Theranostics 2013; 3(10):802-815. doi:10.7150/thno.5130 This issue Cite

Review

Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET

Guobao Wang, Jinyi Qi Corresponding address

Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.

Citation:
Wang G, Qi J. Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET. Theranostics 2013; 3(10):802-815. doi:10.7150/thno.5130. https://www.thno.org/v03p0802.htm
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Abstract

Dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) can monitor spatiotemporal distribution of radiotracer in vivo. The spatiotemporal information can be used to estimate parametric images of radiotracer kinetics that are of physiological and biochemical interests. Direct estimation of parametric images from raw projection data allows accurate noise modeling and has been shown to offer better image quality than conventional indirect methods, which reconstruct a sequence of PET images first and then perform tracer kinetic modeling pixel-by-pixel. Direct reconstruction of parametric images has gained increasing interests with the advances in computing hardware. Many direct reconstruction algorithms have been developed for different kinetic models. In this paper we review the recent progress in the development of direct reconstruction algorithms for parametric image estimation. Algorithms for linear and nonlinear kinetic models are described and their properties are discussed.

Keywords: Dynamic positron emission tomography, Direct estimation

1 Introduction

1.1 Parametric Imaging with Dynamic PET

Dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) provides the additional temporal information of tracer kinetics compared to static PET. It has been shown that tracer kinetics can be useful in tumor diagnosis such as differentiation between malignant and benign lesions [1, 2], and in therapy monitoring where the kinetic values from dynamic PET can be more predictive for assessment of response than the standard uptake value at a single time point [3, 4].

There are basically two approaches for deriving tracer kinetics from dynamic PET data: region-of-interest (ROI) kinetic modeling and parametric imaging [5-7]. The ROI based approach fits a kinetic model to the average time activity curve (TAC) of a selected ROI, so it is easy to implement and has low computation cost. In contrast, parametric imaging estimates kinetic parameters for every pixel and provides the spatial distribution of kinetic parameters. It is thus more suitable to study heterogeneous tracer uptake in tissue. Parametric images have been found useful in many biological research and clinical diagnosis [8-10]. However, parametric imaging is more demanding computationally and more sensitive to noise in dynamic PET data than the ROI-based kinetic modeling. Obtaining parametric images of high quality therefore raises new challenges that were not faced by conventional ROI-based methods [11].

1.2 Direct Reconstruction of Parametric Images

The typical procedure of parametric imaging is to reconstruct a sequence of emission images from the measured PET projection data first, and then to fit the TAC at each pixel to a linear or nonlinear kinetic model. To obtain an efficient estimate, the noise distribution of the reconstructed activity images should be modeled in the kinetic analysis. However, exact modeling of the noise distribution in PET images can be difficult because noise is spatially variant and object-dependent. Usually the spatial variation and correlations between pixels are simply ignored in the kinetic fitting step, which can lead to very noisy results.

Direct reconstruction has been developed to reduce noise amplification in parametric imaging. Direct reconstruction methods combine tracer kinetic modeling and emission image reconstruction into a single formula to estimate parametric images directly from the raw projection data [12, 13]. Because PET projection data are well-modeled as independent Poisson random variables, direct reconstruction allows accurate compensation of noise propagation from sinogram measurements to the kinetic fitting process. It has been shown that images reconstructed by direct reconstruction methods have better bias-variance characteristics than those obtained by indirect methods for both linear models [33, 34] and nonlinear kinetic models [25, 29].

One drawback of direct reconstruction of parametric images is that the optimization algorithms are more complex than indirect methods [12, 13], due to the intertwinement of the temporal and spatial correlations. In addition, when compartment models are used, the relationship between the kinetic parameters and PET data also becomes nonlinear. Therefore, the development of efficient optimization algorithms for direct reconstruction is of high significance.

1.3 A Brief History of Direct Reconstruction

The theory of direct reconstruction of parametric images was developed right after the publication of the maximum likelihood (ML) expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for static PET reconstruction [62]. In 1984, Snyder [14] presented an ML EM algorithm to estimate compartmental parameters from time-of-flight list-mode data. Carson and Lange [15] in 1985 presented an EM algorithm for maximum likelihood reconstruction of kinetic parameters from PET projection data. However, neither of these algorithms was validated using a realistic simulation or real data at the time, possibly due to the limitation of computing hardware.

In 1995, Limber et al [16] combined a least squares reconstruction with the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm [17] to estimate the parameters of a single exponential decay model from SPECT projection data. Separable nonlinear least squares were used by Huesman et al [18] in 1998 to estimate kinetic parameters of a one-tissue compartment model from 3D SPECT projection data. To reduce computation cost, several researchers also developed methods for direct estimation of kinetic parameters for ROIs instead of reconstruction of the whole parametric images, e.g. [18-22]. These algorithms are only efficient for a small-scale problem with a limited number of ROIs. When the number of unknown parameters goes beyond a few hundreds, both the LM algorithm used by Limber et al [16] and the separable nonlinear least squares used by Huesman et al [18] become inefficient.

