Page 69 - ARNM-3-2

Advances in Radiotherapy &

Nuclear Medicine

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Renal function reconstruction and modeling in

dynamic scintigraphy

1
Faycal Kharfi * , Haithem Aloui 2 , and Rabie Benlabga 2
1 Laboratory of Dosing, Analysis, and Characterization with High Resolution, Department of Physics,
Faculty of Sciences, Ferhat Abbas University Setif 1, Setif, Setif, Algeria
2 Service of Nuclear Medicine, Babors Medical Clinic, Setif, Setif, Algeria

Abstract

Dynamic renal scintigraphy is a key imaging technique for assessing renal function
using time-activity curves (TACs), which represent radiotracer uptake and clearance.
TAC accuracy depends on the region of interest (ROI) selection and the modeling
approach used. This study aims to: (i) Reconstruct TACs manually using gray-level
values in scintigraphic images and compare them to machine-generated TACs using
key kinetic parameters (T , T , and the 30-min min/max ratio); and (ii) evaluate
max
1/2
the effectiveness of a one-compartment empirical mathematical model for TAC
fitting and its physiological relevance. Twelve clinical cases were analyzed, with TACs
reconstructed manually using a rectangular ROI selection method and compared
to those automatically generated by the scintigraphy machine. An empirical
mathematical fitting function was developed to improve TAC fitting. Manually
reconstructed TACs showed better dynamic behavior and physiological accuracy over
*Corresponding author: machine-generated TACs, particularly due to differences in ROI selection and signal
Faycal Kharfi
(kharfifaycal@univ-setif.dz) processing. Using gray-level values instead of raw radioactive counts enhanced the
depiction of kidney dynamics. The proposed mathematical model demonstrated a
Citation: Kharfi F, Aloui H, 2
Benlabga R. Renal function strong correlation (R close to 1) and low error metrics, confirming its suitability for
reconstruction and modeling renal function assessment. While a free-hand ROI selection may improve accuracy,
in dynamic scintigraphy. Adv the rectangular method gives valuable results for the considered cases. This study
Radiother Nucl Med. highlights the importance of ROI selection in TAC reconstruction and demonstrates
2025;3(2):61-72.
doi: 10.36922/ARNM025070008 how manual methods and mathematical modeling can enhance renal functional
assessment in clinical practice. Future work should validate these findings in larger
Received: February 15, 2025
datasets and assess the reproducibility of the proposed approach across different
Revised: March 14, 2025 patient populations and imaging systems.
Accepted: April 21, 2025
Published online: May 6, 2025 Keywords: Dynamic renal scintigraphy; Time-activity curve; Kinetic parameters;
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). Mathematical modeling; Renal function assessment
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, 1. Introduction
provided the original work is
properly cited. Dynamic renal scintigraphy is a diagnostic imaging technique used to assess the function
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and blood flow of the kidneys. It involves injecting a small amount of radioactive tracer,
Publishing remains neutral with usually technetium-99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid or technetium-99m
regard to jurisdictional claims in mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3), into the bloodstream. As the radioactive tracer
published maps and institutional
affiliations. circulates through the bloodstream, it is filtered by the kidneys and excreted into the

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 61 doi: 10.36922/ARNM025070008