Discovery st4

The patients were required to fast at least 6 h prior to ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT examination, with injection of approximately 3.70-4.81 MBq/kg. Blood glucose was measured to ensure the level was below 6.8 mmol/L. After injection, patients were kept lying comfortably for an uptake period of 45-60 min. Before the examination, patients were asked to drink 500-800 mL water to distend the stomach and to accelerate renal tracer elimination. Scanning from head to thigh was performed using a PET/CT system (Discovery ST4, General Electric Healthcare, Waukesha, WI, United States). The protocol included an initial CT scan followed by PET data acquisition. The initial CT was performed with 120 kV, 100 mA and a slice thickness of 5 mm. PET data were obtained in a three-dimensional mode with an acquisition time of 2 min for each bed position (for a total of 6-8 bed positions). The CT-based attenuation-corrected PET images were reconstructed using an iterative algorithm. After completion of data acquisition, separate PET images, CT images and fused PET/CT data were available for review in coronal, sagittal and axial planes using the manufacturer’s review station (Xeleris, General Electric Healthcare).

All patients were required to fast for ≥6 h prior to the 60 min uptake period of ¹⁸F-FDG (3.70-4.81 mBq/kg). Blood glucose was measured using a finger blood test (CNGQFOC8, UltraVue; Johnson & Johnson, Shanghai, China) prior to the injection to ensure that levels were <6.8 mmol/l. Scanning was performed from head to thigh using a PET/CT system (Discovery ST4; GE Healthcare, Chicago, IL, USA). The protocol included an initial CT scan followed by PET acquisition. The initial CT was performed at 120 kV and 100 mA, and the slice thickness was 5 mm. PET data were obtained in three-dimensional mode with an acquisition time of 2 min for each bed, with between 6 and 8 bed positions being completed. PET images were reconstructed with attenuation correction calculated from co-registered CT images using ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) iterative algorithm (10 (link)). Following completion of acquisition, separate PET images, CT images and fused PET/CT data were available for review in coronal, sagittal and axial planes using an Xeleris review station (GE Healthcare) and PET volume computerized assisted reporting (PETVCAR) on an Advantage Workstation (version 4.6; GE Healthcare,) (11 (link)) was used to analyze results.