)

  17. Characterization of GaN/AlGaN epitaxial layers grown

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    GaN and AlGaN epitaxial layers are grown by a metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) system. The crystalline quality of these epitaxially grown layers is studied by different characterization techniques. PL measurements indicate band edge emission peak at 363.8 nm and 312 nm for GaN and AlGaN layers ...

  18. Study of GaN nanorods converted from β-Ga2O3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuewen; Xiong, Zening; Zhang, Dongdong; Xiu, Xiangqian; Liu, Duo; Wang, Shuang; Hua, Xuemei; Xie, Zili; Tao, Tao; Liu, Bin; Chen, Peng; Zhang, Rong; Zheng, Youdou

    2018-05-01

    We report here high-quality β-Ga2O3 nanorods (NRs) grown on sapphire substrates by hydrothermal method. Ammoniating the β-Ga2O3 NRs results in strain-free wurtzite gallium nitride (GaN) NRs. It was shown by XRD and Raman spectroscopy that β-Ga2O3 was partially converted to GaN/β-Ga2O3 at 1000 °C and then completely converted to GaN NRs at 1050 °C, as confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). There is no band-edge emission of β-Ga2O3 in the cathodoluminescence spectrum, and only a deep-level broad emission observed at 3.68-3.73 eV. The band edge emission (3.39 eV) of GaN NRs converted from β-Ga2O3 can also be observed.

  19. The appearance of 'Lambda' and 'Panda' sign on Ga-67 scintigraphy in sarcoidosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimizu, Tazuko; Suga, Kazuyoshi; Orihashi, Norihiro; Soejima, Kyoko; Kaneko, Takafumi; Kawamura, Mitsutoshi; Nakanishi, Takashi; Utsumi, Hiromoto; Yamada, Norimasa

    1991-01-01

    The lesions of sarcoidosis generally show relatively high Ga-67 uptake and the usefulness of scintigraphy using this agent in the evaluation of lesion activity is well known. In this report, we assessed characteristic uptake of Ga-67 in intrathoracic lymph nodes, the shape of which resembled the Greek letter Lambda (Lambda sign) and a symmetrical accumulation in bilateral lacrimal and salivary glands which resembled a Panda face (Panda sign) in patients with sarcoidosis. Our review of Ga-67 scans obtained from 15 patients with sarcoidosis and 1,779 patients with other disorders during the past 3 years revealed that the simultaneous presence of both Lambda and Panda signs was specific to patients with sarcoidosis and was not found in patients with various other disorders, although one of these signs might be observed in patients without sarcoidosis. When Lambda-like sign was observed, chest radiogram or CT was necessary for the differential diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Panda sign was observed frequently among patients who had previously received irradiation of the neck. Our results confirmed that sarcoidosis must be suspected when both Lambda and Panda signs were observed. (author)

  20. White light emission of monolithic InGaN/GaN grown on morphology-controlled, nanostructured GaN templates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Keun Man; Kim, Do-Hyun; Kim, Jong-Min; Cho, Chu-Young; Choi, Jehyuk; Kim, Kahee; Park, Jinsup; Kim, Hogyoug

    2017-06-01

    We demonstrated an InGaN/GaN-based, monolithic, white light-emitting diode (LED) without phosphors by using morphology-controlled active layers formed on multi-facet GaN templates containing polar and semipolar surfaces. The nanostructured surface morphology was controlled by changing the growth time, and distinct multiple photoluminescence peaks were observed at 360, 460, and 560 nm; these features were caused by InGaN/GaN-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on the nanostructured facets. The origin of each multi-peak was related to the different indium (In) compositions in the different planes of the quantum wells grown on the nanostructured GaN. The emitting units of MQWs in the LED structures were continuously connected, which is different from other GaN-based nanorod or nanowire LEDs. Therefore, the suggested structure had a larger active area. From the electroluminescence spectrum of the fabricated LED, monolithic white light emission with CIE color coordinates of x = 0.306 and y = 0.333 was achieved via multi-facet control combined with morphology control of the metal organic chemical vapor deposition-selective area growth of InGaN/GaN MQWs.

  1. White light emission of monolithic InGaN/GaN grown on morphology-controlled, nanostructured GaN templates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Keun Man; Kim, Do-Hyun; Kim, Jong-Min; Cho, Chu-Young; Choi, Jehyuk; Kim, Kahee; Park, Jinsup; Kim, Hogyoug

    2017-06-02

    We demonstrated an InGaN/GaN-based, monolithic, white light-emitting diode (LED) without phosphors by using morphology-controlled active layers formed on multi-facet GaN templates containing polar and semipolar surfaces. The nanostructured surface morphology was controlled by changing the growth time, and distinct multiple photoluminescence peaks were observed at 360, 460, and 560 nm; these features were caused by InGaN/GaN-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on the nanostructured facets. The origin of each multi-peak was related to the different indium (In) compositions in the different planes of the quantum wells grown on the nanostructured GaN. The emitting units of MQWs in the LED structures were continuously connected, which is different from other GaN-based nanorod or nanowire LEDs. Therefore, the suggested structure had a larger active area. From the electroluminescence spectrum of the fabricated LED, monolithic white light emission with CIE color coordinates of x = 0.306 and y = 0.333 was achieved via multi-facet control combined with morphology control of the metal organic chemical vapor deposition-selective area growth of InGaN/GaN MQWs.

  2. Investigation of the current collapse induced in InGaN back barrier AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wan Xiaojia; Wang Xiaoliang; Xiao Hongling; Feng Chun; Jiang Lijuan; Qu Shenqi; Wang Zhanguo; Hou Xun

    2013-01-01

    Current collapses were studied, which were observed in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with and without InGaN back barrier (BB) as a result of short-term bias stress. More serious drain current collapses were observed in InGaN BB AlGaN/GaN HEMTs compared with the traditional HEMTs. The results indicate that the defects and surface states induced by the InGaN BB layer may enhance the current collapse. The surface states may be the primary mechanism of the origination of current collapse in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for short-term direct current stress. (semiconductor devices)

  3. Investigation of the GaN-on-GaAs interface for vertical power device applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Möreke, Janina; Uren, Michael J.; Kuball, Martin; Novikov, Sergei V.; Foxon, C. Thomas; Hosseini Vajargah, Shahrzad; Wallis, David J.; Humphreys, Colin J.; Haigh, Sarah J.; Al-Khalidi, Abdullah; Wasige, Edward; Thayne, Iain

    2014-01-01

    GaN layers were grown onto (111) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. Minimal band offset between the conduction bands for GaN and GaAs materials has been suggested in the literature raising the possibility of using GaN-on-GaAs for vertical power device applications. I-V and C-V measurements of the GaN/GaAs heterostructures however yielded a rectifying junction, even when both sides of the junction were heavily doped with an n-type dopant. Transmission electron microscopy analysis further confirmed the challenge in creating a GaN/GaAs Ohmic interface by showing a large density of dislocations in the GaN layer and suggesting roughening of the GaN/GaAs interface due to etching of the GaAs by the nitrogen plasma, diffusion of nitrogen or melting of Ga into the GaAs substrate.

