Facilities and Resources

The Siemens Vision scanner has a 3-4 mm spatial resolution and ~200 ps timing resolution, as well as simultaneous dual-energy CT capability.

The Siemens mCT-X has 109 PET slices with a resolution of ~ 5x5x5 mm, a TOF resolution of 540 ps, and a 128-slice CT.

The Siemens HRRT is a brain-dedicated scanner (104 rings, 207 slices with resolution of better than 3 x 3 x 3 mm). It uses a double layer of LSO and LYSO crystals to allow depth of interaction (DOI) detection, which enables the excellent resolution.

This United Imaging long-axial FOV brain-dedicated scanner was installed in June 2023; it has an axial field-of-view of 49.5 cm, 236 psec timing resolution, spatial resolution of < 2mm, and embedded stereovision camera system for continuous motion correction.

Three Siemens Focus 220 PET scanners, 48 rings, 95 slices with a resolution of ~ 1.4 x 1.4 x 1.4 mm at the center field of view.

Siemens Inveon PET/CT, 159 slices, with 0.8 mm slice separation, axial coverage of 127 mm, transaxial field-of-view of 100 mm, resolution < 1.5 mm, peak sensitivity > 9%

A GE PETtrace cyclotron for radioisotope production is located in the lower level of the PET Center. The cyclotron uses 16.5 MeV protons and 8.4 MeV deuterons to produce radioisotopes. A total of six targets are mounted in the cyclotron: two C-11 targets, two F-18 targets for production of [¹⁸F]fluoride and [¹⁸F]fluorine, one O-15 target, and one N-13 target.

The radiochemistry laboratory is fully equipped for radiotracer synthesis, featuring six mini hot cells, six full-size Comecer hot cells, and a GE ProCab process chemistry cabinet with specialized modules for [¹¹C]CO₂, [¹¹C]CO, and [¹¹C]HCN production. Remote-controlled or automated synthesis modules from GE support diverse synthetic processes, including systems for [^11C]methylation, [¹⁸F] labeling via nucleophilic and electrophilic reactions, FDG production, and dedicated [¹⁵O]water and [¹³N]ammonia production. Additional equipment includes a Bioscan AutoLoop, an Advion microfluidic module, and custom modules for labeled compound synthesis. The lab also houses ten preparative HPLC systems, six Capintec dose calibrators, and various instruments for sample preparation, storage, and quality control, ensuring robust radiotracer production capabilities.

The quality control laboratory, separate from the main radiochemistry lab, is equipped with four Shimadzu analytical HPLC systems, including four HPLC pumps, two autosamplers, one photodiode array (PDA) detector, three dual channel UV detectors, four radioactivity detectors, and Class VP software. It includes a Shimadzu GC system with autosampler for residual solvent analysis, a Bioscan AR-2000 TLC scanner, and a Varian LC/MS system for product and byproduct analysis. A laminar flow hood supports sterile preparations, along with equipment for pyrogen testing and a dose calibrator for radioactivity measurement.

The organic chemistry laboratory, spanning 1,500 square feet across two rooms in the LMP building, is dedicated to organic chemistry and developing synthetic strategies for C-11 and F-18 labeled radiotracers and their unlabeled precursors. It features six fume hoods for chemical reactions and equipment including two HPLC systems for precursor and synthetic compound analysis, refrigerators for storage, vacuum pumps, drying ovens, rotary evaporators, and a melting point apparatus.

The blood and metabolite analysis laboratories, located next to the PET Imaging suites with pass-through doors for sample transfer, are equipped for plasma analysis. They feature four Perkin Elmer Wizard gamma counters, two balances, four centrifuges, a blood glucose analyzer, and three HPLC systems for analyzing plasma radiotracers and metabolites, enabling generation of input functions required for kinetic analysis and image quantification. Each HPLC system consists of two Shimadzu pumps capable of delivering gradient mobile phase, one control module, one Rheodyne manual injector equipped with a 5 mL sample loop, one Shimadzu variable wavelength UV-vis detector, one Raytest radioactivity detector, and one fraction collector.

All PET systems acquire list-mode data reconstructed on each scanner’s reconstruction system. In addition, list-mode data files are transferred over the local Gigabit network (behind a hardware firewall) to a dedicated Linux cluster with 40 nodes and 352 processors (3.0-3.2 MHz). Images are reconstructed with the MOLAR algorithm (Motion-compensation OSEM List-mode Algorithm for Resolution-recovery Reconstruction). For brain studies, subject motion information is collected with a Vicra (NDI, Canada), which records head motion at a rate of up to 20 Hz. These are stored in a time-synced file and used by MOLAR to correct head motion. Continuous bed motion is available on the mCT and the Vision. Respiratory and cardiac gating are available on the Vision, mCT and Inveon.