SMALL ANIMAL PET SCANNER

这份共享仪器拨款提案要求购买一台高分辨率、高灵敏度的正电子发射断层扫描（PET）扫描仪，用于对小动物体内正电子发射放射性示踪剂的分布进行成像。拟议的动物PET扫描仪将扩大和加强匹兹堡大学医学中心（UPMC）的基础和应用功能成像研究。该扫描仪名为MicroPET (Concorde Microsystems, Inc.)，能够进行定量动态PET成像，并且能够适应从小鼠到恒河猴头部大小不等的动物。MicroPET将位于UPMC PET设施，并由内部咨询委员会管理和指导，该委员会由本提案中引用的共同调查员和主要用户组成。购买专用动物PET扫描仪将有利于UPMC正在进行和开发的功能成像研究项目。这些好处将在三个主要领域实现。首先，改进的MicroPET系统的空间分辨率（约2.0 mm FWHM，而当前CTI/Siemens HR+扫描仪的FWHM约为4.5 mm）更适合小动物的PET成像，因为MicroPET系统对小结构的部分体积平均将大大减少。其次，MicroPET将促进UPMC PET设施正在开发的前瞻性放射性示踪剂的快速有效筛选和评估。使用MicroPET可以在每个动物实验中获得候选放射性示踪剂的完整动力学剖面，并且可以避免在昂贵或复杂的实验方案的不同阶段杀死动物的需要。此外，这些动物也可以作为连续挑战或介入性研究的自己的对照。第三，MicroPET扫描仪将扩大功能成像在基础科学研究中的作用，因为它将允许在人类受试者中进行不可能或过于侵入性的独特研究。这项研究将包括转基因小鼠的成像、荷瘤动物的治疗效果研究、大鼠的同时PET和微透析实验，或疾病动物模型（例如帕金森病）的研究。描述了13个不同的研究项目，这些项目将利用拟议的MicroPET高分辨率扫描仪并从其收购中受益。

This Shared Instrumentation Grant proposal requests funds to purchase a high resolution, high sensitivity positron emission tomography (PET) scanner dedicated to imaging the distribution of positron-emitting radiotracers in small animals. The proposed animal PET scanner will expand and enhance basic and applied functional imaging research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The proposed scanner, MicroPET (Concorde Microsystems, Inc.), is capable of quantitative dynamic PET imaging and can accommodate animals ranging in size from mice to the heads of rhesus monkeys. The MicroPET will be sited at the UPMC PET Facility and managed and directed by an Internal Advisory Committee made up of the co-investigators and major users cited in this proposal. The purchase of a dedicated animal PET scanner will benefit ongoing and developing functional imaging research programs at UPMC. There are three major areas in which these benefits will be realized. First, the improved spatial resolution of the MicroPET system (approximately 2.0 mm FWHM compared to approximately 4.5 mm for the current CTI/Siemens HR+ scanner) is more suitable for PET imaging of small animals, as partial volume averaging of small structures would be considerably less with the MicroPET system. Second, the MicroPET would facilitate a rapid and effective screening and evaluation of prospective radiotracers under development at the UPMC PET Facility. Use of MicroPET would make possible the acquisition of a complete kinetic profile of candidate radiotracers in each animal experiment and would obviate the need to kill animals at different stages of costly or complicated experimental protocols. In addition, the animals could be used as their own controls in serial challenge or interventional studies. Third, the MicroPET scanner will expand the role of functional imaging in basic science research, as it will allow unique research to be conduced which is impossible or too invasive to be conducted in human subjects. This research would include imaging of transgenic mice, studies of treatment efficacy in tumor-bearing animals, simultaneous PET and microdialysis experiments in rats, or studies of animal models of disease (e.g., Parkinson's disease). Thirteen different research projects that would utilize the proposed MicroPET high resolution scanner and benefit from its acquisition are described.