Monash DaCRA fPET-fMRI: A DAtaset for Comparison of Radiotracer Administration for high temporal resolution functional FDG-PET

Background: Functional [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-fPET) is a new approach for measuring glucose uptake in the human brain. The goal of FDG-fPET is to maintain a constant plasma supply of radioactive FDG in order to track, with high temporal resolution, the dynamic uptake of glucose during neuronal activity that occurs in response to a task or at rest. FDG-fPET has most often been applied in simultaneous BOLD-fMRI/FDG-fPET (blood oxygenation level dependent functional MRI fluorodeoxyglucose functional positron emission tomography) imaging. BOLD-fMRI/FDG-fPET provides the capability to image the two primary sources of energetic dynamics in the brain, the cerebrovascular haemodynamic response and cerebral glucose uptake. Findings: In this Data Note, we describe an open access dataset, Monash DaCRA fPET-fMRI, which contrasts three radiotracer administration protocols for FDG-fPET: bolus, constant infusion, and hybrid bolus/infusion. Participants (n=5 in each group) were randomly assigned to each radiotracer administration protocol and underwent simultaneous BOLD-fMRI/FDG-fPET scanning while viewing a flickering checkerboard. The Bolus group received the full FDG dose in a standard bolus administration; the Infusion group received the full FDG dose as a slow infusion over the duration of the scan, and the Bolus-Infusion group received 50% of the FDG dose as bolus and 50% as constant infusion. We validate the dataset by contrasting plasma radioactivity, grey matter mean uptake, and task-related activity in the visual cortex. Conclusions: The Monash DaCRA fPET-fMRI dataset provides significant re-use value for researchers interested in the comparison of signal dynamics in fPET, and its relationship with fMRI task-evoked activity.