NeuroEXPLORER: Ultra-high performance brain PET imager for highly-resolved in vivo imaging of neurochemistry

Human research applications of brain Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging have been in place for over 40 years and have led to a detailed understand of normal brain physiology including neurotransmitter dynamics and receptor pharmacology at rest and during activation. Brain-dedicated PET systems offer important advantages over currently available PET systems, but the state-of-the-art for brain PET imaging systems has not progressed beyond the 20-year-old HRRT. The proposed next generation NeuroEXPLORER (NX) PET system will have a factor of 10 greater sensitivity and will dramatically expand the scope of human brain PET protocols and applications. We are part of the team working on this project to contribute kinetic modeling that incorporates accurate measurements of blood activity to avoid arterial blood sampling, and demonstrating performance on novel human imaging paradigms. This project is funded by U01EB029811 (PI: Carson).