PET for Molecular Imaging of Small Animals

描述（由申请人提供）：小动物正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和单光子发射断层扫描（SPECT）在生物医学分子成像研究中的重要性怎么强调都不过分。在不牺牲小动物的情况下对它们进行成像的能力对于纵向研究具有重要的潜力。我们的机构在三年多前购买了一台Philips Mosaic PET扫描仪，这台扫描仪增强了托马斯杰斐逊大学几位研究人员的能力，使他们能够客观、定量地评估他们的假设，而不必牺牲肿瘤学、心脏病学和神经病学研究中的大量啮齿动物。然而，很明显，Mosaic PET扫描仪的低灵敏度（1.3%）和差的空间分辨率（2.2 mm）已经损害了研究者进行充分成像研究以获得有意义结论的能力。此外，我们已经认识到SPECT成像在小动物中补充PET的必要性。该提案涉及高分辨率（~1.0 mm）、高灵敏度（>10%）的最先进的小动物PET扫描仪，以增强我们现有的设施。我们之所以选择西门子Inveon 120扫描仪，是因为其高灵敏度、高分辨率和紧凑的设计主要是通过使用最先进的技术和LSO晶体来实现的。随着Inveon 120的上市，我们打算通过将Mosaic转换为高分辨率（< 1 mm）、高灵敏度（> 0.5%）的多针孔SPECT机器，为我们的研究人员带来最大的利益。我们将动物PET系统转换为SPECT扫描仪的能力不仅使我们的研究能力提高了几倍，而且还有望为分子成像研究人员提供一种新的工具。许多有用的正电子发射放射性核素，如64 Cu，124 I，68 Ga和18F，以及SPECT放射性核素，如99 mTc，111 In和123 I的商业可用性，允许我们制备许多用于分子成像的新型生物分子。受益于新的Inveon 120扫描仪的项目包括：神经退行性疾病中干细胞植入物的研究，乳腺癌中癌基因表达的研究，治疗阿尔茨海默病的新药的研究，心肌再生的研究，结直肠癌生物标志物的评估，以及前列腺癌和结直肠癌中癌基因的测量。与Kimmel癌症中心和Farber神经科学研究所的密切合作将随着该扫描仪的获得而大大加强。转化生物医学研究，即将实验室中的发现转化为临床诊断和治疗，在很大程度上依赖于分子成像。本申请中提出的小动物PET和SPECT扫描仪将使生物医学研究人员能够在各种疾病模型中进行非侵入性分子成像，并直接应用于临床人体研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The importance of small animal positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) in biomedical molecular imaging research cannot be over-emphasized. The ability to image small animals without sacrificing them has significant potential for longitudinal studies. Our institution acquired a Philips Mosaic PET scanner just over three years ago that has enhanced the ability of several researchers at Thomas Jefferson University to objectively and quantitatively evaluate their hypotheses without having to sacrifice scores of rodents in oncologic, cardiologic and neurologic investigations. However, it has become apparent that the low sensitivity (1.3%) and poor spatial resolution (2.2 mm) of the Mosaic PET scanner has compromised the investigators' ability to perform adequate imaging studies for meaningful conclusions. Further, we have recognized the necessity of SPECT imaging in small animals to complement PET. This proposal pertains to a high resolution (~1.0 mm), high sensitivity (>10%) state-of- the-art small animal PET scanner, to enhance our existing facility. We have chosen to request a Siemens Inveon 120 scanner because of its high sensitivity, high resolution, and compact design afforded primarily by the use of the state of the art technology and LSO crystals. With the availability of Inveon 120, we intend to maximize the benefit to our investigators, by converting the Mosaic into a high resolution (< 1 mm), high sensitivity (> 0.5%) multi-pinhole SPECT machine. Our ability to convert an animal PET system into a SPECT scanner not only enhances our research capability several-fold but also promises to provide a new tool for researchers in molecular imaging. The commercial availability of many useful positron emitting radionuclides, such as 64Cu, 124I, 68Ga and 18F, and SPECT radionuclides, such as 99mTc, 111In and 123I, permits us to prepare many novel biomolecules for molecular imaging. Projects benefiting from the new Inveon 120 scanner include; studies of stem cell implants in neurodegenerative disease, studies of oncogene expression in breast cancer, investigations of novel drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, studies of myocardial regeneration, evaluation of biomarkers for colorectal cancer, and measurement of oncogenes in prostate and colorectal cancers. Close collaborations with the Kimmel Cancer Center and the Farber Institute for Neurosciences will be enhanced considerably with the acquisition of this scanner. Translational biomedical research, in which discoveries made in the laboratory are translated to clinical diagnosis and treatment, relies heavily on molecular imaging. The proposed small animal PET and SPECT scanners in this application would enable biomedical researchers to perform non-invasive molecular imaging in a variety of disease models, with direct application to clinical human studies.