Simultaneous PET-MR Small Animal Imaging

描述（由申请方提供）：同步PET-MR小动物成像主要研究者：Gerald Entine博士 摘要： 理想的生物成像系统将提供生命系统的非侵入性、高分辨率、高灵敏度、三维（3D）图像。正电子发射断层扫描（PET）通过使用靶向放射性标记探针对一系列生物过程提供高灵敏度。不幸的是，由于空间分辨率低和缺乏解剖信息，精确的信号定位可能非常困难。磁共振成像（MRI）可以提供高的空间分辨率和优异的软组织对比度，但是遭受导致低灵敏度的差的信号强度。所提出的努力的总体目标是将用于小动物研究的PET和MR模态的最佳特征联合收割机结合到一个单一的、非常高性能的成像仪器中，该成像仪器将同时记录两种成像模态中的数据。该集成系统最明显的好处是为小动物PET研究提供高分辨率的解剖背景。这将导致更好地全面了解PET信号的起源。“配准”MR图像可用于估计较低分辨率PET扫描中的部分体积误差，从而帮助PET信号的量化。为了实现这些目标，将设计和构建一个高分辨率、高灵敏度的PET系统，并首先在实验台上进行测试，然后在商业小动物MR成像系统内进行详细评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Simultaneous PET-MR Small Animal Imaging Principal Investigator: Dr. Gerald Entine, Ph.D. Abstract: The ideal biological imaging system would provide non-invasive, high-resolution, high-sensitivity, three-dimensional (3D) images of living systems. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) offers high sensitivity to a range of biological processes through the use of targeted radio labeled probes. Unfortunately, precise signal localization can be extremely difficult due to low spatial resolution and the lack of anatomical information. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can provide high spatial resolution and excellent soft tissue contrast, but suffers from poor signal strength leading to low sensitivity. The overall goal of the proposed effort is to combine the best features of PET and MR modalities for small animal studies into a single, very high performance imaging instrument that will record data in both imaging modalities simultaneously. The most obvious benefit of the integrated system will be to provide high-resolution anatomical context for small-animal PET studies. This will lead to better overall understanding of the origin of the PET signals. The 'in-register' MR images can be used to estimate partial volume errors in the lower-resolution PET scans, thus aiding quantification of the PET signal. To achieve these objectives, a high resolution, high sensitivity PET system will be designed and built and will be tested first on a bench, followed by detailed evaluation inside a commercial small animal MR imaging system.