First Mediterranean Thematic Workshop on Advanced Molecular Brain Imaging with Compact High Performance MRI-Compatible PET and SPECT Imagers – Potential for a Paradigm Shift

Overview

	OVERVIEW
Motivations Molecular brain imaging, primarily PET in combination with CT, but also with MRI, has an important role in diagnosis of different brain conditions in cancer, stroke, dementia and mental diseases, as well as in behavioural research. Directing and monitoring therapy is another important field of application. The enabling very compact Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) technology is making possible now to build compact mobile and MRI-compatible PET brain imagers.  The novel structures can offer not only high resolution (down to 1mm) but, what is even much more important - higher sensitivity, due to compact geometry and large angular coverage, permitting substantial decrease of the injected dose per scan. Therefore, longitudinal studies of the same subjects with multiple low-dose injections, and potentially also inclusion of vulnerable patients such as children, becomes possible. The novel fast readout and data acquisition systems with Time of Flight (TOF) capability, ASIC technology, and powerful and fast limited-angle tomographic reconstruction algorithms complete the advanced technology package, enabling construction of practical - clinically viable -dedicated molecular brain imagers. In addition, the proposed magnifying SiPM-based inserts in the standard PET/CT scanners can potentially become the venue for quick introduction of high-resolution brain (and other organ) imaging into clinical practice.  The purpose of this two-part workshop, planned for August 30-September 2, 2012 in Giardini di Naxos, Sicily, Italy is to discuss the present - already identified - and the potential new applications in the field of molecular (PET and SPECT) brain imaging (cancer, dementia, behavioural, stroke, and other areas), and to review innovative instrumentation approaches applicable to the advanced brain (and head/neck) imaging. The symposium is intended as the meeting of instrumentation experts, neuroscientists, and clinicians. We plan introductory presentations delivered by medical experts in the field of brain imaging, including the subject of novel molecular imaging agents. The following part of the meeting will consist of the talks from speakers-rapporteurs who will provide critical reviews of the PET and SPECT instrumentation issues and discuss the potential solutions and approaches how to solve them, followed by the representatives of the few selected exemplary brain imaging projects. The major group of participants in the meeting will be the members of the imaging instrumentation community, but the most important participants will be the invited doctors who will be helping the imaging instrumentation experts to understand the real needs and requirements of the brain imaging apparatus to assist in the tasks of detecting, staging and monitoring brain diseases and functional conditions, as well as of the disease treatments. We will also have representatives of the companies producing dedicated brain imagers, as well as companies producing the detector components and subsystems for the novel compact molecular imagers (PET and SPECT).