The development of algorithms that are suitable for large-scale direct estimation began to attract more and more attention with the recent advances in computing technology. In 2005, a parametric iterative coordinate descent (PICD) algorithm was proposed by Kamasak et al [25] for penalized likelihood estimation of parametric images of a two-tissue compartment model. To our knowledge, this was the first demonstration of direct parametric reconstruction on a dense set of voxels. Yan et al [30] proposed a new EM algorithm for direct ML reconstruction of kinetic parameters of a one-tissue compartment model. Both Kamasak's PICD and Yan's EM algorithms are specific to their respective compartment models. To simplify practical implementation, Wang and Qi in 2008 proposed generalized optimization transfer algorithms for direct penalized likelihood reconstruction of parametric images that are applicable to a wide variety of kinetic models [28, 29]. The algorithms resemble the empirical iterative implementation of the indirect method that alternates between an image reconstruction update and kinetic fitting step (e.g., [26, 27]), but have the advantage of guaranteed monotonic convergence to the direct estimate. Later Wang and Qi [31, 32] also proposed an EM-based optimization transfer algorithm for direct penalized likelihood reconstruction that has faster convergence rate, especially at situations with low background events (randoms and scatters).

Direct reconstruction of parametric images for linear kinetic models has also been developed due to its computational efficiency. In 1997, Matthews et al [23] used the ML EM algorithm to estimate the parametric images of a set of linear temporal basis functions. Meikle et al [24] in 1998 presented a direct reconstruction for the spectral analysis model using the non-negative least squares method. Mathematically, direct reconstruction of linear parametric images is essentially the same as dynamic image reconstruction with overlapping temporal basis functions, such as B-splines [50]. To avoid pre-defined basis functions, Reader et al also proposed a method to estimate the linear coefficients and temporal basis functions simultaneously [53]. To obtain physiologically relevant kinetic parameters directly, Patlak model has been incorporated into direct reconstruction by defining two temporal basis functions as the blood input function and its integral [23]. In 2007, Wang et al [33] presented a maximum a posteriori (MAP) reconstruction of the Patlak parameters using a preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) algorithm. Tsoumpas et al [34] presented an ML EM algorithm for direct Patlak reconstruction. Li and Leahy [35], and Zhu et al [36] developed direct reconstruction of the Patlak parameters from list-mode data. Tang et al [37] used anatomical prior information to improve the Patlak reconstruction. Rahmim et al used the AB-EM algorithm [70] to allow negative values in the direct estimation for a Patlak-like graphical analysis model [71]. It has been observed that the strong correlation between the two temporal basis functions in the Patlak model slows down the convergence speed of the direct reconstruction. A nested EM algorithm was developed by Wang and Qi [38] to improve the convergence rate of direct linear parametric reconstruction.

1.4 Aim of This Paper

In this paper we will provide an overview of the recent progress in the development of direct reconstruction algorithms. We will describe technical details of different algorithms and analyze their properties. Methods for direct reconstruction of linear and nonlinear parametric images as well as for joint estimation of parametric images and input function will be included. We expect the information in this review will provide useful guidance to readers for choosing a proper direct reconstruction method.

2 General Formulation of Direct Reconstruction

2.1 PET Data Model

A dynamic PET scan is often divided into multiple consecutive time frames, with each frame containing coincidence events recorded from the start of the frame till the end of the frame. The image intensity at pixel Theranostics inline graphic in time frame m, Theranostics inline graphic, is then given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (1) 

where Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic denote the start and end times of frame Theranostics inline graphic, respectively, and Theranostics inline graphic is the decay constant of the radiotracer. Theranostics inline graphicis the tracer concentration in pixel Theranostics inline graphic at time Theranostics inline graphic and is determined by a linear or nonlinear kinetic model with the parameter vector Theranostics inline graphic. Theranostics inline graphic is the total number of kinetic parameters for each pixel.

Dynamic PET measurements Theranostics inline graphic can be well modeled as a collection of independent Poisson random variables [39-42],

Theranostics inline graphic  (2) 

where Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are the indices of detector pairs and time frames, respectively, and Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are the total numbers of the detector pairs and of the time frames, respectively. The expected projection Theranostics inline graphic is related to the dynamic image Theranostics inline graphic)}, through an affine transform,

Theranostics inline graphic  (3) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (4) 

where Theranostics inline graphic, the Theranostics inline graphicth element of the system matrix Theranostics inline graphic, is the probability of detecting an event originated in pixel Theranostics inline graphic by detector pair Theranostics inline graphic, and Theranostics inline graphic is the expectation of scattered and random events at detector pair Theranostics inline graphic in the Theranostics inline graphicth frame. Theranostics inline graphicis the total number of image pixels.

