High Performance PET/CT Scanner

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Project Summary/Abstract This application seeks support from the ORIP High-End Instrumentation Grant program to purchase a high-performance PET/CT scanner to be used for basic/translational/clinical research at the MGH/HST Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. The proposed instrument – Siemens Biograph Vision Quadra – has a 1-meter long axial field of view and uses the latest generation PET detectors with excellent time-of-flight performance. The one order of magnitude higher sensitivity of the Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT would benefit existing and future projects by allowing investigators to: obtain higher quality PET images, reduce radiation exposure and/or imaging acquisition time, image longer time after radiotracer administration, perform simultaneous multi-organ dynamic acquisition, improve the PET data quantification, perform multi-tracer studies, increase the temporal resolution of the PET measurements, etc. These new opportunities will benefit the ongoing research projects of our multidisciplinary NIH-funded investigators from MGH and Greater Boston region. Furthermore, the substantially better PET performance combined with the high-performance CT will complement the capabilities of the conventional PET/MRI and MRI scanners installed at the Martinos Center and will foster opportunities for new projects and collaborations for projects ranging from cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases to oncological and non-oncological whole-body applications. The proposed purchase through this SIG is being supported by the MGH leadership, Radiology Department, and Martinos Center. This multi-level institutional support covers every aspect related to the upgrade and its future operations, including allocation of instrument space and assistance for installation, operational support in terms of system scheduling, accounting, and maintenance, and lastly but most significantly, a commitment of up to $7,500,000 to cover the gap between the NIH SIG award and the purchasing price for the upgrade, in addition to the committed fund of $150,000 from the MGH Executive Committee for Research towards the maintenance of the system. Following the installation, the Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT will be managed by the Martinos Center as a shared core, and made available to the broader research community, both within MGH and the Greater Boston region.