[ad_1]
A new PET imaging technique uses head movements that typically cause problems in brain imaging to produce scans that can detect neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, in their early stages.
In a poster presented at the 2021 Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging annual meeting, researchers at the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging in Boston showed how combining PET with an external motion tracking device can produce images. very detailed cerebral lines. It’s a process called super-resolution, they said, and it could lead to faster diagnosis and treatment.
For more SNMMI 2021 coverage, click here.
Typically, unwanted patient movement during scanning degrades image quality. But, the team, led by Gordon Center candidate Yanis Chemli, PhD candidate, determined to focus on and measure those movements can actually improve resolution.
“This work shows that one can obtain PET images with a resolution that surpasses the resolution of the scanner by using, perhaps counterintuitively, the generally unwanted patient movements,” said Chemli. “Our technique not only compensates for the negative effects of head movement on PET image quality, but it also exploits the increased sampling information associated with imaging of moving targets to improve effective PET resolution. . “
For the study, the team performed experiments on moving ghosts and non-human primates on a PET scanner with an external motion tracker that continuously captured extremely precise measurements of head movements. They also performed static reference PET acquisitions without induced movements.
The researchers combined the data from the PET scanner and the external tracker, and they recovered PET images that had a significantly higher resolution than what the static reference scans were able to achieve.
Although this super-resolution technique has only been tested in preclinical environments, work is underway to extend it to human patients. Ultimately, Chemli said, the technique could have a significant impact on brain disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease.
“Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the presence of tangles composed of the tau protein. These tangles start to build up very early in Alzheimer’s disease – sometimes decades before symptoms – in very small areas of the brain, ”he said. “The better we can image these small structures in the brain, the sooner we can diagnose and, perhaps in the future, treat Alzheimer’s disease.
For more coverage based on knowledge and research from industry experts, subscribe to the electronic diagnostic imaging newsletter here.
.
[ad_2]
Pictures Credit