A Short Dynamic Scan Method of Measuring Bone Metabolic Flux Using [(18)F]NaF PET

[(18)F]NaF PET measurements of bone metabolic flux (K(i)) are conventionally obtained with 60-min dynamic scans analysed using the Hawkins model. However, long scan times make this method expensive and uncomfortable for subjects. Therefore, we evaluated and compared measurements of K(i) with shorter scan times analysed with fixed values of the Hawkins model rate constants. The scans were acquired in a trial in 30 postmenopausal women, half treated with teriparatide (TPT) and half untreated. Sixty-minute PET-CT scans of both hips were acquired at baseline and week 12 after injection with 180 MBq [(18)F]NaF. Scans were analysed using the Hawkins model by fitting bone time–activity curves at seven volumes of interest (VOIs) with a semi-population arterial input function. The model was re-run with fixed rate-constants for dynamic scan times from 0–12 min increasing in 4-min steps up to 0–60 min. Using the Hawkins model with fixed rate-constants, K(i) measurements with statistical power equivalent or superior to conventionally analysed 60-min dynamic scans were obtained with scan times as short as 12 min.