  4. Investigation of the GaN-on-GaAs interface for vertical power device applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Möreke, Janina, E-mail: janina.moereke@bristol.ac.uk; Uren, Michael J.; Kuball, Martin [H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL (United Kingdom); Novikov, Sergei V.; Foxon, C. Thomas [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Hosseini Vajargah, Shahrzad; Wallis, David J.; Humphreys, Colin J. [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom); Haigh, Sarah J. [Super STEM Laboratory, STFC Daresbury Campus, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Al-Khalidi, Abdullah; Wasige, Edward; Thayne, Iain [School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Rankine Bldg, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT (United Kingdom)

    2014-07-07

    GaN layers were grown onto (111) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. Minimal band offset between the conduction bands for GaN and GaAs materials has been suggested in the literature raising the possibility of using GaN-on-GaAs for vertical power device applications. I-V and C-V measurements of the GaN/GaAs heterostructures however yielded a rectifying junction, even when both sides of the junction were heavily doped with an n-type dopant. Transmission electron microscopy analysis further confirmed the challenge in creating a GaN/GaAs Ohmic interface by showing a large density of dislocations in the GaN layer and suggesting roughening of the GaN/GaAs interface due to etching of the GaAs by the nitrogen plasma, diffusion of nitrogen or melting of Ga into the GaAs substrate.

  5. Capacitance properties and simulation of the AlGaN/GaN Schottky heterostructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harmatha, Ladislav; Ľubica, Stuchlíková; Juraj, Racko; Juraj, Marek; Juraj, Pecháček; Peter, Benko; Michal, Nemec; Juraj, Breza

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Dependences of CV characteristics of the AlGaN/GaN structure on frequency and temperature variations. • Identification of electrical activity of defects by capacitance DLTS. • Simulating the properties of the GaN/Al 0.2 GaN 0.8 /GaN Schottky heterostructure. - Abstract: The paper presents the results of capacitance measurements on GaN/AlGaN/GaN Schottky heterostructures grown on an Al 2 O 3 substrate by Low-Pressure Metal–Organic Vapour-Phase Epitaxy (LP-MOVPE). Dependences of the capacitance–voltage (CV) characteristics on the frequency of the measuring signal allow analysing the properties of the 2D electron gas (2DEG) at the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction. Exact location of the hetero-interface below the surface (20 nm) was determined from the concentration profile. Temperature variations of the CV curves reveal the influence of bulk defects in GaN and of the traps at the AlGaN/GaN interface. Electrical activity of these defects was characterized by capacitance Deep Level Transient Fourier Spectroscopy (DLTFS). Experimental results of CV measurements were supported by simulating the properties of the GaN/Al 0.2 GaN 0.8 /GaN Schottky heterostructure in dependence on the influence of the concentration of donor-like traps in GaN and of the temperature upon the CV curves

  6. Anomalous disorder-related phenomena in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well heterosystems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Y.-J.; Huang, Y.-W.; Fang, C.-H.; Wang, J.-C.; Chen, Y.-F.; Nee, T.-E.

    2010-01-01

    The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) heterostructures with InGaN/GaN and GaN barriers on carrier confinement were investigated. The degree of disordering over a broad range of temperatures from 20 to 300 K was considered. The optical and electrical properties were strongly influenced by structural and compositional disordering of the InGaN/GaN MQW heterostructures. To compare the degree of disordering we examined the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectra and electrical conductance contingent on the Berthelot-type mechanisms in the InGaN/GaN MQW heterostructures. We further considered carrier transport in the InGaN/GaN disordered systems, probability of carrier tunneling, and activation energy of the transport mechanism for devices with InGaN/GaN and GaN barriers. The optical properties of InGaN/GaN disordered heterosystems can be interpreted from the features of the absorption spectra. The anomalous temperature-dependent characteristics of the disordered InGaN/GaN MQW structures were attributable to the enhancement of the exciton confinement.

  7. Changes in sleep characteristics and airway obstruction in OSAHS patients with multi-level obstruction following simple UPPP, UPPP-GA, or UPPP-TBA: a prospective, single-center, parallel group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shicai; Shi, Song; Xia, Yanghui; Liu, Fei; Chen, Donghui; Zhu, Minhui; Li, Meng; Zheng, Hongliang

    2014-01-01

    To investigate changes in S3 sleep and the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), SpO2 desaturation and CT90, and to determine changes in the degree of airway collapse and in the cross-sectional area of the retropalatal and lingual region in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome patients. All subjects underwent overnight polysomnography and were evaluated using Müller's test and magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, 3, and 12 months following surgery. The mean S3 scores in patients receiving uvulopalatopharyngoplasty combined with genioglossus advancement (UPPP-GA) or UPPP combined with tongue base advancement using the Repose™ system (UPPP-TBA) noticeably increased. Marked improvement was seen in the mean AHI, LSO2, and CT90 scores 3 and 12 months following surgery compared to baseline. Airway collapsed by 25-50% in the greatest proportion undergoing surgery at the tongue base. UPPP-GA and UPPP-TBA more effectively improve S3 sleep, and mean AHI, LSO2, and CT90 scores. In addition, they effectively alleviate airway obstruction by improving the cross-sectional area of these regions. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. Ga and Pt NMR study of UPtGa sub 5 and UNiGa sub 5

    CERN Document Server

    Kato, H; Tokunaga, Y; Tokiwa, Y; Ikeda, S; Onuki, Y; Kambe, S; Walstedt, R E

    2003-01-01

    Ga and Pt NMR measurements have been carried out for two isomorphs compounds, UPtGa sub 5 and UNiGa sub 5 , which exhibit different magnetic structures below T sub N. Knight shift K measurements in the paramagnetic region are reported here. The transferred hyperfine coupling constants at Ga and Pt sites are determined. The temperature independent part K sub 0 of K, which probes the conduction electron polarization at the ligand site, has been successfully evaluated. A nearly identical conduction electron structure in the paramagnetic region is suggested for these two compounds. The origin of the different magnetic structures is discussed.

