MR-assisted PET motion correction improves tumor-to-background and contrast-to-noise ratios in a phantom study with ground truth reference

Respiratory motion leads to signal blurring and reduced tumor-to-background (TBR) and contrast to noise (CNR) ratios. As a result, it can severely affect the detectability of lesions in PET imaging.^1,2 Simultaneous PET/MR imaging uniquely allows for MR assisted motion correction in PET imaging.³ In this study, we have demonstrated that the MR assisted PET motion correction significantly improves both tumor-to-background and contrast-to-noise ratios, leading to better lesion detection.