Quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is employed with several measurement protocols all relying on the a priori determination of the input function (IF). The standard technique to determine IF is by blood sampling. However, a unique IF determined in a subject for a given PET study, either defined by sampling or in the images, and commonly utilized for all analyzed tissues in that study equally at rest and during interventions, is expected to provoke biases in the rate constants and in tissue blood volume. The determination of a specific IF at the site of the tissue to be analyzed enhances PET accuracy and renders PET imaging less invasive.
Keywords: Blood volume; Factor analysis; Image analysis; Independent component analysis; Input function; Kinetic modeling; PET imaging; Rate constants.