Ultralow Dose PET Imaging of 18F-FDG Uptake

Evaluation of Ultralow Dose PET Imaging for Detecting 18F-FDG Uptake

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate an investigational ultralow dose PET imaging technique for cancer detection and monitoring. The main question it aims to answer is: Can the investigators optimize the timing, scan duration, and image reconstruction to reduce the radiation dose 10-100 fold of the current clinical standard? Participants will be injected with a radioactive tracer called 18F-FDG and be imaged on a new type of high-sensitivity PET scanner for up to 3 hours.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer; Healthy Volunteer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: 18F-FDG

Detailed Description

This research study aims to evaluate an investigational ultralow dose PET imaging technique for cancer detection and monitoring. "Investigational" means that the procedure or drug being studied is not yet approved by the FDA for the specific use being tested in this research. The PET imaging technique used in this study is considered investigational because it is being tested at an ultralow radiation dose that has not yet been approved for clinical use. The radiotracer, 18F-FDG, is FDA-approved for detecting cancer at standard doses.

18F-FDG is often found to be taken up at higher levels in cancer. In this study, investigators will use a very small amount of this tracer (less than 1/20th of the standard dose) along with advanced PET imaging technology to see if it is possible to create clear images while using much less radiation. This study aims to develop a safer imaging technique that could potentially be used more frequently for screening and monitoring cancer.

Investigators will enroll individuals with and without cancer to evaluate how ultralow dose PET imaging detects 18F-FDG uptake in different types of tissue.

Approximately 200 people will be enrolled in this study at the Nuclear Imaging Institute.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Barbara Blanchfield; Phone Number: 973-255-4955; Email: bblanchfield@nii.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • Englewood, New Jersey, United States, 07631
      • Recruiting
      • Nuclear Imaging Institute
      • Contact: Barbara Blanchfield; Phone Number: 973-255-4955; Email: bblanchfield@nii.org

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age ≥18 years.
2. Ability to provide informed consent and comply with study procedures.

3. For female participants:

   • Must not be pregnant or breastfeeding.
   • Negative pregnancy test required for women of childbearing potential.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Participants who have exceeded NRC regulation for annual radiation exposure from prior research-related scans, including this study (50 mSv total).
2. More than four prior enrollments in this study.
3. Participants with severe claustrophobia, chronic pain, or musculoskeletal conditions that prevent completion of the PET scan
4. Medication & Prior Treatment Exclusions
5. Pregnant or breastfeeding individuals (negative pregnancy test required)
6. Inability to provide informed consent
7. Any condition that, in the investigator's judgment, may compromise participant safety or study integrity.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ultralow Dose 18F-FDG Imaging Group	Drug: 18F-FDG; Participants will be injected with 18F-FDG and imaged for up to 3 hours on a PET scanner; Other Names: PET scan; CT scan; blood collection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)	Measurement of signal-to-noise ratio for image quality assessment across different scan durations, reconstruction techniques, and AI-enhanced image reconstructions. Unit of Measure: SNR (unitless, numeric ratio)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR)	Measurement of contrast-to-noise ratio for image quality assessment across different scan durations, reconstruction techniques, and AI-enhanced image reconstructions. Unit of Measure: CNR (unitless, numeric ratio)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Coefficient of Variation (COV)	Measurement of the coefficient of variation in selected regions for evaluating image consistency across different scan durations, reconstruction techniques, and AI-enhanced image reconstructions. Unit of Measure: Percentage (%)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Spatial Resolution (Full Width at Half Maximum - FWHM)	Assessment of spatial resolution using full width at half maximum (FWHM) across different scan durations, reconstruction techniques, and AI-enhanced image reconstructions. Unit of Measure: Millimeters (mm)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Target-to-Background Ratio (TBR)	Assessment of target-to-background ratio for evaluating PSMA-expressing tissue contrast across different scan durations, reconstruction techniques, and AI-enhanced image reconstructions. Unit of Measure: Ratio (unitless numeric ratio)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Qualitative Image Quality Score (Likert Scale)	Independent qualitative evaluation of overall image quality, lesion detectability, image noise, and artifacts by nuclear medicine physicians, assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Unit of Measure: Score on Likert Scale (1-5; 1 = worst, 5 = best)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.
Inter-reader Agreement (Weighted Kappa Statistics)	Measurement of agreement among readers evaluating qualitative image quality scores, analyzed using weighted kappa statistics. Unit of Measure: Weighted kappa statistic (numeric value ranging from 0 to 1, 0 = no agreement, 1 = perfect agreement)	Evaluated annually (once per year), based on pooled images acquired during the preceding 12-month period.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Akiva Mintz

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 12, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2030

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 24, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 24, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): May 4, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 4, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 1, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Radiopharmaceuticals; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
• Other Study ID Numbers: NII-0002-FDG

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No