Speaker
Description
Overview: We report on ongoing research and development of versatile small footprint PET and SPECT imaging and dosimetry technology that shows great promise for diagnostic imaging and as high resolution insert cameras enhancing MRI scans. The employment of the depth of interaction (DoI) and time of flight (ToF) boosts the sensitivity and enables flat panel imaging that dramatically lower the cost of a diagnostic station. Flexible geometrical and detection designs provide a multi-modal platform that is configurable to a mobile clinical vehicle or a hospital room. The versatility of our family of instrument designs presents an unparalleled complete nuclear imaging diagnostics system that can fit various budgetary constraints in a broad range of clinical implementations.
Our technology: In partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center and three Portuguese institutions – PETsys Electronics, the University and LISP of Coimbra, and the University of Lisbon – we have designed, fabricated, and tested a novel in-beam PET scanner for brain imaging during proton therapy. The scanner employs state-of-the-art detector technology, including the PETsys’ ToF-enabled front-end electronics. The camera has demonstrated 200ps coincidence time resolution (CTR) and 2mm spatial resolution. This pilot system forms the technical foundation for our further developments.
Initial Scope: Our startup Onco Imaging LLC (OI) extends this technology by development of a double-ended readout to enable DoI measurements – critical for accurate localization of detected gamma rays. The ultimate technical goal is to design compact, economical imaging modules for both affordable clinical integration and research applications, creating unprecedented tools for radiation biomedical research, in clinics and in research labs.
DoI and ToF challenge: Achieving high-resolution PET imaging requires excellent DoI and ToF resolutions. ToF capabilities are already integrated into the PETsys electronics and are expected to improve with the adoption of their upcoming second-generation application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Robust active DoI measurement, on the other hand, requires collecting scintillation light at both ends of each crystal pixel. Simulations indicate that if DoI is known within 2–3mm, PET spatial resolution improves by about 30% in practical clinical geometries. OI and PETsys have discussed a preliminary concept for this double-ended readout, which now requires full implementation and testing. Although the concept is mechanically and electronically fairly straightforward, it must be carefully validated to ensure the desired performance.
Versatility: We enhance the capabilities of the first instrument realized as “ToF PET for Proton Therapy” executed by the US-Portugal consortium. A new double-ended readout, necessary for DoI, and gamma collimation extend the technology to enable prompt gamma imaging (PGI) using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) during the beam spill. Our instruments respond to wide-ranging needs not only in proton therapy or oncological imaging and dosimetry but also in neurological clinical diagnostics and in research.
The ultimate technical objective is to develop cost-effective imaging modules suitable for either clinical integration and research applications, or for a mobile clinic. We will present how these concepts have been validated so far and are now being implemented at a commercial level.
| Track | Deployment of Nuclear Medicine in LMICs: Enabling Technologies |
|---|---|
| Presentation type | Oral |