Nonrigid registration of dynamic breast F-18-FDG PET/CT images using deformable FEM model and CT image warping

Abstract

This study was undertaken to correct for motion artifacts in dynamic breast F-18-FDG PET/CT images, to improve differential-image quality, and to increase accuracy of time-activity curves. Dynamic PET studies, with patients prone, and breast suspended freely employed a protocol with 50 frames, each 1-minute long. A 30 s long CT scan was acquired immediately before the first PET frame. F-18-FDG was administered during the first PET time frame. Fiducial skin markers (FSMs) each containing ~0.5 μCi of Ge-68 were taped to each breast. In our PET/PET registration method we utilized CT data. For corresponding FSMs visible on the 1 st and n th frames, the geometrical centroids of FSMs were found and their displacement vectors were estimated and used to deform the finite element method (FEM) mesh of the CT image (registered with 1 st PET frame) to match the consecutive dynamic PET time frames. Each mesh was then deformed to match the 1 st PET frame using known FSM displacement vectors as FEM loads, and the warped PET timeframe volume was created. All PET time frames were thus nonrigidly registered with the first frame. An analogy between orthogonal components of the displacement field and the temperature distribution in steady-state heat transfer in solids is used, via standard heat-conduction FEM software with “conductivity” of surface elements set arbitrarily significantly higher than that of volume elements. Consequently, the surface reaches steady state before the volume. This prevents creation of concentrated FEM loads at the locations of FSMs and reaching incorrect FEM solution. We observe improved similarity between the 1 st and n th frames. The contrast and the spatial definition of metabolically hyperactive regions are superior in the registered 3D images compared to unregistered 3D images. Additional work is needed to eliminate small image artifacts due to FSMs.