State-of-the-Art Small Animal PET/CT Instrumentation

描述（由申请人提供）：最先进的小动物PET/CT仪器耶鲁大学PET中心该共享仪器提案的目标是通过收购最先进的小动物PET/CT扫描仪用于啮齿动物研究来扩展耶鲁正电子发射断层扫描（PET）中心的能力。PET成像提供了一种非侵入性的方法来检测和检查生物体内的生化过程和生理功能。通过使用特定的放射性标记分子、最先进的扫描设备和示踪剂动力学建模技术，可以在临床和临床前人群中评估各种生理功能的定量测量。PET在肿瘤学、心脏病学、神经科学、代谢紊乱、炎症、药物递送等领域具有广泛的应用。该提案的目标是利用耶鲁PET中心在放射化学和定量PET成像方面的专业知识，从我们现有的PET扫描仪中扩展PET/CT在啮齿动物研究中的应用，作为人类PET/CT研究的一部分。我们选择了建议PET/CT系统具有大的轴向视野，高灵敏度和分辨率，并包括测量光子相互作用的深度。当这些PET仪器特性与CT扫描仪相结合时，该系统可以为耶鲁大学研究人员的啮齿动物研究提供理想的特性。对于大多数小动物肿瘤学研究来说，联合PET/CT的需求是不言而喻的，这需要同时对肿瘤摄取进行解剖定位。在糖尿病中的工作需要组合PET/CT用于胰腺β细胞功能的测量，并且心血管研究需要组合PET/CT以将基于CT的解剖和功能测量与PET生理测量相关联。在使用新型放射性药物的研究中，对组合PET/CT的需要甚至更加重要，其中在没有高分辨率解剖数据的情况下不能执行新示踪剂的空间定位的解释。拟议的系统将支持NIH资助的研究人员在生物医学工程，心脏病，诊断放射学，内科，内科肿瘤学，妇产科，神经病学，精神病学和治疗放射学的部门。新型放射性药物和PET/CT成像的增强利用将导致更好地了解心脏病、癌症、代谢紊乱、神经精神疾病等所涉及的生化过程，这反过来将导致开发新的或改进的治疗这些疾病的方法。总之，这些应用在改善公众健康方面具有巨大潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): State-of-the-Art Small Animal PET/CT Instrumentation Yale University PET Center The goal of this shared instrumentation proposal is to expand the capabilities of the Yale Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Center by the acquisition of a state-of-the-art small animal PET/CT scanner for rodent research studies. PET imaging provides a non-invasive method to detect and examine biochemical processes and physiological functions in the living body. Through the use of specific radiolabeled molecules, state-of-the- art scanning equipment, and the techniques of tracer kinetic modeling, quantitative measurements of a wide range of physiological functions can be assessed in clinical and pre-clinical populations. PET has broad applications in the areas of oncology, cardiology, neurosciences, metabolic disorders, inflammation, drug delivery, and others. The goal of this proposal is to leverage the Yale PET Center's expertise in radiochemistry and quantitative PET imaging from our existing PET-only scanners and to expand the use of PET/CT in rodent research studies, as part of a translational arm to human PET/CT studies. We have chosen the proposed PET/CT system with large axial field-of-view, high sensitivity and resolution, and including measurement of photon depth of interaction. When these PET instrumentation characteristics are combined with a CT scanner, the system can provide ideal characteristics for rodent research studies of Yale investigators. The need for a combined PET/CT is self-evident for most small animal oncology research, which requires simultaneous anatomical localization of tumor uptake. Work in diabetes requires combined PET/CT for pancreas measurements of beta cell function, and cardiovascular studies require combined PET/CT to correlate CT- based anatomical and functional measures with PET physiological measurements. The need for combined PET/CT is of even greater importance in research studies using novel radiopharmaceuticals, where the interpretation of the spatial localization of a new tracer cannot be performed without high-resolution anatomical data. The proposed system will support NIH-funded investigators in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Cardiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Therapeutic Radiology. Enhanced utilization of novel radiopharmaceuticals and PET/CT imaging will lead to a better understanding of biochemical processes involved in cardiac disease, cancer, metabolic disorders, neuropsychiatric disorders, and others, which in turn will lead to the development of new or improved treatment for these diseases. Together, these applications hold tremendous potential to improve the health of the general public.