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The ClearPET™ Neuro is the first full ring scanner within the Crystal Clear Collaboration (CCC). It consists of 80 detector modules allocated to 20 cassettes. LSO and LuYAP:Ce crystals in phoswich configuration in combination with position sensitive photomultiplier tubes are used to achieve high sensitivity and realize the acquisition of the depth of interaction (DOI) information. The complete system has been tested concerning the mechanical and electronical stability and interplay. Moreover, suitable corrections have been implemented into the reconstruction procedure to ensure high image quality. We present first results which show the successful operation of the ClearPET™ Neuro for artefact free and high resolution small animal imaging. Based on these results during the past few months the ClearPET™ Neuro System has been modified in order to optimize the performance.
We are developing an X-ray computed tomography (CT) system which will be combined with a high resolution animal PET system. This permits acquisition of both molecular and anatomical images in a single machine. In particular the CT will also be utilized for the quantification of the animal PET data by providing accurate data for attenuation correction. A first prototype has been built using a commercially available plane silicon diode detector. A cone-beam reconstruction provides the images using the Feldkamp algorithm. First measurements with this system have been performed on a mouse. It could be shown that the CT setup fulfils all demands for a high quality image of the skeleton of the mouse. It is also suited for soft tissue measurements. To improve contrast and resolution and to acquire the X-ray energy further development of the system, especially the use of semiconductor detectors and iterative reconstruction algorithms are planned.
This study has been performed to design the combination of the new ClearPET TM (ClearPET is a trademark of the Crystal Clear Collaboration), a small animal Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system, with a microComputed Tomography (microCT) scanner. The properties of different microCT systems have been determined by simulations based on GEANT4. We demonstrate the influence of the detector material and the X-ray spectrum on the obtained contrast. Four different detector materials (selenium, cadmium zinc telluride, cesium iodide and gadolinium oxysulfide) and two X-ray spectra (a molybdenum and a tungsten source) have been considered. The spectra have also been modified by aluminum filters of varying thickness. The contrast between different tissue types (water, air, brain, bone and fat) has been simulated by using a suitable phantom. The results indicate the possibility to improve the image contrast in microCT by an optimized combination of the X-ray source and detector material.
This study has been performed to design the combination of the new ClearPET (ClearPET is a trademark of the Crystal Clear Collaboration), a small animal positron emission tomography (PET) system, with a micro-computed tomography (microCT) scanner. The properties of different microCT systems have been determined by simulations based on GEANT4. We will demonstrate the influence of the detector material and the X-ray spectrum on the obtained contrast. Four different detector materials (selenium, cadmium zinc telluride, cesium iodide and gadolinium oxysulfide) and two X-ray spectra (a molybdenum and a tungsten source) have been considered. The spectra have also been modified by aluminum filters of varying thickness. The contrast between different tissue types (water, air, brain, bone and fat) has been simulated by using a suitable phantom. The results indicate the possibility to improve the image contrast in microCT by an optimized combination of the X-ray source and detector material.
Unravelling the factors determining the allocation of carbon to various plant organs is one of the great challenges of modern plant biology. Studying allocation under close to natural conditions requires non-invasive methods, which are now becoming available for measuring plants on a par with those developed for humans. By combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), we investigated three contrasting root/shoot systems growing in sand or soil, with respect to their structures, transport routes and the translocation dynamics of recently fixed photoassimilates labelled with the short-lived radioactive carbon isotope 11C. Storage organs of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and radish plants (Raphanus sativus) were assessed using MRI, providing images of the internal structures of the organs with high spatial resolution, and while species-specific transport sectoralities, properties of assimilate allocation and unloading characteristics were measured using PET. Growth and carbon allocation within complex root systems were monitored in maize plants (Zea mays), and the results may be used to identify factors affecting root growth in natural substrates or in competition with roots of other plants. MRI–PET co-registration opens the door for non-invasive analysis of plant structures and transport processes that may change in response to genomic, developmental or environmental challenges. It is our aim to make the methods applicable for quantitative analyses of plant traits in phenotyping as well as in understanding the dynamics of key processes that are essential to plant performance.
Following the success of PET/CT during the last decade and the recent increasing proliferation of SPECT/CT, another hybrid imaging instrument has been gaining more and more interest: MR-PET. First combined, simultaneous PET and MR studies carried out in small animals demonstrated the feasibility of the new approach. Concurrently, some prototypes of an MR-PET scanner for simultaneous human brain studies have been built, their performance is being tested and preliminary applications have already been shown. Through this pioneering work, it has become clear that advances in the detector design are necessary for further optimization.
