A Multidetector High-Resolution SPECT/CT Scanner with Continuous Scanning Capability

Small animal imaging has become an important tool in research of human biology and disease. These techniques include high-resolution ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), all of which have a role in answering biological questions in animal models. However, techniques such as MRI and CT primarily reveal information about the organism’s structure or anatomy.In comparison, radionuclide imaging methods such as PET and SPECT provide functional and physiological information. For this reason, several laboratories are developing methods to combine SPECT and CT (or PET and CT)in an integrated imaging device as a means of correlating structure and function to obtain a more complete assessment of the animals studied. Furthermore, the CT data inherently provide a map of attenuation coefficients that can be used to correct the correlated emission data for photon attenuation errors, with the goal of improving both the visual quality and the quantitative accuracy of the radionuclide image.

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