Abstract
We propose a multi-pinhole fluorescent x-ray computed tomography (mp-FXCT) technique for preclinical molecular imaging that can provide the complete data necessary to produce 3-D tomographic images during anaesthesia. In this method, multiple projections are simultaneously acquired through a multi-pinhole collimator with a 2-D detector and full-field volumetric beam to accelerate the data acquisition process and enhance the signal-to-noise ratios of the projections. We constructed a 15-pinhole mp-FXCT imaging system at beamline ARNE-7A at KEK and performed preliminary experiments to investigate its imaging properties using physical phantoms and a non-radioactive I imaging agent. The mp-FXCT system could detect an I concentration of 0.038 mg/ml, the minimum required for in-vivo imaging, at a spatial resolution of about 0.3 mm during a data acquisition time of 90 min, which is less than the time for which anaesthesia is effective and suggests that preclinical molecular imaging is feasible with mp-FXCT.
Highlights
Recent advances in genetic and tissue engineering have yielded rodent models of human diseases that provide important clues regarding their causes, diagnoses, and treatment
We demonstrated the superiority of multi-pinhole Fluorescent x-ray computed tomography (FXCT) (mp-FXCT) to single-pinhole FXCT, and our preliminary experimental results prove its usability for preclinical molecular imaging
The proposed mp-FXCT imaging system consists of a rotational stage for object positioning, a multi-pinhole collimator, an a 2-D detector with multiple elements whose energy resolution was not sufficiently high to enable discrimination between the fluorescent and stray scattered x-rays according to their energies (Pilatus 100 K operating in photon counting mode, manufactured by Dectris)
Summary
Recent advances in genetic and tissue engineering have yielded rodent models of human diseases that provide important clues regarding their causes, diagnoses, and treatment. Genome manipulation and transplantation of carcinoma cells differentiated from stem cells can be performed using rodents, enhancing the understanding of human diseases Molecular imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are important for observing physiological and pathological characteristics in vivo[1,2,3]. Takeda et al demonstrated that FXCT could potentially be used as a small-animal molecular imaging modality, i.e., a preclinical molecular imaging modality, by applying FXCT to in-vivo imaging of a mouse brain using a non-radioactive I-labelled imaging agent, iodoamphetamine analogue (127I-IMP), to delineate in-vivo cerebral perfusion with 0.5 mm in-plane spatial resolution[16] These in-vivo FXCT images were obtained using an FXCT system based on first-generation computed tomography, by acquiring sets of projections using a high-energy-resolution detector and thin monochromatic parallel beam[17, 18]. We discuss the usability of mp-FXCT for preclinical molecular imaging and describe the areas to be improved
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
