Supervised clustering for TSPO PET imaging

摘要: This technical note seeks to act as a practical guide for implementing supervised clustering algorithm (SVCA) reference region approach and explain the main strengths and limitations of technique in context 18-kilodalton translocator protein (TSPO) positron emission tomography (PET) studies experimental medicine. TSPO PET is most widely used imaging studying neuroinflammation in vivo humans. Quantifying with can be challenging invasive procedure, especially frail patients, because it often requires blood sampling from an arterial catheter. A alternative arterial SVCA, which identifies the voxels minimal specific binding images, thus extracting pseudo-reference region non-invasive quantification. Unlike other approaches, SVCA does not require specification an anatomical priori, alleviates the limitation contamination anatomically-defined regions individuals with underlying inflammatory processes. Furthermore, applied any TSPO PET tracer across different neurological neuropsychiatric conditions, providing noninvasivequantification expression. We provide overview development well step-by-step instructions for implementing suggestions settings. review literature on SVCAapplications using first- second- generation tracers discuss potential clinically relevant applications. The correct implementation robust reproducible estimates brain TSPO encourages standardisation methodology in TSPO analysis, ultimately aiming improve replicability comparability across study sites.