Principles of tracer kinetic analysis.

This article described basic ideas and concepts that are related to the performance and analysis of dynamic tracer kinetic PET studies of brain. There are many aspects of these studies that require careful consideration, because there is always a compromise between accuracy and precision [101]. Important issues that were not discussed in this article include the appropriate use of anatomic information for the interpretation and analysis of the functional PET imaging data, ROI sampling, or parametric image generation; statistical analyses of ROI and parametric data; as well as steps involved in the evaluation of novel radiotracers and the identification of an analysis-of-choice or issues related to methodologic optimization. Fig. 5 is a summary diagram that links these ideas and provides a more complete picture of the multiple components that are involved in tracer kinetic PET imaging research.