| Summary: | Imaging protocols for detection of breast cancer metastases to bone in clinical imaging have long been standardized, but to date small animal imaging still uses a variety of imaging modalities and protocols. Although imaging with modalities such as computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are commonly performed, there has been little investigation into the quantitative capability of each modality. The first part of this project investigated the ability to quantify bone volume changes using longitudinal CT scans of mice that were injected in the tibia with MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. CT images were acquired weekly for four weeks for both a treatment and a control group. Tibial volumes were calculated by applying a bone threshold to reconstructed images. Statistically significant differences were found between the untreated lesion and control limb volumes (p<0.0001) and between the treated and untreated lesion limb volumes (p<0.0001). For the second part of this project, a comparison of PET and SPECT for bone imaging using fluoride-18 and technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate, respectively, was performed based on protocols that delivered the same estimated absorbed radiation dose to bone. A same-day imaging protocol with PET, SPECT, and microCT was developed and implemented on three mice that had previously received a cardiac-injection of cancer cells. Visual inspection and quantitative analysis showed mixed results, implying further investigation is necessary to determine which modality is better suited for this application of bone imaging.
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