Design, modeling, and evaluation of a mammalian pet system using Monte Carlo simulation
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technique that utilizes the unique decay properties of radionuclides that emit positrons.
Dr. Mohammad Reza Ay
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technique that utilizes the unique decay properties of radionuclides that emit positrons. The availability of a
dedicated animal-based machine has the advantage of allowing positron emission tomography to be used for laboratory procedures at all times. Given the similarity of radiopharmaceutical distribution and metabolism between large mammals and humans, PET imaging of these animals offers several advantages. These include estimating radiation dose by examining the distribution of novel whole-body PET tracers, investigating the effects of novel central nervous system drugs on the brain, and investigating the occupancy of drugs at receptor systems in the brain or elsewhere in the body. Also, studying the metabolism of a tracer in these animals could provide important information for future human applications.
However, non-human mammals, due to their large size, are usually imaged in clinical PET scanners that have relatively poor spatial resolution compared to a small animal PET scanner. Since 2017, several PET scanners have been designed specifically for non-human mammals, which have been very useful in imaging these animals, especially in imaging their brains. The aim of this study is to investigate the various characteristics of NHP scanners and optimize the important features of these scanners.
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