Ultra-High Spatial Resolution Clinical Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Systems
Source abstract
Abstract
Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging modality for non-invasive visualization and quantification of molecular pathways in human diseases, with applications spanning clinical practice and biomedical research. Recent advances in PET system technology target ultra-high spatial resolution (<2 mm) to enhance diagnostic precision for early-stage disease detection and longitudinal monitoring. A key strategy involves organ-specific, or loco-regional, scanner configurations that optimize photon detection efficiency (PDE) while balancing the trade-off between spatial resolution and image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This study reviews innovations driving the development of next-generation clinical PET systems, including the following: (1) novel geometries tailored for anatomical regions such as the head/neck and breast, (2) high-performance detector materials and readout electronics, and (3) advanced image reconstruction algorithms. This paper emphasizes progress toward achieving ≤2 mm isotropic spatial resolution in clinical PET systems, and in particular focuses on describing a 1 mm3 resolution system dedicated to head-and-neck or breast cancer imaging that was developed in our laboratory.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications · Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies · Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Funding
The Stanford-Coulter Translational Research Program · The Emerson Collective Cancer Research Fund · National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NIH-NC)
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