Page 78 - ARNM-3-2

Advances in Radiotherapy
& Nuclear Medicine Modeling renal TAC in dynamic scintigraphy

sensitivity to subtle physiological variations, reflected in the The findings of this study suggest that manual
closer alignment of manually derived kinetic parameters reconstruction and modeling of TACs could enhance
(e.g., T and T ) with expected renal physiology. 19 the diagnostic accuracy of dynamic renal scintigraphy,
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The comparative analysis of the kinetic parameters, particularly in complex or borderline cases. The ability
including T , T , and the 30-min min/max ratio, to extract more physiologically relevant parameters
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revealed small yet significant differences between manual could improve the detection of subtle renal dysfunctions
and automatic methods. For example, in all analyzed cases, and provide a more detailed assessment for treatment
planning. In clinical practice, this can be particularly
manual reconstruction resulted in slightly higher T advantageous in detecting early-stage renal dysfunction,
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values, reflecting a potentially more accurate depiction assessing post-transplant renal function, or identifying
of tracer dynamics. Similarly, the improved correlation subtle abnormalities that might be overlooked by machine-
factors (R and reduced χ values) for the mathematical generated TACs.
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fitting function indicate the robustness of the proposed
model in capturing physiological processes. 5. Conclusion
The proposed empirical mathematical model This study demonstrates the effectiveness of manual
demonstrated excellent accuracy in modeling TACs, as reconstruction and empirical modeling of TACs in dynamic
evidenced by high R and adjusted R values. Parameters renal scintigraphy. The manually established TACs provide
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such as Cs and αs, derived from the fitting function, provided more physiologically relevant insights compared to those
insights into the pathological status of the kidneys. This automatically generated by scintigraphy machines. By
adaptability of the model highlights its potential utility in leveraging gray-level data and a one-compartment model,
clinical and research settings, including the evaluation of the proposed approach achieved superior dynamic behavior
new radiopharmaceuticals and the investigation of renal and higher accuracy in extracting key kinetic parameters,
pathophysiology. such as T and T . The fitting function developed in this
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One notable limitation of this study is the dependency work proved robust, with excellent correlation coefficients
of manual TAC reconstruction on the ROI selection and goodness-of-fit metrics. These results highlight the
method. While the rectangular ROI selection method potential of manual TAC modeling in improving diagnostic
used here ensured consistency, a free-hand approach accuracy and exploring renal pathophysiology. Moreover,
may offer even greater accuracy by better conforming to the method offers a valuable framework for evaluating new
kidney shapes. Future studies should explore the impact radiopharmaceuticals and advancing clinical applications.
of different ROI selection methods on the accuracy of However, future work should address the limitations of
TACs and kinetic parameters. In addition, extending ROI selection methods and validate the findings across
this methodology to a larger cohort with diverse renal larger patient cohorts. Overall, this study advances the
pathologies could validate its generalizability and clinical understanding of renal function reconstruction and
applicability. If accuracy is prioritized, the free-hand ROI modeling, paving the path for enhanced clinical and
selection method is preferable. However, if standardization research applications in nuclear medicine.
and reproducibility are the main concerns, the rectangular Acknowledgments
ROI selection method may still be useful. The presented
comparison demonstrates how the choice of ROI selection None.
method can influence kinetic parameters in renal
scintigraphy. Funding
The proposed manual method offers an alternative None.
approach to TAC reconstruction by leveraging gray- Conflict of interest
level values rather than direct radioactive counting.
It involves several crucial steps, including image The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
acquisition, processing, ROI selection, data extraction,
and TAC reconstruction. While this method enhances Author contributions
dynamic accuracy, future studies could focus on Conceptualization: Faycal Kharfi
minimizing inter-operator variability and evaluating Investigation: All authors
its applicability across diverse renal conditions and Methodology: Faycal Kharfi
imaging systems to improve generalizability to complex Writing – original draft: Faycal Kharfi
cases and pathologies. Writing – review & editing: Faycal Kharfi

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 70 doi: 10.36922/ARNM025070008