Statistical parametric mapping of hypoxic tissue identified by [18F]fluoromisonidazole and positron emission tomography following acute ischemic stroke

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) and the ligand [18F]fluoromisonidazole (18F-FMISO) have been used to image hypoxic tissue in the brain following acute stroke. Existing region of interest (ROI)-based methods of analysis are time consuming and operator-dependent. We describe and validate a method of statistical parametric mapping to identify regions of increased 18F-FMISO uptake. The 18F-FMISO PET images were transformed into a standardized coordinate space and intensity normalized. Then t statistic maps were created using a pooled estimate of variance. Statistical inference was based on the theory of Gaussian Random Fields. We examined the homogeneity of variance in normal subjects and the..