MEASUREMENT OF PO2 IN TISSUES INVIVO AND IN VITRO

Grant Number: 2P01CA091597-07A2PI Name: Swartz, Harold M.

Abstract: Description (provided by applicant): EPR oxim-etry is an emerging technology that can make repeatedand accurate measurements of pO2 from the same site inviable systems, using particulate oxygen-sensitive para-magnetic materials. This revised competing renewal aimsto bring this potentially very productive technique to alevel of maturity where its special capabilities can be ap-plied to the numerous areas of research that will benefitsignificantly from the availability of such measurements,and to develop the technology to facilitate its adoption byother scientists for experimental and potential clinicaluses. It will especially focus on making it feasible to usethese capabilities to advance progress in the understandingand therapy of cancer. The progress achieved in the firstsix years of the PPG has verified the usefulness and alsothe need for such an approach, as we have both achievedsignificant new experimental results and delineated somecritical aspects of the technology that need further devel-opment. The rationale for carrying out these studies in aPPG is based on the need to have an integrated and syner-gistic set of studies that together provide the range of ca-pabilities needed to develop fully this very promisingtechnique. The PPG involves collaborative efforts at threedifferent sites. It is based at Dartmouth where there is aleading NIH supported center for the broad developmentof in vivo EPR spectroscopy, which provides very strongand economical instrumental support for the proposedstudies. The project at Dartmouth also has appropriateexpertise and experience to carry out several inter-relatedaspects of the research, including making comparisons ofEPR oximetry with complimentary methods for the directand indirect measurements of oxygen in tissues and inpreparing the technique for applications in the clinic. Theproject at the U. Of Illinois provides unique capabilitiesin the development and characterization of paramagneticmaterials, especially chars, for use both as oximetric sen-sors per se and to understand the characteristics that con-trol the properties of oximetric particulate materials. Theproject at the U. Of Louvain provides unique expertise inthe coating of paramagnetic materials and in pharmaceuti-cal aspects to facilitate the use of EPR oximetry in exper-imental animals and, eventually, in patients. The key per-sonnel involved in the PPG have an established record ofeffective productive collaboration and are highly commit-ted to carrying out the crucial next steps to make thistechnology fully effective and available for use by otherinvestigators.

Thesaurus Terms: biomaterial development/preparation,electron spin resonance spectroscopy, oximetry, oxygen ten-sion

Institution: Dartmouth College11 Rope Ferry Rd. #6210Hanover, NH 03755

Fiscal Year: 2002Department: RadiologyProject Start: 15-May-1995Project End: 30-Jun-2007ICD: National Cancer InstituteIRG: ZCA1

SIMULTANEOUS EMISSION ANDTRANSMISSION MAMMOTOMOGRAPHY

Grant Number: 1R01CA096821-01PI Name: Tornai, Martin P.

Abstract: Description (provided by applicant): The overallgoal of this proposal is to develop a hybrid, dual-modalityx-ray computed tomography (XCT) and single photon emis-sion computed tomography (SPECT) scanner for dedicatedbreast and axillary imaging, termed application specific emis-sion and transmission tomography (ASETT). This noninva-sive imaging tool is intended to provide volumetric, co-regis-tered anatomical and functional imaging data for improveddiagnosis of breast cancer. The XCT component of the sys-tem can provide structural three-dimensional images of thebreast and axillary region with exposure near that of dual-view screening mammography, greatly improving the detect-ability of low contrast lesions in the breast, enhancing thespatially-dependent attenuation correction of the SPECTdata, and facilitating better interpretation and quantificationof the SPECT data by objectively guiding region of interestselection. This proposal represents the initial technology de-velopment for a dedicated breast ASETT system. A proto-type, dedicated SPECT scanner has previously been investi-gated, and a gantry has been developed that facilitates a newclass of hemispherical acquisition orbits about a pendantbreast. This proposal will (1) extend the capabilities and per-formance characteristics of the SPECT camera and gantry,(2) develop and optimize the dedicated XCT scanner, and (3)integrate the two into a single system. The new SPECT sys-tem will have improved intrinsic spatial resolution (4.5mm)and intrinsic energy resolution (10% FWHM), and an ex-panded field-of-view, with fully computer controllable de-grees of freedom. The XCT system will incorporate a novelx-ray source/filtration approach to mammographic imagingwith a pseudo- monochromatic beam and a state-of-the-art,flat-panel, scintillator-based digital detector to reach �1mmisotropic reconstructed resolution. The ASETT detector sys-tem will be characterized and optimized for tomographic

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breast and axillary imaging. Novel orbits to sufficiently sam-ple the pendant breast and axillary region will be developed,and trade-offs between sequential or simultaneous XCT/SPECT imaging, resolution, signal-to-noise, and radiationdose to the breast volume will be investigated. Appropriatephantoms will be used to quantitatively assess image qualityand dose. Finally, the dual-modality ASETT system will beclinically evaluated with pilot patient studies.

