Download Summary/Abstract:

Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, First, Middle):
Kagan, Harris
Summary/Abstract:
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a readily used diagnostic tool in neurology, cardiology and oncology.
PET’s major strength is the ability to visualize and quantify metabolic processes. The challenge to developing
PET technology for imaging small laboratory animals with anatomical parody with humans is that of achieving
the necessary spatial resolution. The long-term objective of this investigation is to develop the techniques for
molecular imaging of small animals using PET that has sub-millimeter spatial resolution. Attaining submillimeter image resolution will allow visualization and quantification of the metabolic processes in cancer and
other diseases to reach unprecedented levels. Image resolution in PET systems has made enormous
progress in recent years. As PET systems progress they will eventually reach the image resolution limit
imposed by the positron range in tissue. The idea here is to reduce the positron range by embedding the PET
field of view in a large magnetic field. Our specific aim is to quantify the performance limits and the
performance changes of an imaging system as a function of magnetic field. The methods we will use to
achieve this aim involve constructing a 7T magnetic-field compatible high resolution slice-type prototype PET
device using silicon detectors; acquiring data in 0T and in 3T and 7T MRI magnetic fields with the same
imaging system; and quantifying the results of the images obtained in terms of noise-resolution trade-offs
under various acquisition scenarios and compare these results with predictions from simulations.
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 09/04, Reissued 4/2006)
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