Practical Considerations for Total-Body PET Acquisition and Imaging

Abstract

The world’s first total-body PET/CT system has been in routine clinical and research use at UC Davis since 2019. The uEXPLORER total-body PET scanner has been designed with an axial field-of-view long enough to completely encompass most human subjects (194 cm or 76 inches long), allowing for a 15–68-fold gain in the PET signal collection efficiency over conventional PET scanners. A high-sensitivity PET scanner that can image the entire subject with a single bed position comes with new benefits and challenges to consider for efficient and practical use. In this chapter, we discuss the common clinical and research imaging protocols implemented at our institution, along with the appropriate technical and practical considerations of total-body PET imaging.