Next Generation microCT

描述(申请人提供)：商业上可用的MicroCT(计算机断层扫描)系统不能满足对小动物成像的挑战性需求，而不仅仅是对良好空间分辨率的单一要求。具体地说，他们没有考虑到，与人类相比，老鼠的体积小了一千倍，同时心率也快了十倍，呼吸频率和循环时间也增加了。因此，目前可用的系统仅限于：(1)体内体积CT，主要用于与正电子发射断层扫描(PET)或单光子发射计算机断层扫描(SPECT)提供的解剖图像和功能图像的联合配准；或(2)体外高空间分辨率CT，具有足够的对比度分辨率用于标本成像。然而，这些商业系统都未能满足微型CT重要的临床前应用，这些应用需要改善组织对比度、降低剂量和加快采集时间，以允许在小动物身上采集动态图像并充分利用造影剂的使用。该项目的目标是开发下一代微型CT，用于药物开发和医学研究的临床前成像。该系统将在小鼠和大鼠体内提供临床质量的CT图像，性能规格经过优化，以适应当前医学研究最关键领域的苛刻要求。具体地说，该仪器将提供非常好的空间分辨率、超快的帧速度(&lt；1秒)和对对象的低辐射剂量。这将利用用于X射线采集的光子计数模式而不是标准电流积分模式来实现。该系统将能够提供总能量信息和能量储存，因此将提供“彩色CT(Tm)”能力，从而实现组织成分分析。为了实现这些进步，该系统将配备先进的CdTe固态探测器，并与用于信号处理的高速集成电路相结合，以实现主要CT制造商使用的传统技术目前无法实现的性能特征。在第二阶段，将开发一种快速动态多层彩色CTTM扫描仪原型，在一个结合了非常快的X射线源的新型系统设计中采用多个探测器模块。这种新的模式一旦在微型CT市场上建立起来，无疑将转化为人体CT扫描仪，考虑到目前临床CT的研究数量，这个项目给医学成像领域带来的影响确实是巨大的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Commercially available microCT (computed tomography) systems have failed to meet the challenging demands for small animal imaging, beyond the single requirement for good spatial resolution. Specifically, they have failed to take into account that the thousand times smaller volume in mice, compared to humans, is also coupled with ten times faster heart rates, and increased respiratory rates and circulation times. Thus, the currently available systems have been limited to either: (1) in-vivo volume CT, which is primarily useful for co-registration of anatomical and with functional images provided by positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT); or (2) ex-vivo high spatial resolution CT, with sufficient contrast resolution for specimen imaging. However, these commercial systems have all failed to address the significant pre-clinical applications for micro-CT, which require improved tissue contrast, lower dose, and faster acquisition times to allow for dynamic images acquired in small animals and to take full advantage of the use of contrast agents. The goal of this project is to develop a next generation microCT for pre-clinical imaging for drug development and medical research. The system will be designed to provide clinical quality CT images in vivo in mice and rats, with performance specifications optimized to accommodate the demanding requirements of the most critical areas of current medical research. Specifically, the instrument will provide very good spatial resolution, ultra fast frame speeds (< 1 second), and low radiation dose to the subject. This will be achieved utilizing a photon counting mode for x-ray acquisition, instead of the standard current integration mode. The system will be capable of gross energy information and energy binning, and thus will provide "Color-CT(tm)" capability, allowing tissue compositional analysis. To accomplish these advances, the system will feature advanced CdTe solid state detectors, coupled to high speed integrated circuits for signal processing, to achieve performance characteristics not currently possible from conventional technologies used by the major CT manufacturers. In Phase-II, a fast dynamic multi-slice Color-CTTM scanner prototype will be developed, employing multiple detector modules in a novel system design incorporating a very fast x-ray source. This new modality, once established in the microCT marketplace, will undoubtedly translate into human CT scanners, and given the current study volumes of clinical CT, the impact that this project imparts to the field of medical imaging will indeed be dramatic.