Thesaurus Terms: biomedical equipment development,breast neoplasm/cancer diagnosis, computed axial tomogra-phy, digital imaging, single photon emission computed to-mography, computer data analysis, image enhancement bio-imaging/biomedical imaging, clinical research, female, hu-man subject

Institution: Duke UniversityDurham, NC 27706

Fiscal Year: 2002Department: RadiologyProject Start: 19-Sep-2002Project End: 31-Aug-2007ICD: National Cancer InstituteIRG: ZRG1

A HIGH PERFORMANCE PET AND CTTOMOGRAPH

Grant Number: 1R33CA094317-01PI Name: Townsend, David W.

Abstract: Description (provided by applicant): To addressthe difficulties encountered by fusion software in retrospec-tively co-registering anatomical and functional images forregions of the body other than the brain, we have recentlytaken a more hardware-oriented approach by directly fusingthe technologies of CT and PET. This combined PET/CTprototype has demonstrated in over 250 cancer patient stud-ies the important advantages of routinely performing co-reg-istered anatomical and functional imaging. The studies withthe prototype have stimulated commercial development ofcombined PET/CT scanners and at least two designs thatcomprise a clinical CT scanner placed in tandem with a clin-ical PET scanner are now available. While currently avail-able PET technology has demonstrated broad applicability indiagnostic cancer imaging, limitations in spatial and temporalresolution have restricted its utility in cancer research. Theselimitations have also affected the sensitivity of clinical appli-cations of PET. To date, the major success of PET in oncol-ogy has been its ability to identify tumors with relativelyhigh levels of [18F]fluoro-deoxyglucose (18FDG) uptakecompared to normal tissues. However, an increasing numberof specific PET applications are emerging that require imag-ing capabilities beyond the current technology. There is agrowing demand from both the research and clinical arena to

improve PET scanner sensitivity and to identify and accu-rately localize lower levels of abnormal tracer uptake in in-creasingly smaller structures. Therefore, we are proposing toaddress these demands by designing and building a high per-formance PET scanner with integrated CT technology usingthe new scintillator lutetium oxy-orthosilicate (LSO). ThePET detectors are based on a novel large area panel designthat will extend axial coverage and achieve count rate per-formance significantly exceeding that of current PET scan-ners. Four detector panels arranged in a hexagonal configura-tion will allow space for a closer integration of the CT com-ponents than has previously been possible with both theinitial prototype and the commercial designs. A novel featureof this device is that the CT components will also use LSOas the detector material and cover a larger axial and transax-ial field-of-view than current CT scanners. Thus, by achiev-ing a closer integration of PET and CT, an extended axialfield-of-view and significantly improved imaging perfor-mance, this novel combined PET/CT scanner will open upnew areas for the imaging and treatment of cancer.

Thesaurus Terms: biomedical equipment development,computed axial tomography, neoplasm/cancer diagnosis,positron emission tomography computer program/software,digital imaging, image enhancement, noninvasive diagnosis,whole body imaging/scanning bioimaging/biomedical imag-ing, clinical research, human subject, patient oriented re-search

Institution: University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh350 Thackeray HallPittsburgh, PA 15260

Fiscal Year: 2002Department: RadiologyProject Start: 19-Aug-2002Project End: 31-Jul-2005ICD: National Cancer InstituteIRG: ZCA1

METHODOLOGY FOR ONCOLOGYIMAGING WITH A PET/CT SCANNER

Grant Number: 5R01CA065856-06PI Name: Townsend, David W.

Abstract: We have recently developed a combined PET andCT scanner which allows, for the first time, registered CTand PET images to be acquired sequentially in a single de-vice, overcoming alignment problems due to internal organmovement, variations in scanner bed profile, and positing ofthe patient for the scan. The PET/CT combines a SiemensSomatom AR.SP spiral CT scanner with a rotating EVATART PET scanner. To date, the PET/CT scanner has beenused to study over sixty cancer patients. The aims of thiscompetitive continuation are to extend the development and

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