In this work, we determined the minimum number of detectable 111In-tropolone-labelled bone-marrow-derived stem cells from the maximum activity per cell which did not affect viability, proliferation and differentiation, and the minimum detectable activity (MDA) of 111In by SPECT. Canine bone marrow mesenchymal cells were isolated, cultured and expanded. A number of samples, each containing 5x10(6) cells, were labelled with 111In-tropolone from 0.1 to 18 MBq, and cell viability was measured afterwards for each sample for 2 weeks. To determine the MDA, the anthropomorphic torso phantom (DataSpectrum Corporation, Hillsborough, NC) was used. A point source of 202 kBq 111In was placed on the surface of the heart compartment, and the phantom and all compartments were then filled with water. Three 111In SPECT scans (duration: 16, 32 and 64 min; parameters: 128x128 matrix with 128 projections over 360 degrees) were acquired every three days until the 111In radioactivity decayed to undetectable quantities. 111In SPECT images were reconstructed using OSEM with and without background, scatter or attenuation corrections. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the reconstructed image was calculated, and MDA was set equal to the 111In activity corresponding to a CNR of 4. The cells had 100% viability when incubated with no more than 0.9 MBq of 111In (80% labelling efficiency), which corresponded to 0.14 Bq per cell. Background correction improved the detection limits for 111In-tropolone-labelled cells. The MDAs for 16, 32 and 64 min scans with background correction were observed to be 1.4 kBq, 700 Bq and 400 Bq, which implies that, in the case where the location of the transplantation is known and fixed, as few as 10,000, 5000 and 2900 cells respectively can be detected.

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The approach to include bones in MRI-based attenuation maps described in this work improves quantification of whole-body PET images in and around bony anatomy. The reduction in error is often large (tens of percents), and could alter image interpretation and subsequent patient care. Changes in other parts of the PET image are minimal and likely not of clinical significance.