  9. AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with an AlGaN layer grown directly on reactive-ion-etched GaN showing a high electron mobility (>1300 cm2 V-1 s-1)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Akio; Makino, Shinya; Kanatani, Keito; Kuzuhara, Masaaki

    2018-04-01

    In this study, the metal-organic-vapor-phase-epitaxial growth behavior and electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN structures prepared by the growth of an AlGaN layer on a reactive-ion-etched (RIE) GaN surface without regrown GaN layers were investigated. The annealing of RIE-GaN surfaces in NH3 + H2 atmosphere, employed immediately before AlGaN growth, was a key process in obtaining a clean GaN surface for AlGaN growth, that is, in obtaining an electron mobility as high as 1350 cm2 V-1 s-1 in a fabricated AlGaN/RIE-GaN structure. High-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) were successfully fabricated with AlGaN/RIE-GaN wafers. With decreasing density of dotlike defects observed on the surfaces of AlGaN/RIE-GaN wafers, both two-dimensional electron gas properties of AlGaN/RIE-GaN structures and DC characteristics of HEMTs were markedly improved. Since dotlike defect density was markedly dependent on RIE lot, rather than on growth lot, surface contaminations of GaN during RIE were believed to be responsible for the formation of dotlike defects and, therefore, for the inferior electrical properties.

  10. Durability testing of the high-capacity GA-4/GA-9 trailer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimmer, A.; Lyon, T.

    1995-01-01

    GA designed trailers to transport the GA-4 and GA-9 LWT from-reactor spent nuclear fuel shipping casks. GA designed and fabricated the GA-9 trailer to ANSI N14.30 requirements and is now performing a durability test at the AlliedSignal Automotive Proving Grounds. The trailer, simulated cask and tractor. The test program objective is to evaluate and improve, as necessary, the trailer's durability, reliability and performance

  11. Efficiency enhancement of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes with pin-doped GaN quantum barrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sirkeli, Vadim P; Al-Daffaie, Shihab; Oprea, Ion; Küppers, Franko; Hartnagel, Hans L; Yilmazoglu, Oktay; Ong, Duu Sheng

    2017-01-01

    Blue InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes with undoped, heavily Si-doped, Si delta-doped, heavily Mg-doped, Mg delta-doped, and Mg–Si pin-doped GaN barrier are investigated numerically. The simulation results demonstrate that the Mg–Si pin-doping in the GaN barrier effectively reduces the polarization-induced electric field between the InGaN well and the GaN barrier in the multiple quantum well, suppresses the quantum-confined Stark effect, and enhances the hole injection and electron confinement in the active region. For this light-emitting diode (LED) device structure, we found that the turn-on voltage is 2.8 V, peak light emission is at 415.3 nm, and internal quantum efficiency is 85.9% at 100 A cm −2 . It is established that the LED device with Mg–Si pin-doping in the GaN barrier has significantly improved efficiency and optical output power performance, and lower efficiency droop up to 400 A cm −2 compared with LED device structures with undoped or Si(Mg)-doped GaN barrier. (paper)

  12. Growth and characterization of Ga(As,N) and (In,Ga)(As,N)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mussler, G.

    2005-01-01

    This dissertation deals with the MBE growth and characterization of Ga(As,N) and (In,Ga)(As,N). The work commences with the optimization of the Ga(As,N) growth. Owing to a large miscibility gap of GaN in GaAs, the incorporation of nitrogen into GaAs causes a structural degradation that is dependent on the substrate temperature, the nitrogen concentration, and the quantum well thickness. Another problem related to the growth of Ga(As,N) are point defects that have a detrimental influence on optical properties. A thermal treatment of Ga(As,N) reduces the concentration of these point defects. This leads to a substantial improvement of optical properties. We will show that nitrogen split interstitials that incorporate into gallium and arsenic vacancies may be attributed to these point defects. A thermal treatment of Ga(As,N) at high temperatures, on the contrary, results in a creation of extended defects which are detrimental to optical properties. We show that the temperature of the thermal treatment that yields the highest photoluminescence intensity is nitrogen concentration-dependent. The growth of (In,Ga)(As,N) is similar with respect to Ga(As,N). Again, one has to face a high miscibility gap of (In,Ga)N in (In,Ga)As that results in a structural degradation. A thermal treatment of (In,Ga)(As,N) is also beneficial for improving optical properties. We show that a thermal treatment of (In,Ga)As results in an indium diffusion that is suppressed by the incorporation of nitrogen. The characterization of (In,Ga)(As,N) edge emitting lasers shows emission at wavelengths up to 1366 nm. With higher nitrogen concentrations, there is a strong increase of the threshold current density and a decrease of the output power

  13. Groove-type channel enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN MIS HEMT with combined polar and nonpolar AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Xiao-Ling; Zhang Jin-Cheng; Xiao Ming; Zhao Yi; Ning Jing; Hao Yue

    2016-01-01

    A novel groove-type channel enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN MIS high electron mobility transistor (GTCE-HEMT) with a combined polar and nonpolar AlGaN/GaN heterostucture is presented. The device simulation shows a threshold voltage of 1.24 V, peak transconductance of 182 mS/mm, and subthreshold slope of 85 mV/dec, which are obtained by adjusting the device parameters. Interestingly, it is possible to control the threshold voltage accurately without precisely controlling the etching depth in fabrication by adopting this structure. Besides, the breakdown voltage ( V B ) is significantly increased by 78% in comparison with the value of the conventional MIS-HEMT. Moreover, the fabrication process of the novel device is entirely compatible with that of the conventional depletion-mode (D-mode) polar AlGaN/GaN HEMT. It presents a promising way to realize the switch application and the E/D-mode logic circuits. (paper)

  14. Strain-compensated (Ga,In)N/(Al,Ga)N/GaN multiple quantum wells for improved yellow/amber light emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lekhal, K.; Damilano, B., E-mail: bd@crhea.cnrs.fr; De Mierry, P.; Vennéguès, P. [CRHEA-CNRS, Centre de Recherche sur l' Hétéro-Epitaxie et ses Applications, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Valbonne 06560 (France); Ngo, H. T.; Rosales, D.; Gil, B. [Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, CNRS-INP-UMR 5221, Université Montpellier 2, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Hussain, S. [CRHEA-CNRS, Centre de Recherche sur l' Hétéro-Epitaxie et ses Applications, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Valbonne 06560 (France); Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Parc Valrose, 28 av. Valrose, 06108 Nice cedex 2 (France)

    2015-04-06

    Yellow/amber (570–600 nm) emitting In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N/Al{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N/GaN multiple quantum wells (QWs) have been grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on GaN-on- sapphire templates. When the (Al,Ga)N thickness of the barrier increases, the room temperature photoluminescence is red-shifted while its yield increases. This is attributed to an increase of the QW internal electric field and an improvement of the material quality due to the compensation of the compressive strain of the In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N QWs by the Al{sub y}Ga{sub 1−y}N layers, respectively.

