RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Small-Animal PET: What Is It, and Why Do We Need It?
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
JO J. Nucl. Med. Technol.
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 157
OP 165
DO 10.2967/jnmt.111.098632
VO 40
IS 3
A1 Rutao Yao
A1 Roger Lecomte
A1 Elpida S. Crawford
YR 2012
UL http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/40/3/157.abstract
AB Small-animal PET refers to imaging of animals such as rats and mice using dedicated PET scanners. Small-animal PET has been used extensively in modern biomedical research. It provides a quantitative measure of the 3-dimensional distribution of a radiopharmaceutical administered to a live subject noninvasively. In this article, we will discuss the operational and technical aspects of small-animal PET; make some comparisons between small-animal PET and human PET systems; identify the challenges of, opportunities for, and ultimate limitations in applying small-animal PET; and discuss some representative small-animal PET applications. Education objectives: After reading this article, the technologist will be able to explain the requirements and benefits of small-animal PET in biomedical research, describe the design and general characteristics of a small-animal PET system, list and describe some of the challenges of imaging small animals, and discuss several small-animal PET applications.