Let Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic be the projection vectors and Theranostics inline graphic the image vector in frame Theranostics inline graphic. The forward model for time frame Theranostics inline graphic can be rewritten in a matrix-vector product form:

Theranostics inline graphic  (5) 

Let us define a matrix of kinetic parameters, Theranostics inline graphic, in which each column represents an image of a kinetic parameter. We use Theranostics inline graphic to denote its ordered vector. Similarly we also define the following matrices:

Theranostics inline graphic
Theranostics inline graphic
Theranostics inline graphic

and their ordered vectors are denoted by Theranostics inline graphicand Theranostics inline graphicrespectively. Then the expectation of the whole dynamic PET data can be expressed either by

Theranostics inline graphic  (6) 

or

Theranostics inline graphic  (7) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is a Theranostics inline graphic identity matrix and Theranostics inline graphic denotes the Kronecker product. Equation (6) is the form for practical implementation and equation (7) is more suitable for algorithm analysis.

2.2 Maximum Likelihood Reconstruction

The goal of direct reconstruction is to estimate Theranostics inline graphic from dynamic PET measurements. Let Theranostics inline graphic denote a set of dynamic PET measurements. Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are the matrix and the vector that are formed by Theranostics inline graphic in the same fashion as Theranostics inline graphicand Theranostics inline graphic, respectively. The log Poisson likelihood function of the dynamic PET data is

Theranostics inline graphic  (8) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (9) 

where a constant term is neglected and Theranostics inline graphic is defined by

Theranostics inline graphic  (10) 

Maximum likelihood (ML) reconstruction finds the solution by maximizing the log likelihood function,

Theranostics inline graphic  (11) 

where Theranostics inline graphic denotes the feasible set of the kinetic parameters Theranostics inline graphic (e.g. satisfying nonnegativity or box constraints). The resulting images from ML reconstruction at convergence are often very noisy because the tomography problem is ill-conditioned. In practice, the true ML solution is seldom being sought. Rather images are regularized either by early termination before convergence or using a penalty function or image prior to encourage spatial smoothness.

2.3 Penalized Likelihood Reconstruction

Penalized likelihood (PL) reconstruction (or equivalently maximum a posteriori, MAP) regularizes the solution by incorporating a roughness penalty in the objective function to encourage spatially smooth images. PL reconstruction finds the parametric image that maximizes the penalized likelihood function as

Theranostics inline graphic  (12) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is a smoothness penalty and Theranostics inline graphic is the regularization parameter that controls the tradeoff between the resolution and noise. If Theranostics inline graphic is too small, the reconstructed image approaches the ML estimate and becomes very noisy; if Theranostics inline graphic is too large, the reconstructed image becomes very smooth and useful information can be lost.

The smoothness penalty can be applied either on the kinetic parameters Theranostics inline graphic or on the dynamic image Theranostics inline graphic, depending on the application. A penalty applied on the dynamic images can be expressed by

Theranostics inline graphic  (13) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is a smoothness penalty given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (14) 

and Theranostics inline graphic is the potential function. Theranostics inline graphicdenotes the neighborhood of pixel Theranostics inline graphic; Theranostics inline graphic is the weighting factor equal to the inverse distance between pixels Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic. A typical neighborhood includes the eight nearest pixels in 2D and 26 nearest voxels in 3D.

The basic requirement of Theranostics inline graphic is that it is even and non-decreasing of Theranostics inline graphic. A common choice in PET image reconstruction is the quadratic function Theranostics inline graphic [42]. The disadvantage of the quadratic regularization is that it can over-smooth edges and small objects when a large Theranostics inline graphic is used. To preserve edges, non-quadratic penalty functions can be used. Examples includes the absolute value function Theranostics inline graphic, the Lange function Theranostics inline graphic [47], and other variations [45, 46]. Nonconvex penalty functions can also be used to even enhance edges, but they are much less popular because the resulting objective function may have multiple local optima.

3 Reconstruction of Parametric Images for Linear Kinetic Models

3.1 Linear Kinetic Models

One way to represent time activity curves is to use a set of linear temporal basis functions. The tracer concentration Theranostics inline graphic at time t can be described by,

Theranostics inline graphic  (15) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the total number of basis functions, Theranostics inline graphic is the Theranostics inline graphicth temporal basis function and Theranostics inline graphic is the coefficient to be estimated.

The temporal basis functions can be divided into two categories. The first category primarily focuses on efficient representation of time activity curves. Examples include B-splines [48-50] and wavelets [51], as well as those obtained from principal component analysis [52] or adaptively estimated from PET data [53]. One advantage of these basis functions is that they can represent a wide variety of time activity curves. A disadvantage is that the associated coefficients are not directly related to the kinetic parameters of physiological interest. Kinetic modeling is often required to estimate kinetic parameters from the TACs after reconstruction. In comparison, the second category to be described below provides linear coefficients that are directly related to the kinetic parameters of interest.

