title: High-throughput small animal PET imaging in cancer research: evaluation of the capability of the Inveon scanner to image four mice simultaneously.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the capability of small animal PET (SA-PET) devices to image four mice simultaneously to improve the throughput of SA-PET experiments in cancer research. A customized bed was designed to image up to four mice simultaneously. This bed can easily replace the bed provided by the manufacturer and is connected to an anaesthesia device. A mouse-sized phantom was imaged, mimicking simultaneous imaging of four mice with computation of recovery coefficients and spillover ratios (SORs). In addition, eight mice bearing subcutaneous tumours (human embryonal carcinoma, n=22 tumours) were simultaneously imaged in groups of four on an Inveon SA-PET scanner after injection of F-fluoro-D-glucose. Tumour activity (Bq/ml), as determined by the SA-PET, was compared with ex-vivo counting. For a 5-mm rod, recovery coefficients were 1.15 and 1.05 for a phantom imaged at the central field of view or off-centred on the customized bed, respectively. SORair and SORwater were 0.05 and 0.04 for a phantom imaged alone and 0.15 and 0.06 for a phantom imaged with three additional scatter sources, respectively. Correlation between SA-PET and ex-vivo quantification was good (r=0.91, P<0.0001). The mean ratio of PET quantitative data and ex-vivo counting was equal to 0.9 (95% confidence interval: 0.70-1.09). New generation SA-PET may be suitable for simultaneously imaging four tumour-bearing mice, although improvement in scatter correction efficiency appears necessary. The type of customized bed developed in this study could be easily adapted to other large-bore SA-PET scanners.
authors.affiliation: Bioticla Team, EA1772, IFR 146 ICORE, GRECAN, François Baclesse Cancer Centre and Caen University, France. n.aide@baclesse.fr
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aide
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desmonts
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Briand
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meryet-Figuiere
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poulain
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011786:Quality Control; D012015:Reference Standards; D013997:Time Factors