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Feasibility of Sequential PET/MRI Using a State-of-the-Art Small Animal PET and a 1 T Benchtop MRI

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Abstract

Purpose

Combined PET/MRI studies receive increasing attention, as their combination allows deeper insight into disease progression. We evaluated a novel 1 T benchtop MRI scanner (1T-MRI) for its use in sequential PET/MRI studies.

Procedures

Phantom studies were performed, addressing the attenuation caused by the MRI coils. For in vivo studies, PET/MRI data acquired with the 1T-MRI were compared with data using a conventional small animal high-field MRI (7T-MRI) in combination with the same PET scanner.

Results

Phantom and in vivo measurements show that the animal beds have no negative impact on the PET scanner performance compared to the 7T-MRI animal bed. Representative images of various animal studies are shown, indicating a wide field for sequential PET-benchtop MRI applications.

Conclusion

Phantom and in vivo data indicate that sequential PET/MRI studies with this novel setup are comparable to sequential PET/MRI studies using a 7T-MRI in combination with a dedicated PET scanner.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) (MoBiMed, grant 01EZ0810), by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (SFB 685, SFB 773, INST 2388/21-1 FUGG, and KFO 274), Innovative Medicine Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement 115001 (MARCAR), and by a grant from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden–Württemberg (Az:32-7462.1-UK/7/2).

We also acknowledge the support of Bruker BioSpin MRI GmbH, specifically to Dr. Oerther and Dr. Treiber. We also would like to thank Maren Koenig, Daniel Bukala, and Funda Cay for excellent technical support. [18F]FDG was kindly provided by the Radiopharmacy Tübingen, Anke Stahlschmidt.

Conflict of Interest Statement

We do not have any conflicts of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens-Foundation, Department of Preclinical Imaging and Radiopharmacy, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Röntgenweg 13, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Andreas Schmid, Jennifer Schmitz, Julia G. Mannheim, Florian C. Maier, Kerstin Fuchs, Hans F. Wehrl & Bernd J. Pichler

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  1. Andreas Schmid
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  2. Jennifer Schmitz
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  3. Julia G. Mannheim
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  4. Florian C. Maier
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  5. Kerstin Fuchs
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  6. Hans F. Wehrl
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  7. Bernd J. Pichler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernd J. Pichler.

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Schmid, A., Schmitz, J., Mannheim, J.G. et al. Feasibility of Sequential PET/MRI Using a State-of-the-Art Small Animal PET and a 1 T Benchtop MRI. Mol Imaging Biol 15, 155–165 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-012-0577-8

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