Development of expanded applications of NuPET

Cubresa Inc.通过一系列NSERC伙伴关系赠款提供资金，一直在与申请者合作开发临床前成像技术，这些技术利用硅光电倍增管(SiPM)进行正电子发射断层扫描(PET)成像，并将PET友好的射频(RF)线圈用于小动物的磁共振成像(MRI)。到目前为止，我们的合作对Cubresa成为市场上第一个推出基于SiPM的商业临床前PET产品起到了直接作用，当将该产品放置在配备有11.5 cm直径梯度的20 cm MRI磁体中时，可以同时提供PET和MR老鼠图像。鉴于这一成功，Cubresa现在希望扩大与申请者的研究伙伴关系。拟议的计划是一个双管齐下的项目，涉及A)开发技术，使PET图像能够与功能MRI图像同时提供大脑的分子图像，以及B)开发高分辨率MRI成像技术，以进一步提高PET图像的量化。在每一种情况下，这些技术的成功开发都是Cubresa整体产品应用开发路线图的关键，因为每一项都将展示科学上可信的结果，但更重要的是，从公司的角度来看，它们将展示同步PET/MRI的重要应用，这是一种必要的营销工具。Cubresa的目标是率先将一种商业临床前产品推向市场，展示同步PET/MRI的显著优势。这一合作关系将使该实验室继续增长其在该领域的专业知识和能力，同时提供与工业市场相关的成像研究方面的HQP培训。

Funded through a series of NSERC partnership grants, Cubresa Inc. have been working with the applicants to develop technologies for pre-clinical imaging that utilize Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and PET friendly radiofrequency (RF) coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of small animals. To date, our collaboration has played a direct role in Cubresa being the first to market with a commercial SiPM-based pre-clinical PET product which when placed inside a 20cm MRI magnet equipped with an 11.5 cm diameter gradient can provide both PET and MR rat images simultaneously. Given this success, Cubresa now wishes to expand its research partnership with the applicants. The proposed plan is a two pronged project that involves A) development of techniques which will allow PET images to provide molecular images of the brain simultaneously with functional MRI images and B) developing high resolution MRI imaging techniques to improve quantification of PET images further. In each case, success in developing these technologies is key to Cubresa's overall product application development roadmap because each will demonstrate scientifically credible results but more importantly from the company standpoint they will demonstrate important applications of simultaneous PET/MRI, a necessary marketing tool. Cubresa aims to be the first to market with a commercial pre-clinical product illustrating the significant advantages of simultaneous PET/MRI. This partnership will allow the lab to continue to grow its expertise and capacity in this field, while providing HQP training in imaging research that is relevant to the industrial market.