Low-Dose Imaging in a New Preclinical Total-Body PET/CT Scanner

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Cesar Molinos¹  Stuart Berr²  Carlos Correcher¹  Ali Bahadur¹  Ali A. Attarwala¹  Simon Stark¹  Sven Junge¹  Uwe Himmelreich³  John O. Prior⁴  Kjell Laperre¹  Sonica Van Wyk¹  Todd Sasser¹  Michael Heidenreich¹  Phil Salmon¹  Willy Gsell³  David Viertl⁴  James C. Massey²  Krzysztof Mińczuk²  Jie Li²  Bijoy K. Kundu² 

[1] Bruker BioSpin;Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia, United States;MoSAIC;Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital

关键词: preclinical;    imaging;    PET;    CT;    low dose;    [ 18 F]FDG;    oncology;    total-body;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2019.00088

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Ionizing radiation constitutes a health risk to imaging scientists and study animals. Both PET and CT produce ionizing radiation. CT doses in pre-clinical in vivo imaging typically range from 50 to 1,000 mGy and biological effects in mice at this dose range have been previously described. [ 18 F]FDG body doses in mice have been estimated to be in the range of 100 mGy for [ 18 F]FDG. Yearly, the average whole body doses due to handling of activity by PET technologists are reported to be 3–8 mSv. A preclinical PET/CT system is presented with design features which make it suitable for small animal low-dose imaging. The CT subsystem uses a X-source power that is optimized for small animal imaging. The system design incorporates a spatial beam shaper coupled with a highly sensitive flat-panel detector and very fast acquisition (<10 s) which allows for whole body scans with doses as low as 3 mGy. The mouse total-body PET subsystem uses a detector architecture based on continuous crystals, coupled to SiPM arrays and a readout based in rows and columns. The PET field of view is 150 mm axial and 80 mm transaxial. The high solid-angle coverage of the sample and the use of continuous crystals achieve a sensitivity of 9% (NEMA) that can be leveraged for use of low tracer doses and/or performing rapid scans. The low-dose imaging capabilities of the total-body PET subsystem were tested with NEMA phantoms, in tumor models, a mouse bone metabolism scan and a rat heart dynamic scan. The CT imaging capabilities were tested in mice and in a low contrast phantom. The PET low-dose phantom and animal experiments provide evidence that image quality suitable for preclinical PET studies is achieved. Furthermore, CT image contrast using low dose scan settings was suitable as a reference for PET scans. Total-body mouse PET/CT studies could be completed with total doses of <10 mGy.

【 授权许可】

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