Patient motion is a major issue in nuclear medicine imaging studies, which require substantial time to acquire enough counts to produce clinical-quality images. Motion correction algorithms exist but have limited accuracy and effectiveness, and in many instances the only practical alternative is to re-scan the patient. Most work on patient motion sensing has focused on optical tracking systems mainly for brain PET studies. Although sub- millimeter accuracy has been attained in research laboratories, the cost, complexity, and line-of-sight requirement of external optical tracking systems have prevented their routine use in clinical nuclear medicine departments. There is an unmet clinical need for a practical and affordable patient motion sensing device for general nuclear medicine studies. A high level of accuracy is welcome but not critical. For example, merely being able to detect large shifts and rotations in real time during a scan would be helpful to a technologist deciding whether to re-scan a patient. Information on the timing and magnitude of patient motion also would be helpful during data processing and image interpretation. We therefore propose a novel low-cost patient motion sensor that, although not having the same level of accuracy as optical tracking systems, is expected to have sufficient performance to benefit nuclear medicine studies. In this research project we will perform a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of the motion sensing device in a clinical setting and to assess its impact to the technologist and physician. Based on the results of this pilot study, we envision developing and testing advanced versions of the device optimized for specific clinical applications.
We propose to evaluate the performance and potential impact of a novel patient motion sensing device for clinical nuclear medicine studies. Patient motion often limits image quality, and there is an unmet clinical need for a low-cost motion sensor that is practical for clinical nuclear medicine departments. The data from this pilot study will determine the feasibility of the device and will guide future research in technology improvements and clinical applications.
