Next generation Limited-Angle time-of-flight PET imager

Introduction

Over 2.7 million people in the EU were diagnosed with cancer in 2020, while 1.3 million people lost their lives to it. Cancer cases are predicted to increase by 24% by 2035, making it the leading cause of death in the EU.

Current Diagnostic Techniques

The current leading specific molecular imaging diagnostic technique sensitive to cancer is based on Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Due to the high implementation cost of PET, this high-sensitivity diagnostics is only available to less than 0.5% of the medical centers in the world. The critical component of the overall cost is the cost of PET scanners.

Project Vision

Our project proposes a radical vision to translate European breakthrough technological advances in Time-of-Flight PET detection to a revolutionary, fully modular, cost-accessible flexible family of devices. These devices are intended for applications ranging from standard PET centers to surgery, epilepsy clinics, intensive care units, and even emergency rooms, as well as in mobile units installed in vans.

Project Goals

The proposed PetVision project aims to develop a simple pilot demonstrator, a modular panel PET device with a coincidence timing resolution of about 75 ps FWHM. This resolution is close to the intrinsic timing limit of currently available PET scintillators.

Comparison with Current Standards

This resolution is several times better than the current gold standard of 214 ps FWHM achieved with the current clinical state-of-the-art device (Siemens Biograph Vision). With such excellent timing, the panel detectors can cover only a limited solid angle to reach the same sensitivity or improve the sensitivity in the case of a total-body imager.

Innovations and Impact

For the realization of the device, a package of breakthrough innovations in detector design, photo-sensor, and front-end electronics are planned. We expect that the proposed device will dramatically impact human health.