Development and Design of Next-Generation Head-Mounted Ambulatory Microdose Positron-Emission Tomography (AM-PET) System

Abstract

Several applications exist for a whole brain positron-emission tomography (PET) brain imager designed as a portable unit that can be worn on a patient’s head. Enabled by improvements in detector technology, a lightweight, high performance device would allow PET brain imaging in different environments and during behavioral tasks. Such a wearable system that allows the subjects to move their heads and walk—the Ambulatory Microdose PET (AM-PET)—is currently under development. This imager will be helpful for testing subjects performing selected activities such as gestures, virtual reality activities and walking. The need for this type of lightweight mobile device has led to the construction of a proof of concept portable head-worn unit that uses twelve silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) PET module sensors built into a small ring which fits around the head. This paper is focused on the engineering design of mechanical support aspects of the AM-PET project, both of the current device as well as of the coming next-generation devices. The goal of this work is to optimize design of the scanner and its mechanics to improve comfort for the subject by reducing the effect of weight, and to enable diversification of its applications amongst different research activities.

Design and Evaluation of LYSO/SiPM LIGHTENING PET Detector with DTI Sampling Method

“…Specifically, Xu et al [ 33 ] developed a time-of-flight (TOF) PET detector by multiplexing 64 fast outputs and 64 standard outputs into a few channels. Melroy et al [ 34 ] developed a head-mounted micro-dose PET brain imager by utilizing twelve SiPM PET modules. Ascenzo et al [ 35 ] built a proton therapy monitoring system based on PET that utilized plug and imaging (P&I) technology.…”

Imaging the Injured Lung

“…A positron emission tomography scanner is a large a ringshaped structure that contains the positron detectors, through which the patients moves as in a computed tomography scanner (they are often combined). Recently, smaller and portable devices have been developed but are limited to specific areas of the body 146 or for veterinarian use. 147 The cost of a positron emission tomography scan largely depends on the cost of the tracer and the length of the exam (can follow a metabolic pathway for several hours).…”

Development of Dedicated Brain PET Imaging Devices: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

“…This prototype was used for scanning phantoms and 4 human subjects, studies that allowed the investigators to explore the limits of the prototype (e.g., limited count rate performance) and, more importantly, its potential to image freely moving subjects. Several more concepts have been proposed to improve the PET performance, reduce the scanner weight, increase the subject comfort, and allow more mobility during the examination (28).…”