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PET/MRI system design

European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging volume 36, pages 86–92 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction

The combination of clinical MRI and PET systems has received increased attention in recent years. In contrast to currently used PET/CT systems, PET/MRI offers not only improved soft-tissue contrast and reduced levels of ionizing radiation, but also a wealth of MRI-specific information such as functional, spectroscopic and diffusion tensor imaging. Combining PET and MRI, however, has proven to be very challenging, due to the detrimental cross-talk effects between the two systems.

Objective

Significant progress has been made in the recent years to overcome these difficulties, with several groups reporting PET/MRI prototypes for animal imaging and a clinical insert for neurological applications being demonstrated at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Discussion

In this paper we review different architectures for clinical PET/MRI systems, and their possibilities, limitations and technological obstacles.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by a research grant from Siemens AG.

Conflict of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaniger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany

    Gaspar Delso & Sibylle Ziegler

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  1. Gaspar Delso
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  2. Sibylle Ziegler
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Correspondence to Gaspar Delso.

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Delso, G., Ziegler, S. PET/MRI system design. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 36 (Suppl 1), 86–92 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-1008-6

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Keywords

  • Positron emission tomography
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Instrumentation
  • Equipment design