PET scan depicting neurological fallout of COVID-19 wins image of the year

SNMMI image of the year
A: COVID-19-related spatial covariance pattern of cerebral glucose metabolism overlaid onto an MRI template. Voxels with negative region weights are color-coded in cool colors, and regions with positive region weights in hot colors. B: Association between the expression of COVID-19-related covariance pattern and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score adjusted for years of education. Each dot represents a patient. C: Results of a statistical parametric mapping analysis. Upper row shows regions that show significant increases of normalized FDG uptake in COVID-19 patients at six-month follow-up compared to the subacute stage. Bottom row depicts regions that still show significant decreases of normalized FDG uptake in COVID-19 patients at six-month follow-up compared to the age-matched control cohort at an exploratory statistical threshold. Photo: G Blazhenets et al., Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg.

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging selected the scan as the Henry N. Wanger Jr. Image of the Year during its annual meeting.

‘Super-resolution’ PET utilizes unwanted movements to bolster brain imaging

PET
Top row: same PET slice reconstructed with A) 2mm static OSEM, B) 1mm static OSEM, C) proposed SR method and D) corresponding CT slice (note that the CT image can be treated as a high-resolution reference). Middle row: zoom on region of interest for corresponding images. Bottom row: Line profiles for corresponding data. Photo: Y Chemli, et al., Gordon Center for Medical Imaging: Department of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Boston researchers combined molecular imaging with motion tracking and additional baseline scan data to produce high-quality exams.