The standardized uptake value (SUV) formulas are used in positron emission tomography (PET) analysis. Radiotracer concentration can be measured for any area-based region of interest (ROI) such as circle, square, polygon, etc. The SUV formulas depend on certain attributes in the DICOM image without which SUV values cannot be calculated.

This application provides the following SUV types

Note
N/A will be displayed in the event that SUV calculations are not available (e.g. due to missing DICOM attributes).

Required DICOM Attributes

TagVRVMDescription
(0010,0040)CS1Patient’s Sex
(0010,1020)DS1Patient’s Size
(0010,1030)DS1Patient’s Weight
(0008,0021)DA1Series Date
(0008,0031)TM1Series Time
(0008,0022)DA1Acquisition Date
(0008,0032)TM1Acquisition Time
(0028,0051)CS1 - nCorrected Image
(0054,1102)CS1Decay Correction
(0054,1001)CS1Units
(0028,1052)DS1Rescale Intercept
(0028,1053)DS1Rescale Slope
TagTagVRVMDescription
(0054,0016)
SQ1Radiopharmaceutical Information Sequence

(0018,1074)DS1Radionuclide Total Dose

(0018,1078)DT1Radiopharmaceutical Start DateTime

(0018,1072)TM1Radiopharmaceutical Start Time

(0018,1075)DS1Radionuclide Half Life
TagVRVMDescription
(0009,100D)TM1Scan Time for GE (private tag)
(7053,1000)DS1SUV Scale Factor for Philips
(7053,1009)DS1Activity Concentration Scale Factor for Philips

SUV formulas

  1. Main Formulas

    • Body Weight (SUV bw)[1]
    • Body Surface Area (SUV bsa)[1]

      with calibration factor = (mCi/ml)/(counts/pixels/sec), and BSA (m2) = (weight in kg)0.425 x (height in cm)0.725 x 0.007184
    • Lean Body Mass (SUV lbm)[2]
      SUV lbm=decay-corrected tissue concentration(kilobecquerels/mL)/(injected dose per g of lean body mass)

  2. Factors

    • Body Surface Area (BSA)
      BSA (m2) = (weight in kg)0.425 x (height in cm)0.725 x 0.007184

    • Lean Body Mass (Male)
      lbm=1.10(weight in kg) − 120(weight in kg/height in cm)2

    • Lean Body Mass (Female)
      lbm=1.07(weight in kg) − 148(weight in kg/height in cm)2

Spherical ROI Tool

The Spherical ROI tool calculates SUV values based upon multiple slices (3D calculation) by considering all voxels within a sphere centered on the location where the tool is deployed. 

The peak value option of this tool calculates the average value of voxels within a second sphere that is centered on the voxel with the highest value in the spherical ROI (the SUVmax voxel). 

The Iso contours option identifies those pixels within the spherical ROI that are within a specified range.


[1]: Calculation of SUV bw and SUV bsa are according to Kim et al. "Standardized uptake values of FDG: body surface area correction is preferable to body weight correction", https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8271040/
[2]: Calculation of SUV lbm is according to Sugawara et al. "Reevaluation of the standardized uptake value for FDG: variations with body weight and methods for correction", https://doi.org/10.1148/radiology.213.2.r99nv37521
[3]: O Et. Al. "Practical PERCIST: A Simplified Guide to PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.0", https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2016142043