3.1.1 Spectral Analysis

In spectral analysis the basis functions are a set of pre-determined exponential functions convolved with the blood input function Theranostics inline graphic [54, 55],

Theranostics inline graphic  (16) 

where Theranostics inline graphic denotes the rate constant of the Theranostics inline graphicth spectrum and 'Theranostics inline graphic' represents the convolution operator. The exponential spectral bases are consistent with the compartmental models and the distribution volume (DV) of a reversible tracer can be directly computed from the spectral coefficients Theranostics inline graphic by

Theranostics inline graphic  (17) 

If the blood input function Theranostics inline graphic in (16) is replaced by a reference region TAC Theranostics inline graphic, the calculated quantity from the spectral coefficients then becomes the distribution volume ratio (DVR), which is related to binding potential (BP), a major parameter of interest in neuroreceptor studies, by

Theranostics inline graphic  (18) 

3.1.2 Patlak Model

The Patlak graphical method [56] is a linear technique which has been widely used in dynamic PET data analysis. For a tracer with an irreversible compartment, the time activity curve satisfies the following linear relationship at the steady state:

Theranostics inline graphic  (19) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the time for the tracer to reach steady state. The Patlak slope Theranostics inline graphic represents the overall influx rate of the tracer into the irreversible compartment and has found applications in many disease studies. For example, Theranostics inline graphic is proportional to the glucose metabolic rate in FDG scans. In some applications, the plasma input function Theranostics inline graphic can also be replaced by a reference region input function Theranostics inline graphic.

Equation (19) can be rewritten into the following linear model:

Theranostics inline graphic  (20) 

where Theranostics inline graphic and the two basis functions are

Theranostics inline graphic  (21) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (22) 

3.1.3 Logan Plot and Relative Equilibrium Plot

For reversible tracers, the Logan plot can be used to estimate distribution volume or binding potential [72]. The standard Logan plot equation is

Theranostics inline graphic  (23) 

However, the tissue activity curve Theranostics inline graphic is involved nonlinearly in the Logan plot (and also in the multilinear model by Ichise et al [73]), which makes direct reconstruction more difficult. Considering the fact that the ratio between the tissue time activity Theranostics inline graphic and plasma concentration Theranostics inline graphic remains constant at relative equilibrium, Zhou et al [74] proposed replacing Theranostics inline graphic in the denominators by Theranostics inline graphic. The model is referred to as the relative equilibrium (RE) model. After a slight rearrangement, we can write the RE model in the following form:

Theranostics inline graphic  (24) 

where the cumulative time activity Theranostics inline graphic is expressed as a linear combination of the same two basis functions as those in the Patlak plot.

To use the RE model, all the time frames should start from Theranostics inline graphic so that the reconstructed dynamic images represent the cumulative time activity Theranostics inline graphic. One consequence is that the projection data in different frames are no longer independent, so the likelihood function in (9) needs some modification to obtain a true ML estimate. In addition, the intercept Theranostics inline graphic in Eq. (24) is usually negative, which makes the classic EM algorithm not applicable to the resulting direct reconstruction.

Taking the derivative on both sides of (24), Zhou et al [75] presented an alternative form of the RE model,

Theranostics inline graphic  (25) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the first-order derivative of Theranostics inline graphic. One advantage of the modified RE model in (25) is that it does not involve the cumulative time activity. In addition, since both Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are negative, we can rewrite (25) in positive terms

Theranostics inline graphic  (26) 

with Theranostics inline graphic and the two basis functions

Theranostics inline graphic  (27) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (28) 

The model equation (26) is now suitable for direct reconstruction using the classic EM algorithm because the coefficient Theranostics inline graphic and the basis function Theranostics inline graphic are both nonnegative when Theranostics inline graphic. Note that Theranostics inline graphic can also be replaced by a reference region TAC Theranostics inline graphic to calculate DVR.

3.2 Forward Projection

With a linear kinetic model in (15), the dynamic PET images can be expressed in a matrix-vector product

Theranostics inline graphic  (29) 

or equivalently,

Theranostics inline graphic  (30) 

where the Theranostics inline graphicth element of the temporal basis matrix Theranostics inline graphicis given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (31) 

Substituting the above equations into Eq. (6), we get the following forward model for the linear kinetic model:

Theranostics inline graphic  (32) 

or equivalently,

Theranostics inline graphic  (33) 

3.3 Direct Reconstruction Using a Single System Matrix

By treating Theranostics inline graphic as a single system matrix Theranostics inline graphic, any existing algorithms for static PET reconstruction can be used for the direct estimation of nonnegative linear parametric images. For example, applying the ML EM algorithm [61-63], we get the following update equation for direct linear parametric image reconstruction [23]:

Theranostics inline graphic  (34) 

where the superscript Theranostics inline graphic denotes the Theranostics inline graphicth iteration and

Theranostics inline graphic  (35) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (36) 

Similar to static PET reconstruction, the convergence of the parametric EM algorithm can be very slow. Preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) algorithm and other accelerated algorithms [57, 58] can be used to achieve a faster convergence. One example of direct application of PCG to Patlak reconstruction can be found in [33]. When negative values are present in the parametric images, such as those in the original relative equilibrium model (24), the AB-EM algorithm can be used [71].

