Applications for Preclinical PET/MRI
Section snippets
Combined PET and MRI—Available Technology
Combining PET and MRI together in one device that can obtain both images simultaneously requires significant modification of one or both systems owing to the inherent nature of the technology used, which is mutually interfering.1, 2, 3 The high magnetic field of the MRI makes the use of traditional and established photomultiplier tube–based PET detectors virtually impossible, and the MRI does not tolerate the insertion of magnetic or large metallic parts inside the field of view (FOV), as it
Preclinical PET/MRI and Image Registration—Why 1 + 1 May Not Equal 2
There is often the argument that, except for the limited number of cases where simultaneous acquisition of PET and MRI is absolutely necessary, PET and MRI scans on separate stand-alone systems may be used to achieve experimental goals by proper postprocessing of the data. However, there may be valuable gains from simultaneous PET/MRI even for the simple case of registering PET and MRI data that should not be underestimated. In the case of separately acquired data sets, sophisticated methods
Preclinical PET/MRI—New Methods for a New Modality
Although a lot of experience in the field of dual-modality imaging was gained from other hybrid systems like PET/CT,37, 38, 39 PET/MRI has some new features as well as limitations, which require new methods and workflows to be established. In sharp contrast with PET/CT, most PET/MRI systems have the ability to acquire PET and MRI data at the same time because both FOVs are physically overlaid. This allows for new approaches and new techniques for acquisition of data that can take advantage of
Preclinical PET/MRI Applications in Tumor Imaging
A problem that often occurs in tumor imaging is that the biodistribution of the tracer in a tumor mass is not always homogeneous, especially at later stages of tumor progression when necrosis may be present.55, 56, 57 Confirmation and more detailed information about the microenvironment of the tumor are often interesting and important and usually are obtained by terminal ex vivo histology at the end of the experiment. To allow multiple time points to be investigated in the same animal,
Preclinical PET/MRI for Cardiac Applications
Another potential field for application of combined PET/MRI systems is in cardiovascular research. Here, FDG PET may be used to assess the viability of the heart muscle, and 82Rb PET can assess perfusion, whereas MRI can be used to accurately measure vital parameters such as stroke volume. Because the heart muscle is moving during the acquisition, this leads to blurring of the image data if the acquisition is not synchronized with the heartbeat of the subject. Incorporating information about
Preclinical PET/MRI for Neurological Applications
The highest expectations for the use of hybrid PET/MRI systems are probably for neurological applications, not only because of the exceptional contrast of MRI in the brain and because of MRI's ability to perform functional imaging in the brain (functional MRI) or to study connectivity using diffusion tensor imaging but also because PET has a wide range of applications (and accompanying radiotracers and radioligands) in the area of neurodegenerative diseases.69, 70, 71, 72, 73 Currently, in
Preclinical PET/MRI with a Clinical PET/MRI System
At the time of writing, preclinical simultaneous PET/MRI systems for small-animal imaging are only available at sites that have their own expert research groups working on developing the necessary PET detector technology and prototype systems. Thus, only a limited number of groups currently have access to this combined modality. However, there are many more research groups interested in using such technology for their own research. If collaboration with groups who can provide dedicated
Conclusions
The examples presented have shown that there is a broad range of applications for combined PET/MRI systems in the preclinical research field. A particular strength of combining PET and MRI in a single device is the good spatial coregistration that can be obtained as well as the ability to acquire data simultaneously. This not only can shorten examination times but also enables, for the first time, simultaneous measurement of dynamic processes and dual-modality assessment of the effect of
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2024, Journal of Neuroscience MethodsPreclinical PET and SPECT Instrumentation
2022, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging: Volume 1-4Achievement in active agent structures as a power tools in tumor angiogenesis imaging
2021, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Reviews on CancerCitation Excerpt :The latest development in the form of microPET or microPET/CT enables comparable in vivo assessments small animals, and humans, thus the exchange of knowledge between species is possible, which greatly facilitates the implementation of further studies. Previous tests experiments by using PET/MRI techniques have also confirmed the high probability of applying this type of solution, both at the clinical and pre-clinical stage of tumor angiogenesis visualization based on PET tracers: 18F-FDG, 68Ga-DOTATOC or 64Cu-DOTA, and MRI contrast agents: Gd-EOB-DTPA or Gd-DTPA [130–132]. For distant metastases, PET/CT is more effective in detection of lung metastases, while PET/MRI is better for liver and bone.
PET/MRI Hybrid Systems
2018, Seminars in Nuclear MedicineInnovations in Instrumentation for Positron Emission Tomography
2018, Seminars in Nuclear MedicineCitation Excerpt :Although a range of innovative and high-performance systems have been developed, the challenge is to build sufficient patient volumes (by demonstrating substantial clinical or research benefit) to justify the development of dedicated systems and support commercial viability of these products. There also has been a long history of using PET in preclinical research.9,22,23 There is significant overlap in the requirements for brain imaging in humans and nonhuman primates, and a significant industry has grown up around very compact PET systems for preclinical studies in rodents (Fig. 1D), typically aimed at evaluating the pharmacokinetics or treatment effects of new therapeutics, or in aiding the development of new radiotracers.