  15. PET-CT in endocrinology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parysow, O.; Jager, V.; Racioppi, S.; Mollerach, A.M.; Collaud, C.; Arma, I.

    2008-01-01

    PET/CT scans have reached an important place in the evaluation of endocrine tumors. The metabolic marker 18F-FDG is the most widespread over the world, and, for the time being, it is the only one available in our country. The limitations of this technique in Endocrinology include high differentiation and low aggressiveness of most endocrine tumors, and low detection rate for low cellularity and/or small lesions. Indications for PET/CT scan in these tumors should be precise, due to the fact that not all of these lesions are significantly glucose-avid and to extract the maximum diagnostic efficacy of this modality to achieve the optimum diagnostic accuracy. The most important indication is DTC with high Tg levels and negative 131-Iodine scans. It is advisable to indicate a PET/CT scan in patients with Tg > 10 ng/ml and stimulated TSH (endogenous or exogenous). The aim is to locate recurrences and metastases in order to remove them, either surgically or by any other therapy alternative to 131 I. Due to higher uptake in more aggressive lesions, this study has a high prognostic value. In patients with high Tg levels, negative 131 I scan, and abnormal FDG uptake, the practitioner must act more aggressively in order to remove the pathologic foci, while with a negative FDG -PET scan, the conduct can be expectant, with periodic follow-up. The introduction of other positron-emitting tracers like 124-Iodine, is likely to yield superior quality images and provide better diagnoses. FDG has a limited efficiency in neuroendocrine tumors, unless they show a significant level of dedifferentiation. The scan is indicated in MTC, when calcitonin levels are above 1000 pg/ml, in order to locate the tumor sites. With the introduction of more specific positron-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, such as 18F-DOPA, 68Ga DOTA, 11C methomidate, 11C-hydroxytryptophan and others, it will be possible to study the metabolic-molecular behavior of these tumors with a more accurate approach. (author) [es

  16. First-principle natural band alignment of GaN / dilute-As GaNAs alloy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chee-Keong Tan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Density functional theory (DFT calculations with the local density approximation (LDA functional are employed to investigate the band alignment of dilute-As GaNAs alloys with respect to the GaN alloy. Conduction and valence band positions of dilute-As GaNAs alloy with respect to the GaN alloy on an absolute energy scale are determined from the combination of bulk and surface DFT calculations. The resulting GaN / GaNAs conduction to valence band offset ratio is found as approximately 5:95. Our theoretical finding is in good agreement with experimental observation, indicating the upward movements of valence band at low-As content dilute-As GaNAs are mainly responsible for the drastic reduction of the GaN energy band gap. In addition, type-I band alignment of GaN / GaNAs is suggested as a reasonable approach for future device implementation with dilute-As GaNAs quantum well, and possible type-II quantum well active region can be formed by using InGaN / dilute-As GaNAs heterostructure.

  17. Patterns of failure after radical prostatectomy in prostate cancer - implications for radiation therapy planning after {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiller, Kilian; Sauter, K.; Dewes, S. [Technical University of Munich (TUM), Department of Radiation Oncology, Munich (Germany); Eiber, M. [Technical University Munich (TUM), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Munich (Germany); David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Maurer, T.; Gschwend, J. [Technical University Munich (TUM), Department of Urology, Munich (Germany); Combs, S.E.; Habl, G. [Technical University of Munich (TUM), Department of Radiation Oncology, Munich (Germany); Institute of Innovative Radiotherapy (iRT), Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Department of Radiation Sciences (DRS), Munich (Germany)

    2017-09-15

    Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) after radical prostatectomy (RPE) and lymphadenectomy (LAE) is the appropriate radiotherapy option for patients with persistent/ recurrent prostate cancer (PC). {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET imaging has been shown to accurately detect PC lesions in a primary setting as well as for local recurrence or for lymph node (LN) metastases. In this study we evaluated the patterns of recurrence after RPE in patients with PC, putting a highlight on the differentiation between sites that would have been covered by a standard radiation therapy (RT) field in consensus after the RTOG consensus and others that would have not. Thirty-one out of 83 patients (37%) with high-risk PC were the subject of our study. Information from {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET imaging was used to individualize treatment plans to include suspicious lesions as well as possibly boost sites with tracer uptake in LN or the prostate bed. For evaluation, {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET-positive LN were contoured in a patient dataset with a standard lymph drainage (RTOG consensus on CTV definition of pelvic lymph nodes) radiation field depicting color-coded nodes that would have been infield or outfield of that standard lymph drainage field and thereby visualizing typical patterns of failure of a ''blind'' radiation therapy after RPE and LAE. Compared to negative conventional imaging (CT/MRI), lesions suspicious for PC were detected in 27/31 cases (87.1%) by {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET imaging, which resulted in changes to the radiation concept. There were 16/31 patients (51.6%) that received a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) to a subarea of the prostate bed (in only three cases this dose escalation would have been planned without the additional knowledge of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-PET imaging) and 18/31 (58.1%) to uncommon (namely presacral, paravesical, pararectal, preacetabular and obturatoric) LN sites. Furthermore, 14 patients (45.2%) had a changed TNM staging result by means of {sup 68}Ga

  18. Tuning high frequency magnetic properties and damping of FeGa, FeGaN and FeGaB thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derang Cao

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A series of FeGa, FeGaN and FeGaB films with varied oblique angles were deposited by sputtering method on silicon substrates, respectively. The microstructure, soft magnetism, microwave properties, and damping factor for the films were investigated. The FeGa films showed a poor high frequency magnetic property due to the large stress itself. The grain size of FeGa films was reduced by the additional N element, while the structure of FeGa films was changed from the polycrystalline to amorphous phase by the involved B element. As a result, N content can effectively improve the magnetic softness of FeGa film, but their high frequency magnetic properties were still poor both when the N2/Ar flow rate ratio is 2% and 5% during the deposition. The additional B content significantly led to the excellent magnetic softness and the self-biased ferromagnetic resonance frequency of 1.83 GHz for FeGaB film. The dampings of FeGa films were adjusted by the additional N and B contents from 0.218 to 0.139 and 0.023, respectively. The combination of these properties for FeGa films are helpful for the development of magnetostrictive microwave devices.

