ISMRM-SNMMI Co-Provided Workshop on PET/MRI
The Blackstone, Autograph Collection, Chicago, IL, USA

Overview

This workshop will focus on both the technical aspects of positron emission tomography (PET) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as the clinical utility of PET/MRI. There will be sessions on technical developments such as novel MR attenuation correction techniques and approaches to motion correction.

In addition, sessions will be designed based on body parts for clinical and research applications (such as neurological, genitourinary, and gynecological). Other sessions will highlight radiotracers to demonstrate how non-FDG tracers can be leveraged in novel ways using PET/MRI. The workshop will feature a mixture of invited scientific presentations, proffered papers, a poster session, small group discussions, and a keynote lecture. We will additionally have numerous panel discussions to foster an interactive discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of PET/MRI. Finally, we will have a morning session on the practical aspects of setting up a PET/MRI practice, with presentations from various PET/MRI groups. Young Investigator awards will be presented to students or early-stage post-doctoral candidates or physicians selected from the oral paper presentations.

Target Audience

The workshop is designed for MRI and PET physicists (pre- and post-doctoral students) interested in PET/MRI; radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians using or interested in becoming involved with PET/MRI; and members of the ISMRM PET/MRI study group and the SNMMI PET/MRI Task Force.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Explain why attenuation correction is a challenge in PET/MRI and what various approaches are being developed to solve this problem;
• Discuss how MR can be used to aid in PET motion correction;
• Evaluate prior and ongoing efforts to quantify the arterial input function from PET/MR images; and
• Summarize how PET/MRI is used clinically and what are its near-term applications.