Simplifying [(18)F]GE-179 PET: are both arterial blood sampling and 90-min acquisitions essential?

INTRODUCTION: The NMDA receptor radiotracer [(18)F]GE-179 has been used with 90-min scans and arterial plasma input functions. We explored whether (1) arterial blood sampling is avoidable and (2) shorter scans are feasible. METHODS: For 20 existing [(18)F]GE-179 datasets, we generated (1) standardised uptake values (SUVs) over eight intervals; (2) volume of distribution (V(T)) images using population-based input functions (PBIFs), scaled using one parent plasma sample; and (3) V(T) images using three shortened datasets, using the original parent plasma input functions (ppIFs). RESULTS: Correlations with the original ppIF-derived 90-min V(T)s increased for later interval SUVs (maximal ρ = 0.78; 80–90 min). They were strong for PBIF-derived V(T)s (ρ = 0.90), but between-subject coefficient of variation increased. Correlations were very strong for the 60/70/80-min original ppIF-derived V(T)s (ρ = 0.97–1.00), which suffered regionally variant negative bias. CONCLUSIONS: Where arterial blood sampling is available, reduction of scan duration to 60 min is feasible, but with negative bias. The performance of SUVs was more consistent across participants than PBIF-derived V(T)s. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13550-018-0396-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.