Multimodality Imaging of Carotid Artery Plaques: 18F-FDG PET, CT, and MRI

Robert Kwee¹, Gerrit Teule, Robert van Oostenbrugge, Werner Mess, Martin Prins, Rob van der Geest², Paul Hofman, Jos van Engelshoven, Joachim Wildberger, Eline Kooi

The present study demonstrated that overall correlations between 18F-FDG PET findings and morphological and compositional CT/MRI findings of carotid plaques are weak. Correlations between CT and MRI findings are moderate-to-strong, but measurements of lipid-rich necrotic core and calcifications are significantly larger at CT, whereas measurements of fibrous tissue are significantly larger at MRI. There is also considerable variation in absolute differences between CT and MRI measurements, implying that CT and MRI are not interchangeable. Future prospective longitudinal studies should determine which imaging modality is most effective for risk stratifying patients for stroke.