🧬 Tau PET Imaging Disease Staging Simulator

Tau PET Tracers — Binding Aggregated Tau Paired Helical Filaments

Placeholder: tau PET tracers selectively bind aggregated tau, not amyloid.

• 18F: Tracer class (Placeholder tracer family note)
• PHF-tau: Binding target (Placeholder target description)
• ~110 min: Half-life (Placeholder isotope property)
• Low–mod: Off-target binding (Placeholder specificity note)

Tracer chemistry and binding placeholder

Placeholder: describes tracer chemical structure and PHF affinity.

Placeholder: off-target binding to MAO-B and other sites.

Placeholder: pharmacokinetics and brain clearance timeline.

Regional Tracer Uptake Following the Braak Staging Sequence

Placeholder: tau spreads through the brain in a stereotyped regional sequence.

• Entorhinal: Braak I–II (Placeholder region note)
• Limbic: Braak III–IV (Placeholder region note)
• Neocortex: Braak V–VI (Placeholder region note)
• 6: Stages defined (Placeholder Braak scale note)

Regional progression placeholder

Placeholder: describes entorhinal-to-neocortical spread pattern.

Placeholder: correlation between PET signal and postmortem Braak stage.

Quantifying Regional Tau Burden with SUVR Metrics

Placeholder: SUVR quantifies tracer uptake relative to a reference region.

• Cerebellum: Reference region (Placeholder reference note)
• 1.0–3.0: SUVR range (Placeholder illustrative range)
• ~1.3: Positivity cutoff (Placeholder threshold note)
• 11: ROI count (Placeholder region atlas note)

SUVR quantification placeholder

Placeholder: explains SUVR calculation and composite ROI scoring.

Placeholder: partial volume correction considerations.

Assigning a Disease Stage from the Observed PET Pattern

Placeholder: composite regional pattern maps onto a Braak-equivalent stage.

• Pattern match: Staging method (Placeholder algorithm note)
• Moderate–high: Concordance vs autopsy (Placeholder validation note)
• Limited: Early-stage sensitivity (Placeholder caveat)
• Stage I–VI: Output (Placeholder output format)

Automated staging placeholder

Placeholder: describes automated Braak-stage classification from PET.

Placeholder: sources of staging uncertainty and edge cases.

Using Tau PET Staging for Treatment and Trial Decisions

Placeholder: staging informs eligibility, monitoring, and treatment choices.

• Yes: Trial enrollment use (Placeholder eligibility note)
• Longitudinal: Treatment monitoring (Placeholder monitoring note)
• In development: Anti-tau therapies (Placeholder therapy note)
• High: Prognostic value (Placeholder prognosis note)

Clinical decision-making placeholder

Placeholder: describes how stage informs trial and treatment decisions.

Placeholder key insight: staging links imaging pattern to clinical action.