One disadvantage of direct reconstruction using a single system matrix is that the convergence can be extremely slow when the temporal basis functions are highly correlated as in the spectral analysis and Patlak model [12]. This is because the combination of the temporal correlation and high spatial dimension results in an ill-posed problem that is much worse than the static PET reconstruction. One way to solve this problem is to decouple the spatial image update and temporal parameter estimation at each iteration using the nested EM algorithm described below.

3.4 Nested EM Algorithm

The nested EM algorithm [38] at iteration Theranostics inline graphic first calculates an intermediate dynamic image Theranostics inline graphic by

Theranostics inline graphic  (37) 

and then updates the kinetic parameter estimate by another EM-like equation

Theranostics inline graphic , Theranostics inline graphic  (38) 

where Theranostics inline graphic, Theranostics inline graphic, and Theranostics inline graphic is the sub-iteration number in iteration Theranostics inline graphic. Each full iteration of the nested EM algorithm consists of one iteration of EM-like emission image update (37) and multiple iterations of kinetic parameter estimation (38).

The nested EM algorithm was derived by using the optimization transfer principle [60]. A surrogate function Theranostics inline graphic is constructed at each iteration,

Theranostics inline graphic  (39) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (40) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is given by (37). This surrogate function satisfies

Theranostics inline graphic  (41) 

Then the maximization of the original likelihood function Theranostics inline graphic is transferred into the maximization of the surrogate function Theranostics inline graphic that can be solved pixel-by-pixel,

Theranostics inline graphic  (42) 

Applying the EM algorithm to (42) results in the update equation in (38). The property of the surrogate function guarantees

Theranostics inline graphic  (43) 

and Theranostics inline graphic converges to the global solution.

It is easy to verify that the traditional EM algorithm in (34) is a special case of the nested EM algorithm with Theranostics inline graphic [38]. By running multiple iterations of (38) with Theranostics inline graphic, the nested EM algorithm can substantially accelerate the convergence rate of the direct reconstruction of linear parametric images without affecting the overall computational time as the size of matrix Theranostics inline graphic is much smaller than that of the system matrix Theranostics inline graphic. This is clearly demonstrated by a toy example shown in Fig. 1 [38]. Starting from the same initial image, the nested EM takes 6 iterations to converge to the true solution, while the traditional EM requires more than 60 iterations. The nested EM algorithm can be further accelerated by considering the nested EM algorithm as an implicit preconditioner and using conjugate directions [38].

 Figure 1 

Isocontours of the likelihood function of a toy problem and the trajectories of the iterates of the traditional EM Theranostics inline graphic and the nested EM Theranostics inline graphic. The nested EM takes 6 iterations to converge to the final solution, while the traditional EM requires more than 60 iterations. Reprinted from [38] with permission.

Theranostics Image

4 Reconstruction of Parametric Images for Compartment Models

4.1 Compartment Modeling

While linear models are advantageous for computational efficiency, nonlinear kinetic models based on compartment modeling are more related to the well-developed biochemical kinetics [5]. Under a compartment model, the total tracer concentration in tissue is

Theranostics inline graphic  (44) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the fractional volume of blood, Theranostics inline graphicis the whole blood concentration, and Theranostics inline graphic represents the concentration of the Theranostics inline graphicth tissue compartment. The compartment concentrations are related with each other by a set of ordinary differential equations [5, 7],

Theranostics inline graphic  (45) 

where Theranostics inline graphic, Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are the kinetic parameter matrices that are formed by the rate constants in Theranostics inline graphic, and Theranostics inline graphic denotes the system input.

Taking the Laplace transform of (45), we get

Theranostics inline graphic  (46) 

where Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic denote the Laplace transforms of Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic, respectively. Then solution of the differential equation (45) can be obtained by

Theranostics inline graphic  (47) 

where Theranostics inline graphic denotes the inverse Laplace transform.

For the commonly used two-tissue compartment model, we have

Theranostics inline graphic  (48) 

and

Theranostics inline graphic, Theranostics inline graphic  (49) 

with Theranostics inline graphic, where Theranostics inline graphic are the tracer rate constants, Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are the concentrations in the free and bound compartments, and Theranostics inline graphic is the tracer concentration in plasma. The analytical solution of Theranostics inline graphic is given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (50) 

where Theranostics inline graphic with Theranostics inline graphic, and “*” denotes the convolution operator.