  19. A hole modulator for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zi-Hui; Kyaw, Zabu; Liu, Wei; Ji, Yun; Wang, Liancheng; Tan, Swee Tiam; Sun, Xiao Wei; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

    2015-02-01

    The low p-type doping efficiency of the p-GaN layer has severely limited the performance of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to the ineffective hole injection into the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) active region. The essence of improving the hole injection efficiency is to increase the hole concentration in the p-GaN layer. Therefore, in this work, we have proposed a hole modulator and studied it both theoretically and experimentally. In the hole modulator, the holes in a remote p-type doped layer are depleted by the built-in electric field and stored in the p-GaN layer. By this means, the overall hole concentration in the p-GaN layer can be enhanced. Furthermore, the hole modulator is adopted in the InGaN/GaN LEDs, which reduces the effective valance band barrier height for the p-type electron blocking layer from ˜332 meV to ˜294 meV at 80 A/cm2 and demonstrates an improved optical performance, thanks to the increased hole concentration in the p-GaN layer and thus the improved hole injection into the MQWs.

  20. Ga originated kink-and-tail Zn diffusion profiles in InGaAsP and InGaAlAs alloys during MOVPE regrowth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitatani, T.; Okamoto, K.; Uchida, K.; Tanaka, S.

    2017-12-01

    We investigated the diffusion characteristics of Zn in ternary and quaternary alloys of InGaAsP and InGaAlAs, which are important materials in long-wavelength optical communication devices. The measured Zn diffusion profiles of InGaAs, InGaAsP, and InGaAlAs showed kink-and-tail shapes in which Zn concentration fell abruptly at first and then decreased slowly, whereas those of InP and InAlAs showed only abrupt decreases. Thus, only Ga-containing alloys had tail-like profiles. Since this tail was well described by the group-V vacancy related defect model, we deduced that its mechanism is closely related with group-V vacancies in Ga-related bonds such as GaP or GaAs. Furthermore, we demonstrated the possibility that many more group-V vacancies originated from GaP bonds than from GaAs bonds, indicating the difficulty in crystal growth of high quality alloys that have GaP components.

  1. InGaN/GaN quantum well improved by in situ SiN{sub x} pretreatment of GaN template

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Demeng; Wu, Zhengyuan; Fang, Zhilai [Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Xiamen University (China)

    2016-12-15

    In situ SiN{sub x} pretreatment was employed to modify the growth behavior and optical properties of InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs). With moderate SiN{sub x} pretreatment surface smoothness of InGaN/GaN QWs was improved and attributed to enhanced layer growth by Ga surfactant effect. Significant increase of photoluminescence peak intensity and relatively uniform and bright cathodoluminescence images were observed, which were attributed to the improvement in crystalline quality and strain reduction for the InGaN/GaN QWs with moderate SiN{sub x} pretreatment. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  2. Fabrication of p-type porous GaN on silicon and epitaxial GaN

    OpenAIRE

    Bilousov, Oleksandr V.; Geaney, Hugh; Carvajal, Joan J.; Zubialevich, Vitaly Z.; Parbrook, Peter J.; Giguere, A.; Drouin, D.; Diaz, Francesc; Aguilo, Magdalena; O'Dwyer, Colm

    2013-01-01

    Porous GaN layers are grown on silicon from gold or platinum catalyst seed layers, and self-catalyzed on epitaxial GaN films on sapphire. Using a Mg-based precursor, we demonstrate p-type doping of the porous GaN. Electrical measurements for p-type GaN on Si show Ohmic and Schottky behavior from gold and platinum seeded GaN, respectively. Ohmicity is attributed to the formation of a Ga2Au intermetallic. Porous p-type GaN was also achieved on epitaxial n-GaN on sapphire, and transport measurem...

  3. AlGaN/GaN field effect transistors for power electronics—Effect of finite GaN layer thickness on thermal characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodges, C., E-mail: chris.hodges@bristol.ac.uk; Anaya Calvo, J.; Kuball, M. [H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TL (United Kingdom); Stoffels, S.; Marcon, D. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B3001 Leuven (Belgium)

    2013-11-11

    AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with a 150 nm thick GaN channel within stacked Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N layers were investigated using Raman thermography. By fitting a thermal simulation to the measured temperatures, the thermal conductivity of the GaN channel was determined to be 60 W m{sup −1} K{sup −1}, over 50% less than typical GaN epilayers, causing an increased peak channel temperature. This agrees with a nanoscale model. A low thermal conductivity AlGaN buffer means the GaN spreads heat; its properties are important for device thermal characteristics. When designing power devices with thin GaN layers, as well as electrical considerations, the reduced channel thermal conductivity must be considered.

  4. Characteristics of AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction HEMTs with an improved breakdown voltage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Juncai; Zhang Jincheng; Xue Junshuai; Lin Zhiyu; Liu Ziyang; Xue Xiaoyong; Ma Xiaohua; Hao Yue

    2012-01-01

    We studied the performance of AlGaN/GaN double heterojunction high electron mobility transistors (DH-HEMTs) with an AlGaN buffer layer, which leads to a higher potential barrier at the backside of the two-dimensional electron gas channel and better carrier confinement. This, remarkably, reduces the drain leakage current and improves the device breakdown voltage. The breakdown voltage of AlGaN/GaN double heterojunction HEMTs (∼100 V) was significantly improved compared to that of conventional AlGaN/GaN HEMTs (∼50 V) for the device with gate dimensions of 0.5 × 100 μm and a gate—drain distance of 1 μm. The DH-HEMTs also demonstrated a maximum output power of 7.78 W/mm, a maximum power-added efficiency of 62.3% and a linear gain of 23 dB at the drain supply voltage of 35 V at 4 GHz. (semiconductor devices)

  5. Microstructure of (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs digital ferromagnetic heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kong, X.; Trampert, A.; Guo, X.X.; Kolovos-Vellianitis, D.; Daeweritz, L.; Ploog, K.H.

