High resolution positron emission tomography (PET) insert systems for multimodality PET/magnetic resonance imaging

正电子发射 断层扫描(PET)是一种允许对组织进行非侵入性评估的成像方式 在临床和临床前环境中分子水平的功能 通过成像放射性标记示踪剂的生物分布。高潮 许多PET成像示踪剂的特异性导致图像几乎没有解剖结构 信息，使得很难将示踪剂摄取分配给特定的 并使图像的解释和分析复杂化。这个 这个问题的解决方案是将正电子发射计算机断层扫描与解剖成像相结合 模式，最初是X射线计算机断层扫描(CT)，最近是磁学 磁共振(MR)成像。PET与MR的结合应用于临床前杂交 小动物的PET/MR成像可以通过使用 可插入现有高场磁共振系统的孔内的PET插入物 可以在上一个资金周期与MR同时运行，我们的 集团成功开发并部署了一种用于小动物的插入物 使用新型MR兼容硅光电探测器和多层膜的PET/MR成像 在紧凑的环形直径内保持空间分辨率的闪烁体阵列 宠物系统。用于临床前成像的PET植入系统现在正在成为 商业化，包括基于我们的设计，通过商业化 一家加拿大公司。 在这个应用程序中，我将在我们的 在小动物PET/MR的PET插入系统方面的专业知识实现我的Long 创建硬件和软件技术的术语目标 将PET插入物用作常规成像时，可使用混合PET/MR成像 临床前小动物研究和人类神经成像中的模式 申请。为了实现这一目标，我研究的短期目标 本提案中详细介绍的方案包括三个主题：i)算法和硬件 推动临床前PET/MR成像；ii)NEXT探测器的开发 新一代PET插入系统；以及iii)创造技术，以促进和 自动化小动物PET/MR成像。 这些研究目标创造了多学科 电气专业研究生和本科生的培训机会 工程学、生物医学工程和医学物理学。密切协作 与临床前动物成像中心的成像系统终端用户和 临床成像水平，与制造 成像系统，便于快速测试和部署新技术、集成 用户对修订的反馈，以及新设备的技术翻译路径。

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging modality that allows non-invasive assessment of tissue function at the molecular level in both clinical and preclinical settings through imaging the biodistribution of radioactively labelled tracers. The high specificity of many PET imaging tracers results in images with little anatomical information, making it difficult to assign the tracer uptake to specific tissues and complicating the interpretation and analysis of the images. The solution to this problem has been to integrate PET with an anatomical imaging modality, initially X-ray computed tomography (CT) and more recently, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Integration of PET with MR for preclinical hybrid PET/MR imaging of small animals can be efficiently accomplished through using a PET insert that fits within the bore of an existing high field MR system and can operate simultaneously with the MR. During the previous funding cycle, our group successfully developed and deployed such an insert for small animal PET/MR imaging using new MR compatible silicon photodetectors and a multi-layer scintillator array to preserve spatial resolution in the compact ring diameter PET system. PET insert systems for preclinical imaging are now becoming commercially available, including one based on our design commercialized through a Canadian company. In this application I will build on our expertise in PET insert systems for small animal PET/MR to achieve my long term objective of creating hardware and software technologies that enable the use of hybrid PET/MR imaging with PET inserts as a routine imaging modality in preclinical small animal research studies and in human neuroimaging application. To achieve this goal, the short term objectives of my research program detailed in this proposal cover three themes: i) algorithms and hardware to advance preclinical PET/MR imaging; ii) detector development for next generation PET insert systems; and iii) creating technologies to facilitate and automate small animal PET/MR imaging. These research objectives create multi-disciplinary training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students from Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics. Close collaboration with both end users of imaging systems at the preclinical animal imaging and clinical imaging levels, together with industrial partners that manufacture imaging systems, facilitates rapid testing and deployment of new technologies, integration of user feedback for revisions and a path for technology translation of new devices.