Exact parameter identification in PET pharmacokinetic modeling: extension to the reversible two tissue compartment model

This paper addresses the problem of recovering tracer kinetic parameters from multi-region measurement data in quantitative PET imaging using the reversible two tissue compartment model. Its main result is an extension of our previous work on the irreversible two tissue compartment model. In analogy to our previous work, we show that also in the practically highly relevant reversible case, most tracer kinetic parameters can be uniquely identified from standard PET measurements without additional full blood sample analysis that is usually performed in practice, and under reasonable assumptions. In addition, unique identifiability of all parameters is shown, provided that additional measurements from the uncorrected total arterial blood tracer concentration are available. These can be obtained from standard PET measurements or from a simple blood sample analysis.