    2005-01-01

    We report on the microstructure of (Ga,Mn)As digital ferromagnetic heterostructures grown on GaAs (001) substrates by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. The Mn concentration and the As 4 /Ga beam equivalent pressure (BEP) ratio are varied in the samples containing periods of Mn sheets separated by thin GaAs spacer layers. Transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that decreasing the Mn doping concentration and reducing the BEP ratio lead to smaller composition fluctuations of Mn and more homogeneous (Ga,Mn)As layers with abrupt interfaces. Planar defects are found as the dominant defect in these heterostructures and their density is related to the magnitude of the composition fluctuation. These defects show a noticeable anisotropy in the morphologic distribution parallel to the orthogonal [110] and [110] direction. Along the [110] direction, they are stacking faults, which are preferentially formed in V-shaped pairs and nucleate at the interfaces between (Ga,Mn)As and GaAs layers. Along the [110] direction, the planar defects are isolated thin twin lamellae. The character of the planar defects and their configuration are analyzed in detail

  6. Diffuse scattering from the liquid-vapor interfaces of dilute Bi:Ga, Tl:Ga, and Pb:Ga alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Dongxu; Jiang Xu; Rice, Stuart A.; Lin Binhua; Meron, Mati

    2005-01-01

    As part of a study of the in-plane wave-vector (q xy ) dependence of the effective Hamiltonian for the liquid-vapor interface, H(q), the wave-vector dependences of diffuse x-ray scattering from the liquid-vapor interfaces of dilute alloys of Bi in Ga, Tl in Ga, and Pb in Ga have been measured. In these dilute alloys the solute component segregates as a monolayer that forms the outermost stratum of the liquid-vapor interfaces, and the density distribution along the normal to the interface is stratified. Over the temperature ranges that the alloy interfaces were studied, the Tl and Pb monolayers exhibit both crystalline and liquid phases while the Bi monolayer is always liquid. The diffuse scattering from the liquid-vapor interfaces of these alloys displays interesting differences with that from the liquid-vapor interface of pure Ga. The presence of a segregated monolayer of solute in the liquid-vapor interface of the alloy appears to slightly suppress the fluctuations in an intermediate wave-vector range in a fashion that preserves the validity of the macroscopic capillary wave model to smaller wavelengths than in pure liquid Ga, and there is an increase in diffuse scattering when the Tl and Pb monolayers melt. The surface intrinsic roughness from fitting the wave-vector dependence of surface tension is 5.0 pm for the Tl:Ga alloy and 1.4 pm for the Bi:Ga alloy. Also, a mode of excitation that contributes to diffuse scattering from the liquid-vapor interface of Pb in Ga, but does not contribute to diffuse scattering from the liquid-vapor interface of Ga, has been identified. It is proposed that this mode corresponds to the separation of the Pb and Ga layers in the regime 1 nm -1 ≤q xy ≤10 nm -1

  7. Enhanced thermoelectric transport in modulation-doped GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Erdong; Li, Qiming; Swartzentruber, Brian; Pan, Wei; Wang, George T; Martinez, Julio A

    2016-01-08

    The thermoelectric properties of unintentionally n-doped core GaN/AlGaN core/shell N-face nanowires are reported. We found that the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity is consistent with thermally activated carriers with two distinctive donor energies. The Seebeck coefficient of GaN/AlGaN nanowires is more than twice as large as that for the GaN nanowires alone. However, an outer layer of GaN deposited onto the GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowires decreases the Seebeck coefficient at room temperature, while the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity remains the same. We attribute these observations to the formation of an electron gas channel within the heavily-doped GaN core of the GaN/AlGaN nanowires. The room-temperature thermoelectric power factor for the GaN/AlGaN nanowires can be four times higher than the GaN nanowires. Selective doping in bandgap engineered core/shell nanowires is proposed for enhancing the thermoelectric power.

  8. Whole-body positron emission tomography using fluorodeoxyglucose for staging of lymphoma: effectiveness and comparison with computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stumpe, K.D.M.; Urbinelli, M.; Steinert, H.C.; Glanzmann, C.; Buck, A.; Schulthess, G.K. von

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate whole-body positron emission tomography (WB-PET) as a staging modality in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and to compare it with computed tomography (CT) in a retrospective study. Seventy-one WB-PET studies using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 49 CT examinations were performed in 19 women and 31 men. Transaxial images were acquired and reformatted coronally and sagittally in PET. CT sections were obtained from the skull base to the pelvic floor. The written reports of the imaging data were compared with a reference standard constructed on the basis of all the data on the individual patients, including clinical follow-up of at least 6 months. The sensitivity and specificity of PET were, respectively, 86% and 96% for HD (n=53), and 89% and 100% for NHL (n=18). For CT sensitivity and specificity were 81% and 41% for HD (n=33) and 86% and 67% for NHL (n=16). Differences between PET and CT sensitivities were not significant, while in HD there was a significant difference in the specificity of PET and CT examinations, mainly because CT was unable to distinguish between active or recurrent disease and residual scar tissue after therapy. FDG tumour uptake was found in high- as well as low-grade NHL patients. In conclusion, PET appears to be highly sensitive and specific for staging of lymphoma. It is at least as sensitive as CT, and more specific, particularly in patients undergoing restaging, where a well-recognized diagnostic dilemma in CT is the presence of a post-therapeutic residual mass. (orig.)

  9. A hole modulator for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zi-Hui; Kyaw, Zabu; Liu, Wei; Ji, Yun; Wang, Liancheng; Tan, Swee Tiam; Sun, Xiao Wei; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

    2015-01-01

    The low p-type doping efficiency of the p-GaN layer has severely limited the performance of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to the ineffective hole injection into the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) active region. The essence of improving the hole injection efficiency is to increase the hole concentration in the p-GaN layer. Therefore, in this work, we have proposed a hole modulator and studied it both theoretically and experimentally. In the hole modulator, the holes in a remote p-type doped layer are depleted by the built-in electric field and stored in the p-GaN layer. By this means, the overall hole concentration in the p-GaN layer can be enhanced. Furthermore, the hole modulator is adopted in the InGaN/GaN LEDs, which reduces the effective valance band barrier height for the p-type electron blocking layer from ∼332 meV to ∼294 meV at 80 A/cm 2 and demonstrates an improved optical performance, thanks to the increased hole concentration in the p-GaN layer and thus the improved hole injection into the MQWs

  10. From Schottky to Ohmic graphene contacts to AlGaN/GaN heterostructures: Role of the AlGaN layer microstructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisichella, G.; Greco, G.; Roccaforte, F.; Giannazzo, F.

