Automated long axial field of view PET image processing and kinetic modelling with the TurBO toolbox
: Tuisku, Jouni; Palonen, Santeri; Kärpijoki, Henri; Latva-Rasku, Aino; Tuomola, Nelli; Harju, Harri; Nesterov, Sergey V.; Oikonen, Vesa; Iida, Hidehiro; Teuho, Jarmo; Han, Chunlei; Karjalainen, Tomi; Kirjavainen, Anna K.; Rajader, Johan; Klén, Riku; Nuutila, Pirjo; Knuuti, Juhani; Nummenmaa, Lauri
Publisher: Springer Nature
: 2026
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
: 1619-7070
: 1619-7089
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-026-07769-7
: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-026-07769-7
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/515592113
Purpose
Long axial field of view (LAFOV) PET imaging requires extensive automation due to the large number of target tissues. Therefore, we introduce an open-source analysis pipeline (TurBO, Turku total-BOdy) for automated preprocessing and kinetic modelling of LAFOV [15O]H2O and [18F]FDG PET data. TurBO enables efficient, reproducible quantification of tissue perfusion and metabolism at regional- and voxel-levels through automated co-registration, motion correction, CT-based region of interest (ROI) segmentation, image-derived input function (IDIF) extraction, and region-specific kinetic modelling.
MethodsThe pipeline was validated with Biograph Vision Quadra (Siemens Healthineers) LAFOV PET/CT data from 21 subjects scanned with [15O]H2O and 16 subjects scanned with [18F]FDG. Six CT-segmented ROIs (cortical brain gray matter, left iliopsoas muscle, right kidney cortex and medulla, pancreas, spleen and liver) were used to assess different levels of tissue perfusion and glucose metabolism.
ResultsModel fits showed high quality with consistent estimates at regional and voxel-levels (R2 > 0.83 for [15O]H2O, R2 > 0.99 for [18F]FDG). Manual and automated IDIFs were in concordance (R2 > 0.74 for [15O]H2O, and R2 > 0.78 for [18F]FDG) with minimal bias (< 4% and < 10%, respectively). Manual and CT-segmented ROIs showed strong agreement (R2 > 0.82 for [15O]H2O and R2 > 0.83 for [18F]FDG). Motion correction had little impact on estimates (R2 > 0.71 for [15O]H2O and R2 > 0.78 for [18F]FDG) compared with uncorrected data.
ConclusionThe TurBO pipeline provides fully automated and reliable quantification for LAFOV PET data. It substantially reduces manual workload and enables standardized, reproducible assessment of inter-organ perfusion and metabolism.
:
Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (including Turku University Central Hospital). This work was supported by the European Research Council (Advanced Grant #101141656 to Lauri Nummenmaa), Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, Finnish State Research Funding (VTR), Finnish Cultural Foundation, InFLAMES research flagship, Gyllenberg’s Stiftelse and Research Council of Finland (formerly Academy of Finland) academy research fellowship grant #360120 to Jarmo Teuho).