4.2 Model-dependent Algorithms

4.2.1 PICD Algorithm

The parametric iterative coordinate descent (PICD) algorithm [25] was the first direct reconstruction algorithm implemented for a large-scale parametric reconstruction with a compartment model. It first transforms the rate constants in the compartment model into a set of auxiliary parameters and then estimates the auxiliary parameters directly from the sinogram data. For example, the TAC in a two-tissue-compartment model is rewritten as

Theranostics inline graphic  (51) 

where the auxiliary parameters are Theranostics inline graphic. Once the auxiliary parameters are estimated, the kinetic rate constants can be calculated by

Theranostics inline graphic  (52) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (53) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (54) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (55) 

To estimate the auxiliary parameters, a coordinate descent (CD) algorithm is used. The original log-likelihood function is approximated by its second-order Taylor expansion. At each iteration, the auxiliary parameters are updated by

Theranostics inline graphic  (56) 

where Theranostics inline graphic, Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic denote the gradient and Hessian of the negative log-likelihood function Theranostics inline graphic with respect to Theranostics inline graphic at Theranostics inline graphic and are given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (57) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (58) 

The first-order derivative Theranostics inline graphic and second-order derivative Theranostics inline graphic are respectively given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (59) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (60) 

The regularization term Theranostics inline graphic equals to Theranostics inline graphic with Theranostics inline graphic fixed at Theranostics inline graphic for all pixels other than pixel Theranostics inline graphic.

The PICD algorithm uses an iterative gradient descent algorithm to update the linear parameters in Theranostics inline graphic and an iterative golden section search to estimate the nonlinear components. To accelerate the convergence rate and reduce computational cost, the PICD algorithm updates the linear parameters more frequently than the nonlinear parameters.

The PICD algorithm is well suited for one- and two-tissue-compartment models. For kinetic models with more than two tissue compartments, however, the parameter transformation becomes too complicated.

4.2.2 PMOLAR-1T Algorithm

The PMOLAR-1T algorithm [30] is an EM algorithm for direct reconstruction of parametric images for the one-tissue compartment model. It is derived by introducing a new set of complete data that simultaneously decouples the pixel correlation as well as the temporal convolution. Here we introduce it using the optimization transfer framework.

First we note that the surrogate function in (40) is applicable to any kinetic models. For the one-tissue-compartment model, the tissue time activity curve can be described by

Theranostics inline graphic  (61) 

and we have

Theranostics inline graphic  (62) 

where Theranostics inline graphic. Here we approximate the convolution integral using the summation over Theranostics inline graphic uniformly sampled time points with Theranostics inline graphic being the time interval.

Applying the EM surrogate function to (40) one more time to decouple the temporal correlation, we can find the maximum of (40) iteratively by

Theranostics inline graphic  (63) 
Theranostics inline graphic

where Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic is given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (64) 

For the one-tissue compartment model with Theranostics inline graphic, the optimization in (63) has the following analytical solution:

Theranostics inline graphic  (65) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (66) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the inverse function of the function Theranostics inline graphic [30]

Theranostics inline graphic  (67) 

and can be calculated by a look-up table.

The original PMOLAR-1T algorithm [30] only uses one subiteration with Theranostics inline graphic. Based on our experience with the nest EM algorithm for linear models, we expect that the convergence rate of the PMOLAR-1T algorithm can be accelerated by using more than one subiterations Theranostics inline graphic.

4.3 Model-independent Algorithms

4.3.1 Iterative NLS Algorithms

Reader et al [26] proposed an iterative nonlinear least squares (NLS) algorithm for direct parametric image reconstruction. It iteratively applies the NLS kinetic fitting following an EM image update:

Theranostics inline graphic  (68) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the dynamic image given in (37). The weighting factor Theranostics inline graphic has to be chosen empirically. In [26] a uniform weight Theranostics inline graphic was used. Based on the fact that (40) resembles a Poisson log-likelihood function, Matthews et al [27] proposed the following nonuniform weighting factor

Theranostics inline graphic  (69) 

which substantially improved performance over the uniform weight.

However, neither the uniform nor the nonuniform weights provides any theoretical guarantee of convergence because the quadratic function in (68) is not a proper surrogate function. It has been observed that the uniform weight can result in non-monotonic changes in the likelihood function, although the results with the nonuniform weighting are reasonably good.

4.3.2 OT-SP Algorithm

To obtain a guaranteed convergence while maintaining the simplicity of the iterative NLS algorithm, Wang and Qi [29] proposed a quadratic surrogate function for the penalized likelihood function using optimization transfer (OT). The surrogate function of the log-likelihood is derived based on the fact that the second-order derivative of Theranostics inline graphic is a non-decreasing function of Theranostics inline graphic and is bounded when Theranostics inline graphic. The potential function Theranostics inline graphic in (14) also has a bounded, non-increasing second-order derivative of Theranostics inline graphic. Omitting the constants that are independent of Theranostics inline graphic, the surrogate function of the penalized likelihood is given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (70) 

where the optimum curvature Theranostics inline graphic is set to [43, 44]

Theranostics inline graphic  (71) 

with Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic is an intermediate dynamic sinogram at iteration Theranostics inline graphic,

Theranostics inline graphic  (72) 

The second term in (70) is the surrogate function for the penalty function and is given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (73) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the optimum curvature of the penalty function Theranostics inline graphic

Theranostics inline graphic  (74) 

For example Theranostics inline graphic for the quadratic penalty and Theranostics inline graphic for the nonquadratic Lange penalty.

