PET/MRI has entered the “Slope of Enlightenment” phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle, according to an editorial published in the November issue of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of North America.
Minerva Becker, MD, and Valentina Garibotto, MD, from the University Hospitals of Geneva in Switzerland, presented a special issue of the journal focusing on advances in PET/MRI imaging over the past 10 years. They noted that researchers are now adequately discussing the pros and cons of this approach, critically and using evidence-based methodologies.
“The initial hype is over and the PET/MRI imaging user community is now on the path to enlightenment,” they wrote.
Hybrid PET/MRI scanners were introduced to the clinical field in 2010. The approach combines molecular PET imaging data and functional anatomical data from MRI in a single patient exam and has raised high expectations early on. high in almost all clinical applications, the journal editors wrote.
The Gartner Hype CycleImage courtesy of Jeremykemp on English Wikipedia via CC BY-SA 3.0.
Not surprisingly, typical clinical indications for PET/MRI occurred in clinical areas in which PET and MRI were already commonly used as complementary modalities, they noted. Key examples include advanced cancer imaging in different organ systems and metabolic imaging to assess the viability of brain and heart tissues.
“The main technological advances relate to quantitative approaches which are of particular interest in academic settings, given that PET/MRI imaging has its place not only in clinical routine but also in research,” write the authors.
Despite its advantages, the impact of combined PET/MRI on patient care still remains difficult to measure and depends on clinical situations, they add.
Before PET/MRI enters the “Productivity Plateau” – the final phase of the hype cycle – its value must be weighed against the relatively high cost and examination time involved compared to separate acquisitions of each modality. Additionally, although using multiple biomarkers often makes PET/MRI diagnosis easier, it can also be very difficult, as the different parameters can be conflicting, according to the authors.
“Like many other technical innovations, hybrid PET/MRI imaging has followed Gartner’s hype cycle theory in which the trigger for innovation leads to a peak of inflated expectations, followed by a trough of disillusionment, and finally, a slope of enlightenment leading to a plateau of productivity,” they concluded.
Full article is available here.