Analysis and correction of count rate reduction during simultaneous MR-PET measurements with the BrainPET scanner.

In hybrid magnetic resonance-positron emission tomography (MR-PET) studies with the Siemens 3T MR-BrainPET scanner an instantaneous reduction of the PET sensitivity was observed during execution of certain MR sequences. This interference was investigated in detail with custom-made as well as standard clinical MR sequences. The radio-frequency pulses, the switched gradient fields and the constant magnetic field were examined as the relevant parameters of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system as well as the air temperature within the PET detectors. Our investigation comprised the analysis of the analog PET signals, the total count rates, the geometric distribution of the count rate reduction within the BrainPET detector as well as reconstructed images. The fast switching magnetic field gradients were identified to distort the analog PET detector signals. The measured count rate reduction was found to be less than 3%, but only up to 2% in the case of echo planar imaging sequences, as applied in functional MRI. For clinical sequences routinely used in hybrid MR-BrainPET measurements, a correction method has been designed, implemented, and evaluated .