From X-ray astronomy to gamma scintigraphy: a high resolution gamma camera for medical imaging

目前的核成像设施使用位于成像部门的大型固定设备，这使得在床边、手术室、诊所或重症监护病房进行程序极其困难。这些？标准的？全身伽马相机通常只能分辨大于6毫米的物体，这限制了许多医疗应用的诊断能力。在过去的几年里，我们一直在开发基于最初为X射线天文学开发的新技术的伽马相机。最近，我们开发了一种新型的伽马相机，它可以提供高空间分辨率的成像，使大约1毫米的小物体能够清晰地被看到。在过去的10年里，核医学在手术室和重症监护病房中出现了许多应用。特别是，前哨淋巴结活检的概念已经被开发出来，以帮助确定癌症患者的最佳治疗方案。通过淋巴核素扫描进行前哨淋巴结成像已成为确定癌症分期的重要技术，特别是确定疾病是否已从原发肿瘤扩散到淋巴系统。许多英国医院正在评估前哨节点标测在一系列癌症中的敏感性。为了使手术成功，有必要在手术前识别前哨结节。我们的技术提供了一种低成本、高性能的前哨结节成像方法。我们的相机还将用于甲状腺和骨骼关节(膝盖、脚踝、肘部)等小器官的成像。我们的便携式设备将为患者和医疗团队提供多功能的医疗保健技术。这种相机将在临床上用于放射引导手术、前哨结节检测和成像小部分，如眼睛和甲状腺，还将在胃肠病学中找到应用。

Current nuclear imaging facilities use large fixed devices located in imaging departments making procedures at the bedside, in operating theatres, clinics or intensive care units extremely difficult. These ?standard? whole body gamma cameras can normally only resolve objects bigger than 6mm which limits there diagnosis capabilities for many medical applications.Over the last few years we have been developing gamma cameras based on new technology that was originally developed for X-ray astronomy. Recently we have developed a new type of gamma camera that offers high spatial resolution imaging, enabling small objects around ~ 1 mm be clearly seen.During the last 10 years a number of applications have emerged using nuclear medicine in operating theatres and intensive care units. In particular, the concept of sentinel node biopsy has been developed to help determine the best treatment for cancer patients. Sentinel node imaging via lymphoscintigraphy has become an important technique for determining the stage of cancer and, in particular, whether the disease has spread from the primary tumour to the lymphatic system. Many UK hospitals are assessing the sensitivity of sentinel node mapping in a range of cancers. For this procedure to be successful it is necessary to identify the sentinel node pre-operatively. Our technology offers the potential for a low-cost, high-performance method of imaging the sentinel node. Our camera would also be useful for the imaging of small organs such as the thyroid and skeletal joints (knees, ankles, elbows).Our portable device will offer healthcare benefits by providing patients and medical teams with versatile, point-of-care technology. Such cameras would be clinically useful for radio-guided surgery, sentinel node detection and imaging small parts such as the eye and thyroid and would also find applications in gastroenterology.