Enhancing 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging Accuracy: Early Detection and Correction of Extravasation Events in Oncological Patients

18F-FDG PET/CT imaging is crucial for studying oncological patients and their diagnoses through standardized uptake value (SUV) evaluation. During radiopharmaceutical injection, extravasation events can compromise SUV accuracy and potentially cause severe tissue damage. This study aims to propose a novel technique to monitor and manage these events, offering early evaluation and correction of estimated SUV values through an SUV correction coefficient.
A cohort of 70 patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT examinations was enrolled. Two portable detectors were secured on the patient's arms. The study introduces parameters such as ΔpinNOR and ΔRt, processed through OLINDA software, to assess extravasation. 
The proposed metrics effectively characterized extravasation events in the first few minutes after injection, enabling early SUV correction when necessary. The study suggests that the characterization of the dose-rate-time curve of the injection arm is sufficient for detecting extravasation events. 
Further validation of these hypotheses and key metrics is being evaluated on larger cohorts for a future retrospective study.