With Theranostics inline graphic, the surrogate Theranostics inline graphic satisfies the following condition:

Theranostics inline graphic  (75) 

Hence it minorizes the original objective function Theranostics inline graphic.

The optimization of the quadratic surrogate function can be solved pixel-by-pixel in a coordinate descent (CD) fashion[29]. However, the OT-CD algorithm is difficult to parallelize because of the sequential update.

For simultaneous update, Wang and Qi further developed an OT-SP (optimization transfer using separable paraboloids) algorithm [29] that uses separable paraboloids to decouple the correlations between pixels in Theranostics inline graphic at each iteration. The overall surrogate function that minorizes the original objective function Theranostics inline graphic at iteration n is

Theranostics inline graphic  (76) 

where the weighting factor Theranostics inline graphic in the separable least squares is

Theranostics inline graphic  (77) 

with Theranostics inline graphic. The intermediate dynamic image Theranostics inline graphic is given by

Theranostics inline graphic  (78) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is the gradient of Theranostics inline graphic with respect to Theranostics inline graphic,

Theranostics inline graphic  (79) 

evaluated at Theranostics inline graphic.

Because Theranostics inline graphic is separable for pixels, maximization of Theranostics inline graphic is reduced to a pixel-wise least squares fitting optimization:

Theranostics inline graphic  (80) 

which can be solved by any existing nonlinear least squares methods (e.g. the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm).

In summary, each iteration of the OT-SP algorithm consists of two steps: an image update in (78) and a NLS fitting in (80). It has the simplicity of the iterative NLS algorithm, but guarantees a monotonic convergence with Theranostics inline graphic. Compared to the PICD and OT-CD algorithms, the OT-SP algorithm can be easily parallelized. A disadvantage of the OT-SP is that it requires the background to be positive for the quadratic surrogate function to work, so the convergence rate can be slow when the level of background events is low.

4.3.3 OT-EM Algorithm

The OT-EM (optimization transfer using the EM surrogate) was derived for direct reconstruction under low background levels [31, 32]. It combines the EM surrogate function in (40) for the log-likelihood function and a separable surrogate function for the penalty function. The overall surrogate function is

Theranostics inline graphic  (81) 

The optimization of the penalized likelihood function Theranostics inline graphic with respect to Theranostics inline graphic is transferred into the maximization of the surrogate function Theranostics inline graphic, which can be solved by the following small-scale pixel-wise optimization:

Theranostics inline graphic  (82) 

A modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was developed to solve this pixel-wise penalized likelihood fitting in [32].

The OT-EM guarantees a monotonic increase in the penalized likelihood Theranostics inline graphic following the optimization transfer properties of Theranostics inline graphic. It can be much faster than the OT-SP algorithm when the level of background events (scatters and randoms) is low.

5 Joint Reconstruction of Parametric Images and Input Function

In parametric image reconstruction, the blood input function Theranostics inline graphic is required to be known a priori. One standard method of measuring blood input is arterial blood sampling, which is invasive and technically challenging. An alternative to arterial sampling is to derive the input function from a blood region or a reference region in a reconstructed image [65]. When the region used for extraction of the input function is of small size, the image-derived input function (IDIF) can be less accurate due to partial volume and other effects. Joint estimation of the input function and parametric images can potentially improve the accuracy of the IDIF as well as the parametric images by fitting the input function and parametric image to the data simultaneously [64, 65].

5.1 General Formulation

Given a set of kinetic parameters, the time activity curve Theranostics inline graphic is a linear function of the input function u(t), which can be either the blood input function Theranostics inline graphic or a reference tissue function Theranostics inline graphic. Let Theranostics inline graphic denote the vector of parameters that defines the input function Theranostics inline graphic (e.g. the activity values at a set of time points). Then the joint estimation can be formulated as

Theranostics inline graphic  (83) 

where Theranostics inline graphic denotes the feasible set of Theranostics inline graphic and the penalized likelihood function Theranostics inline graphicdefined in (12) is rewritten here as an explicit function of Theranostics inline graphic.

The maximization in (83) can be solved by an alternating update algorithm (e.g. in [66, 69])

Theranostics inline graphic  (84) 

5.2 Joint Estimation without an Input Region

One method for joint estimation without an input region was presented by Reader et al [67]. The algorithm was developed for the linear spectral analysis model. It uses the EM algorithm to find the ML estimation of the input function and the linear coefficients from dynamic projection data. Here we introduce it using the optimization transfer principle and describe how to extend it to nonlinear kinetic models.