    2014-01-01

    The electrical behaviour of graphene (Gr) contacts to Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterostructures has been investigated, focusing, in particular, on the impact of the AlGaN microstructure on the current transport at Gr/AlGaN interface. Two Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN heterostructures with very different quality in terms of surface roughness and defectivity, as evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy, were compared in this study, i.e., a uniform and defect-free sample and a sample with a high density of typical V-defects, which locally cause a reduction of the AlGaN thickness. Nanoscale resolution current voltage (I-V) measurements by an Au coated conductive AFM tip were carried out at several positions both on the bare and Gr-coated AlGaN surfaces. Rectifying contacts were found onto both bare AlGaN surfaces, but with a more inhomogeneous and lower Schottky barrier height (Φ B  ≈ 0.6 eV) for AlGaN with V-defects, with respect to the case of the uniform AlGaN (Φ B  ≈ 0.9 eV). Instead, very different electrical behaviours were observed in the presence of the Gr interlayer between the Au tip and AlGaN, i.e., a Schottky contact with reduced barrier height (Φ B ≈ 0.4 eV) for the uniform AlGaN and an Ohmic contact for the AlGaN with V-defects. Interestingly, excellent lateral uniformity of the local I-V characteristics was found in both cases and can be ascribed to an averaging effect of the Gr electrode over the AlGaN interfacial inhomogeneities. Due to the locally reduced AlGaN layer thickness, V defect act as preferential current paths from Gr to the 2DEG and can account for the peculiar Ohmic behaviour of Gr contacts on defective AlGaN

  11. Improved positron emission tomography imaging of glioblastoma cancer using novel 68Ga-labeled peptides targeting the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loft, Mathias Dyrberg; Sun, Yao; Liu, Changhao

    2017-01-01

    for non-invasive positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of uPAR. Despite the optimal physical properties of68Ga for peptide-based PET imaging, low tumor uptakes have previously been reported using68Ga-labeled AE105-NH2-based tracers. In an attempt to optimize the tumor uptake, we developed three novel...... to the non-spacer version, NODAGA-AE105-NH2. Following radiolabeling with68Ga, we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo performance in mice bearing subcutaneous tumors derived from the uPAR-expressing human GBM cell line U87MG. In vivo PET/CT imaging showed that introduction of PEG spacers more than doubled...... confirmed the improved tumor uptakes of the PEG-modified tracers.68Ga-NODAGA-PEG8-AE105-NH2is thus a promising candidate for human translation for PET imaging of GBM....

  12. Gas sensing with AlGaN/GaN 2DEG channels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Offermans, P.; Vitushinsky, R.; Crego-Calama, M.; Brongersma, S.H.

    2011-01-01

    AlGaN/GaN shows great promise as a generic platform for (bio-)chemical sensing because of its robustness and intrinsic sensitivity to surface charge or dipoles. Here, we employ the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at the interface of AlGaN/GaN layers grown on Si substrates for the

  13. First-principles electronic structure of Mn-doped GaAs, GaP, and GaN semiconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schulthess, T C [Computer Science and Mathematics Division and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6164 (United States); Temmerman, W M [Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); Szotek, Z [Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); Svane, A [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Petit, L [Computer Science and Mathematics Division and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6164 (United States)

    2007-04-23

    We present first-principles electronic structure calculations of Mn-doped III-V semiconductors based on the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) as well as the self-interaction corrected local spin-density method (SIC-LSD). We find that it is crucial to use a self-interaction free approach to properly describe the electronic ground state. The SIC-LSD calculations predict the proper electronic ground state configuration for Mn in GaAs, GaP, and GaN. Excellent quantitative agreement with experiment is found for the magnetic moment and p-d exchange in (GaMn)As. These results allow us to validate commonly used models for magnetic semiconductors. Furthermore, we discuss the delicate problem of extracting binding energies of localized levels from density functional theory calculations. We propose three approaches to take into account final state effects to estimate the binding energies of the Mn d levels in GaAs. We find good agreement between computed values and estimates from photoemission experiments.

  14. First-principles electronic structure of Mn-doped GaAs, GaP, and GaN semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulthess, T C; Temmerman, W M; Szotek, Z; Svane, A; Petit, L

    2007-01-01

    We present first-principles electronic structure calculations of Mn-doped III-V semiconductors based on the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) as well as the self-interaction corrected local spin-density method (SIC-LSD). We find that it is crucial to use a self-interaction free approach to properly describe the electronic ground state. The SIC-LSD calculations predict the proper electronic ground state configuration for Mn in GaAs, GaP, and GaN. Excellent quantitative agreement with experiment is found for the magnetic moment and p-d exchange in (GaMn)As. These results allow us to validate commonly used models for magnetic semiconductors. Furthermore, we discuss the delicate problem of extracting binding energies of localized levels from density functional theory calculations. We propose three approaches to take into account final state effects to estimate the binding energies of the Mn d levels in GaAs. We find good agreement between computed values and estimates from photoemission experiments

  15. Gallium-containing Heusler phases ScRh{sub 2}Ga, ScPd{sub 2}Ga, TmRh{sub 2}Ga and LuRh{sub 2}Ga. Magnetic and solid state NMR-spectroscopic characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heletta, Lukas; Seidel, Stefan; Poettgen, Rainer [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie; Benndorf, Christopher [Leipzig Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Mineralogie, Kristallographie und Materialwissenschaften; Eckert, Hellmut [Muenster Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physikalische Chemie; Sao Paulo Univ., Sao Carlos (Brazil). Inst. of Physics

    2017-10-01

    The gallium-containing Heusler phases ScRh{sub 2}Ga, ScPd{sub 2}Ga, TmRh{sub 2}Ga and LuRh{sub 2}Ga have been synthesized by arc-melting of the elements followed by different annealing sequences to improve phase purity. The samples have been studied by powder X-ray diffraction. The structures of Lu{sub 0.97}Rh{sub 2}Ga{sub 1.03} (Fm3m, a=632.94(5) pm, wR2=0.0590, 46 F{sup 2} values, seven variables) and Sc{sub 0.88}Rh{sub 2}Ga{sub 1.12} (a=618.91(4) pm, wR2=0.0284, 44 F{sup 2} values, six variables) have been refined from single crystal X-ray diffractometer data. Both gallides show structural disorder through Lu/Ga and Sc/Ga mixing. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements showed Pauli paramagnetism for ScRh{sub 2}Ga, ScPd{sub 2}Ga, and LuRh{sub 2}Ga and Curie-Weiss paramagnetism for TmRh{sub 2}Ga. {sup 45}Sc and {sup 71}Ga solid state MAS NMR spectroscopic investigations of the Sc containing compounds confirmed the site mixing effects typically observed for Heusler phases. The data indicate that the effect of mixed Sc/Ga occupancy is significantly stronger in ScRh{sub 2}Ga than in ScPd{sub 2}Ga.

