PET for Molecular Imaging of Small Animals

描述(申请人提供)：小动物正电子发射断层扫描(PET)和单光子发射断层扫描(SPECT)在生物医学分子成像研究中的重要性怎么强调都不为过。在不牺牲小动物的情况下对它们进行成像的能力在纵向研究中具有巨大的潜力。我们机构在三年多前购买了一台飞利浦马赛克PET扫描仪，这增强了托马斯·杰斐逊大学的几名研究人员的能力，使他们能够客观和定量地评估他们的假设，而不必在肿瘤学、心脏病学和神经学研究中牺牲大量啮齿动物。然而，很明显，马赛克PET扫描仪的低灵敏度(1.3%)和低空间分辨率(2.2毫米)已经影响了研究人员进行充分的成像研究以得出有意义的结论的能力。此外，我们已经认识到在小动物中进行SPECT成像以补充PET的必要性。这项建议涉及一种高分辨率(~1.0 mm)、高灵敏度(&gt；10%)的最先进的小动物PET扫描仪，以增强我们现有的设施。我们之所以选择购买西门子Inveon 120扫描仪，是因为它的高灵敏度、高分辨率和紧凑的设计主要得益于最先进的技术和LSO晶体的使用。随着Inveon 120的上市，我们打算通过将马赛克转换为高分辨率(&lt；1 mm)、高灵敏度(&gt；0.5%)多针孔SPECT机器，最大限度地为我们的研究人员带来好处。我们将动物PET系统转化为SPECT扫描仪的能力不仅将我们的研究能力提高了几倍，还有望为分子成像研究人员提供一种新的工具。随着64Cu、124I、68Ga和18F等正电子发射核素和99mTc、111In、123I等SPECT放射性核素的商品化，使我们能够制备出许多用于分子成像的新型生物分子。受益于新型Inveon 120扫描仪的项目包括：神经退行性疾病干细胞植入研究、乳腺癌癌基因表达研究、治疗阿尔茨海默病新药研究、心肌再生研究、结直肠癌生物标志物评估以及前列腺癌和结直肠癌癌基因测量。购买这种扫描仪将大大加强与基梅尔癌症中心和法伯神经科学研究所的密切合作。转化型生物医学研究在很大程度上依赖于分子成像，即将实验室发现转化为临床诊断和治疗。在这一应用中建议的小动物PET和SPECT扫描仪将使生物医学研究人员能够在各种疾病模型中进行非侵入性分子成像，并直接应用于临床人类研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The importance of small animal positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) in biomedical molecular imaging research cannot be over-emphasized. The ability to image small animals without sacrificing them has significant potential for longitudinal studies. Our institution acquired a Philips Mosaic PET scanner just over three years ago that has enhanced the ability of several researchers at Thomas Jefferson University to objectively and quantitatively evaluate their hypotheses without having to sacrifice scores of rodents in oncologic, cardiologic and neurologic investigations. However, it has become apparent that the low sensitivity (1.3%) and poor spatial resolution (2.2 mm) of the Mosaic PET scanner has compromised the investigators' ability to perform adequate imaging studies for meaningful conclusions. Further, we have recognized the necessity of SPECT imaging in small animals to complement PET. This proposal pertains to a high resolution (~1.0 mm), high sensitivity (>10%) state-of- the-art small animal PET scanner, to enhance our existing facility. We have chosen to request a Siemens Inveon 120 scanner because of its high sensitivity, high resolution, and compact design afforded primarily by the use of the state of the art technology and LSO crystals. With the availability of Inveon 120, we intend to maximize the benefit to our investigators, by converting the Mosaic into a high resolution (< 1 mm), high sensitivity (> 0.5%) multi-pinhole SPECT machine. Our ability to convert an animal PET system into a SPECT scanner not only enhances our research capability several-fold but also promises to provide a new tool for researchers in molecular imaging. The commercial availability of many useful positron emitting radionuclides, such as 64Cu, 124I, 68Ga and 18F, and SPECT radionuclides, such as 99mTc, 111In and 123I, permits us to prepare many novel biomolecules for molecular imaging. Projects benefiting from the new Inveon 120 scanner include; studies of stem cell implants in neurodegenerative disease, studies of oncogene expression in breast cancer, investigations of novel drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, studies of myocardial regeneration, evaluation of biomarkers for colorectal cancer, and measurement of oncogenes in prostate and colorectal cancers. Close collaborations with the Kimmel Cancer Center and the Farber Institute for Neurosciences will be enhanced considerably with the acquisition of this scanner. Translational biomedical research, in which discoveries made in the laboratory are translated to clinical diagnosis and treatment, relies heavily on molecular imaging. The proposed small animal PET and SPECT scanners in this application would enable biomedical researchers to perform non-invasive molecular imaging in a variety of disease models, with direct application to clinical human studies.