We use the EM surrogate function in (40) for the log-likelihood function Theranostics inline graphic. Here we rewrite it as an explicit function of the input parameters Theranostics inline graphic,

Theranostics inline graphic  (85) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (86) 

where Theranostics inline graphic is given by (37) and Theranostics inline graphic is the same as Theranostics inline graphic but as an explicit function of Theranostics inline graphic. Since Theranostics inline graphic is separable for pixels when v is given, the optimization (84) is transferred to

Theranostics inline graphic  (87) 
Theranostics inline graphic  (88) 

For a linear kinetic model, both above steps can be solved by the EM algorithm with multiple sub-iterations. When only one sub-iteration is used, it is equivalent to the algorithm in [67].

For compartment models, the optimization in (87) can be solved by the modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm given in [32]. The update of Theranostics inline graphic in (88) can still be solved by the EM algorithm.

5.3 Joint Estimation with an Input Region

One issue with the joint estimation without an input region is that there is an unknown scaling factor on Theranostics inline graphic and the linear coefficients in Theranostics inline graphic that cannot be determined. The problem can be solved if there is a region in the image that contains purely the input function. Let Theranostics inline graphic denote such a region. Then the image intensity at pixel Theranostics inline graphic in time frame Theranostics inline graphic is

Theranostics inline graphic  (89) 

The joint estimation then estimates the kinetic parameters at pixels outside Theranostics inline graphic and the time activity curve inside Theranostics inline graphic simultaneously.

Using the same paraboloidal surrogate functions for the OT-SP algorithm, the following algorithm can be obtained [68]:

Theranostics inline graphic  (90) 

where Theranostics inline graphic and Theranostics inline graphic are updated in an alternating fashion. Theranostics inline graphicfor Theranostics inline graphic is updated by the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The estimation of Theranostics inline graphic in ( (90) is a linear least squares problem that can be solved easily (e.g. by QR decomposition).

6 Examples

Here we show some simulation results to demonstrate the advantage of direct reconstruction over indirect reconstruction. We simulated a 60-minute F-FDG brain scan using a brain phantom that consisted of gray matter, white matter and a small tumor inside the white matter. The time activity curve of each region was generated using a two-tissue compartment model and an analytical blood input function. Figure 2 shows the Theranostics inline graphic images reconstructed by an indirect method and the OT-EM algorithm and Figure 3 shows the corresponding Theranostics inline graphic images. Clearly the direct reconstruction results have much less noise than the indirect reconstruction results while maintaining the same spatial resolution. The improvement is similar to those observed in other studies for both linear and compartment models [25, 29, 33].

 Figure 2 

The true and reconstructed Theranostics inline graphic images by the indirect and direct algorithms Theranostics inline graphic.

Theranostics Image
 Figure 3 

True and reconstructed Theranostics inline graphic images by the indirect and direct algorithms Theranostics inline graphic.

Theranostics Image

7 Conclusion

We have provided an overview of direct estimation algorithms for parametric image reconstruction from dynamic PET data. Because of the combination of tomographic reconstruction and kinetic modeling, direct reconstruction algorithms are more complicated than static image reconstruction. Different algorithms have been developed to balance the tradeoff between simplicity in implementation and fast convergence. We hope that the information in this paper can provide guidance to readers for choosing the proper direct reconstruction algorithm in real applications. In some situations, the choice is clear. For example, the nested EM algorithm should be preferred over the traditional EM algorithm for linear parametric image reconstruction because the former converges much faster while preserving the same simplicity in implementation. In other situations, the choice may be more dependent on the user. We note that as long as the algorithm guarantees global convergence, a simple algorithm can still reach the final solution, albeit with a large number of iterations. We expect that direct parametric image reconstruction will find more and more applications in dynamic PET studies and more novel algorithms will be developed in the future.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Will Hutchcroft for assistance in typesetting the manuscript.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering under grants R01EB000194 and RC4EB012836 and the Department of Energy under grant DE-SC0002294.

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

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Author contact

Corresponding address Corresponding author: qiedu.


Received 2013-1-24
Accepted 2013-8-4
Published 2013-11-20


Citation styles

APA
Wang, G., Qi, J. (2013). Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET. Theranostics, 3(10), 802-815. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.5130.

ACS
Wang, G.; Qi, J. Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET. Theranostics 2013, 3 (10), 802-815. DOI: 10.7150/thno.5130.

NLM
Wang G, Qi J. Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET. Theranostics 2013; 3(10):802-815. doi:10.7150/thno.5130. https://www.thno.org/v03p0802.htm

CSE
Wang G, Qi J. 2013. Direct Estimation of Kinetic Parametric Images for Dynamic PET. Theranostics. 3(10):802-815.

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