An improved method to calculate cerebral metabolic rates of glucose using PET

PET methods for single-scan measurement of the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) generally involve sampling of radioactivity in arterial plasma over the course of the experiment. The purpose of this study was to develop an analytic procedure that would require substantially fewer plasma samples to measure CMRglc using the single-scan method. Methods: This technique uses a model for the curve describing the time course of radioactivity in plasma. Results: This model obviates the need to draw arterial samples at short time intervals or at all during the first 30 min after radiotracer injection. The new technique uses six samples to provide the same accuracy and precision as the conventional method provides with 30 or more samples. Conclusion: The proposed method greatly simplifies quantitative PET studies of glucose metabolism.