299
Novel
Parallax Free Sensor for Molecular Imaging--Radiation Monitoring Devices,
Inc., 44 Hunt Street, Watertown, MA 02472; 617-668-6800; www.rmdinc.com
Dr. Vivek Nagarkar, Principal
Investigator, VNagarkar@RMDInc.com
Dr. Gerald Entine, Business Official, NMarshall@RMDInc.com
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-07ER84903
Amount: $99,947
With the ever-increasing number of human disease models,
particularly in smaller animals, high resolution emission/transmission tomography techniques have become extremely important. The main barriers to using existing
modalities in studies of laboratory animals have traditionally been poor
spatial resolution, low sensitivity, and high cost. Although detector technologies have improved
significantly in recent years, current state-of-the-art scintillator
technology remains the primary performance limiting factor. To address these issues, this project will
develop a novel scintillator that will be coupled to
very high spatial resolution readout.
The scintillator design and fabrication will
minimize the loss of resolution arising from parallax errors (due to
depth-of-interaction effects within the scintillator),
while maintaining very high efficiency for the detection of incident
radiation. This combination of scintillator and readout, when coupled to a custom designed
collimator, will form a SPECT detector that can achieve extremely fine spatial
resolution and high sensitivity in a cost-effective manner. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of
the novel scintillators structure using specialized materials processing
techniques. To achieve high spatial resolution, while maintaining high
γ-ray absorption efficiency, a focused array of very fine scintillator elements will be formed. The resulting structure will be thoroughly
evaluated to determine its ability to provide sufficient resolution and
sensitivity for molecular imaging.
Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: A
detector with significantly improved resolution and sensitivity would be well
suited for the imaging of radiolabeled antibodies and
other substances that can be used to localize and characterize tumors in small
animals. It also would contribute to the
development of new radiolabeled agents for diagnosing
and treating diseases in humans. In
turn, the technology would enable the development of superior drugs and
technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of certain cancers, diseases of
the heart, and disorders of the circulatory system. Beyond medical imaging, the detector could
have widespread applications in industrial radiography, nondestructive
evaluations, homeland security, and other advanced imaging systems.