MR-PET image coregistration for quantitation of striatal dopamine D₂ receptors

Purpose: Our goal was to assess the utility of MR-PET image coregistration to quantify dopamine D₂ receptors in striatum. Method: Twenty-nine normal subjects were investigated with PET and [¹¹C]raclopride and with MRI. D₂ receptors were quantified using the ratio of the distribution volume in striatum to that in cerebellum. Measures obtained using regions selected directly from the PET images were compared with those obtained from MR images and then projected to coregistered PET images. Results: There were no differences between measures selected from the PET images (3.9 ± 0.5) and those from the MR images (3.9 ± 0.65). The values for these two measures were significantly correlated and corresponded to r = 0.9, p < 0.0001. Conclusion: Regions of interest selected directly from PET images, where there is a large contrast between the region of interest and background, as for the case of dopamine D₂ ligands, are almost identical to those obtained from coregistered MR images.