High-Resolution Preclinical Multimodal PET/SPECT/CT Nuclear Imaging System

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Nuclear imaging is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases. The emphasis of nuclear imaging is not anatomical but based on function. Radioactive tracers are designed to be actively taken up by a specific cell process to provide information of the physiological pathology of a disease. For example radioactive glucose is a sugar taken up by highly replicating cancer cells compared to normal cells allowing us to distinguish between benign and tumorous lesions. Nuclear imaging is broken down into two imaging disciplines; Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET), each have their own advantages for radioactive tracer development for identifying specific disease physiology. These three-dimensional imaging techniques are combined with computerized tomography (CT), a procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to create detailed pictures of the areas inside the body, for localization. In this application we request a highly sensitive multimodal PET/SPECT/CT system into which live mice can be placed. This equipment will allow us to follow radioactively labelled drugs, molecules, and cells to provide invaluable data on the function of organs in disease states and find new treatments for incurable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders and cancer.