Recently, the different issues related to the present state and future prospects of MR-PET were presented and discussed during an international 2-day workshop at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, held after, and in conjunction with, the 2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference in Dresden, Germany on October 27–28, 2008. The topics ranged from small animal MR-PET imaging to human MR-BrainPET imaging, new detector developments, challenges/opportunities for ultra-high field MR-PET imaging and considerations of possible future research and clinical applications. This report presents a critical summary of the contributions made to the workshop.
Within the Crystal Clear Collaboration four centres are developing 2nd generation high performance small animal PET scanners for different kinds of animals and medical applications. The first prototypes are PMT-based systems including depth of interaction (DOI) detection by using a phoswich layer of LSO and LuYAP. The aim of these simulation studies is to optimize sensitivity and spatial resolution of given designs, which vary in FOVs caused by different detector configurations (ring/octagon) and sizes. For this purpose the simulation tool GEANT3 (CERN) was used. The simulations have shown that all PMT designs with one-to-one coupling of crystals have a very nonlinear axial sensitivity profile. By shifting every other PMT 1/4 of a PMT length in axial direction the sampling of the FOVs became more homogeneous. At an energy threshold of 350keV the regression coefficient increases from 0.818 for the non-shifted to 0.993 for the shifted design. Simulations of a point source centred in the FOV (threshold: 350keV) resulted in sensitivities of 4.2% for a 4×20PMT (LSO/LuYAP a 10mm) and 3.8% for a 4×16PMT (LSO/LuYAP a 8mm) ring design. The 3D-MLEM reconstruction of a point source shows the enormous improvement of resolution using a crystal double layer with DOI (3.1mm at 40mm from CFOV) instead of a 20mm single layer (11.9mm).
Within the Crystal Clear Collaboration (CCC), four centers are developing second generation high performance small animal positron emission tomography (PET) scanners for different kinds of animals and medical applications. The first prototypes are photomultiplier tube (PMT)-based systems including depth of interaction (DOI) detection by using a phoswich layer of lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and lutetium yttrium aluminum perovskite (LuYAP). The aim of these simulation studies is to optimize sensitivity and spatial resolution of given designs, which vary in fields of view (FOVs) caused by different detector configurations (ring/octagon) and sizes. For this purpose the simulation tool GEANT3 (CERN, Geneva, Switzerland) was used.
The optimization of light output and energy resolution of scintillators is of special interest for the development of high resolution and high sensitivity PET. The aim of this work is to obtain statistically reliable results concerning optimal surface treatment of scintillation crystals and the selection of reflector material. For this purpose, raw, mechanically polished and etched LSO crystals (size 2×2×10 mm3) were combined with various reflector materials (Teflon tape, Teflon matrix, BaSO4) and exposed to a 22Na source. In order to ensure the statistical reliability of the results, groups of 10 LSO crystals each were measured for all combinations of surface treatment and reflector material. Using no reflector material the light output increased up to 551±35% by mechanical polishing the surface compared to 100±5% for raw crystals. Etching the surface increased the light output to 441±29%. The untreated crystals had an energy resolution of 24.6±4.0%. By mechanical polishing the surface it was possible to achieve an energy resolution of 13.2±0.8%, by etching of 14.8±0.7%. In combination with BaSO4 as reflector material the maximum increase of light output has been established to 932±57% for mechanically polished and 895±61% for etched crystals. The combination with BaSO4 also caused the best improvement of the energy resolution up to 11.6±0.2% for mechanically polished and 12.2±0.3% for etched crystals. Relating to the light output there was no significant statistical difference between the two surface treatments in combination with BaSO4. In contrast to this, the statistical results of the energy resolution have shown the combination of mechanical polishing and BaSO4 as the optimum.
The motion aftereffect is a perceptual phenomenon which has been extensively investigated both psychologically and physiologically. Neuroimaging techniques have recently demonstrated that area V5/MT is activated during the perception of this illusion. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis if a more broadly distributed network of brain regions subserves the motion aftereffect. To identify the neuronal structures involved in the perception of the motion aftereffect, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurements with positron emission tomography were performed in six normal volunteers. Data were analysed using SPM96. The motion-sensitive visual areas including area V5/MT were activated in both hemispheres. Additionally, the lateral parietal cortex bilaterally, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the left cerebellum showed significant increases in rCBF values during the experience of the waterfall illusion. In a further reference condition with identical attentional demand but no perception of a motion aftereffect elevated rCBF were found in these regions as well. In conclusion, our findings support the notion that the perceptual illusion of motion arises exclusively in the motion-sensitive visual area V5/MT. In addition, a more widespread network of brain regions including the prefrontal and parietal cortex is activated during the waterfall illusion which represents a non-motion aftereffect-specific subset of brain areas but is involved in more basic attentional processing and cognition.