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

正电子发射 断层扫描 (PET) 是一种成像方式，可以对组织进行非侵入性评估 在临床和临床前环境中在分子水平上发挥作用 通过对放射性标记示踪剂的生物分布进行成像。高 许多 PET 成像示踪剂的特异性导致图像中的解剖学特征很少 信息，使得很难将示踪剂吸收分配给特定的 组织并使图像的解释和分析变得复杂。的 这个问题的解决方案是将 PET 与解剖成像相结合 模态，最初是 X 射线计算机断层扫描 (CT)，最近是磁力扫描 共振（MR）成像。 PET 与 MR 的整合用于临床前混合 小动物的 PET/MR 成像可以通过使用 PET 插入物适合现有高场 MR 系统的孔内，并且 可以与MR同时操作。在上一个融资周期中，我们 小组成功开发并部署了这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的 PET/MR 成像 闪烁体阵列可在紧凑的环直径中保持空间分辨率 PET系统。用于临床前成像的 PET 插入系统现已成为 商业上可用的，包括基于我们的设计的商业化产品 一家加拿大公司。 在此应用程序中，我将基于我们的 用于小动物 PET/MR 的 PET 插入系统的专业知识，以实现我的长期目标 创建硬件和软件技术的术语目标 允许使用带有 PET 插入物的混合 PET/MR 成像作为常规成像 临床前小动物研究和人类神经影像学的模式 应用程序。为了实现这个目标，我的研究的短期目标 该提案中详细介绍的程序涵盖三个主题：i) 算法和硬件 推进临床前 PET/MR 成像； ii) 下一步探测器开发 新一代 PET 嵌件系统； 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。密切合作 与临床前动物成像的成像系统的最终用户和 临床成像水平，与制造的工业合作伙伴一起 成像系统，促进新技术的快速测试和部署、集成 用户反馈的修订和新设备技术转化的路径。

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.