  16. Ga-Ga bonding and tunnel framework in the new Zintl phase Ba{sub 3}Ga{sub 4}Sb{sub 5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, S -M; Kim, S -J; Kanatzidis, M G

    2003-11-01

    A new Zintl phase Ba{sub 3}Ga{sub 4}Sb{sub 5} was obtained from the reaction of Ba and Sb in excess Ga flux at 1000 deg. C, and its structure was determined with single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (No. 62) with a=13.248(3) A, b=4.5085(9) A, c=24.374(5) A and Z=4. Ba{sub 3}Ga{sub 4}Sb{sub 5} has a three-dimensional [Ga{sub 4}Sb{sub 5}]{sup 6-} framework featuring large tunnels running along the b-axis and accommodating the Ba ions. The structure also has small tube-like tunnels of pentagonal and rhombic cross-sections. The structure contains ethane-like dimeric Sb{sub 3}Ga-GaSb{sub 3} units and GaSb{sub 4} tetrahedra that are connected to form 12- and 14-membered tunnels. Band structure calculations confirm that the material is a semiconductor and indicate that the structure is stabilized by strong Ga-Ga covalent bonding interactions.

  17. Barrier layer engineering: Performance evaluation of E-mode InGaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumdar, Shubhankar; Das, S.; Biswas, D.

    2015-08-01

    Impact on DC characteristics of InGaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT due to variation in the hetero-structure parameters i.e. molar fraction of Al and thickness of AlGaN barrier layer is presented in this paper. Gate controllability over the channel is dependent on barrier layer thickness, and molar fraction has an impact on band offset and 2DEG, which further affects the current. HEMT device that is simulated in SILVACO has InGaN cap layer of 2 nm thickness with 15% In molar fraction, variation of Al percentage and thickness of the AlGaN barrier layer are taken as 15-45% and 5-20nm, respectively. A tremendous change in threshold voltage (Vth), maximum transconductance (Gmmax) and subthreshold swing is found due to variation in hetero-structure parameter of barrier layer and the values are typically 1.3-0.1 V, 0.6-0.44 S/mm and 75-135 mV/dec respectively.

  18. Enhanced thermoelectric transport in modulation-doped GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Erdong; Martinez, Julio A; Li, Qiming; Pan, Wei; Wang, George T; Swartzentruber, Brian

    2016-01-01

    The thermoelectric properties of unintentionally n-doped core GaN/AlGaN core/shell N-face nanowires are reported. We found that the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity is consistent with thermally activated carriers with two distinctive donor energies. The Seebeck coefficient of GaN/AlGaN nanowires is more than twice as large as that for the GaN nanowires alone. However, an outer layer of GaN deposited onto the GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowires decreases the Seebeck coefficient at room temperature, while the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity remains the same. We attribute these observations to the formation of an electron gas channel within the heavily-doped GaN core of the GaN/AlGaN nanowires. The room-temperature thermoelectric power factor for the GaN/AlGaN nanowires can be four times higher than the GaN nanowires. Selective doping in bandgap engineered core/shell nanowires is proposed for enhancing the thermoelectric power. (paper)

  19. Anodic etching of GaN based film with a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer: Mechanism and properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Qingxue; Liu, Rong; Xiao, Hongdi; Cao, Dezhong; Liu, Jianqiang; Ma, Jin

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • GaN film with a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer was etched by electrochemical etching. • Vertically aligned nanopores in n-GaN films were buried underneath the InGaN/GaN structures. • The relaxation of compressive stress in the MQW structure was found by PL and Raman spectra. - Abstract: A strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer, which consists of multiple quantum wells (MQW) and superlattices (SL) layers and can produce a blue wavelength spectrum, has been grown on n-GaN thin film, and then fabricated into nanoporous structures by electrochemical etching method in oxalic acid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique reveals that the etching voltage of 8 V leads to a vertically aligned nanoporous structure, whereas the films etched at 15 V show branching pores within the n-GaN layer. Due to the low doping concentration of barriers (GaN layers) in the InGaN/GaN layer, we observed a record-low rate of etching (<100 nm/min) and nanopores which are mainly originated from the V-pits in the phase-separated layer. In addition, there exists a horizontal nanoporous structure at the interface between the phase-separated layer and the n-GaN layer, presumably resulting from the high transition of electrons between the barrier and the well (InGaN layer) at the interface. As compared to the as-grown MQW structure, the etched MQW structure exhibits a photoluminescence (PL) enhancement with a partial relaxation of compressive stress due to the increased light-extracting surface area and light-guiding effect. Such a compressive stress relaxation can be further confirmed by Raman spectra.

  20. Anodic etching of GaN based film with a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer: Mechanism and properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Qingxue [School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100 (China); Liu, Rong [Department of Fundamental Theories, Shandong Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Jinan 250063 (China); Xiao, Hongdi, E-mail: hdxiao@sdu.edu.cn [School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100 (China); Cao, Dezhong; Liu, Jianqiang; Ma, Jin [School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100 (China)

    2016-11-30

    Highlights: • GaN film with a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer was etched by electrochemical etching. • Vertically aligned nanopores in n-GaN films were buried underneath the InGaN/GaN structures. • The relaxation of compressive stress in the MQW structure was found by PL and Raman spectra. - Abstract: A strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer, which consists of multiple quantum wells (MQW) and superlattices (SL) layers and can produce a blue wavelength spectrum, has been grown on n-GaN thin film, and then fabricated into nanoporous structures by electrochemical etching method in oxalic acid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique reveals that the etching voltage of 8 V leads to a vertically aligned nanoporous structure, whereas the films etched at 15 V show branching pores within the n-GaN layer. Due to the low doping concentration of barriers (GaN layers) in the InGaN/GaN layer, we observed a record-low rate of etching (<100 nm/min) and nanopores which are mainly originated from the V-pits in the phase-separated layer. In addition, there exists a horizontal nanoporous structure at the interface between the phase-separated layer and the n-GaN layer, presumably resulting from the high transition of electrons between the barrier and the well (InGaN layer) at the interface. As compared to the as-grown MQW structure, the etched MQW structure exhibits a photoluminescence (PL) enhancement with a partial relaxation of compressive stress due to the increased light-extracting surface area and light-guiding effect. Such a compressive stress relaxation can be further confirmed by Raman spectra.