Basic study of a new helmet-type PET scanner enabling quantitative measurement of brain function in a short time

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K21637
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Medical Physics and Radiological Technology; Biomedical engineering/Biomaterial science and engineering
• Research Institution: National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Tashima Hideaki 国立研究開発法人量子科学技術研究開発機構, 放射線医学総合研究所 計測・線量評価部, 主任研究員(定常) (70572907)
• Research Collaborator: Yamaya Taiga ; Yoshida Eiji ; Nishikido Fumihiko ; Abdella Ahmed M. ; Iwao Yuma ; Akamatsu Go ; Wakizaka Hidekatsu ; Obi Takashi
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: PET / 画像再構成 / 減弱補正 / 同時推定 / Time of Flight / 深層学習 / 脳機能イメージング / 認知症診断

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Development of a high performance and compact dedicated brain PET scanner with low cost and minimal burden to patients is important for wide spread application of brain PET such as for early diagnosis of dementia. For PET studies, correction for attenuation effect inside a body is required for accurate diagnosis, requiring an image including morphological information such as of a CT image. However, it is difficult to integrate an additional device for the correction into a compact system. In this theme, therefore, methods enabling attenuation correction only from PET measurement data were proposed, and basic study was conducted. As a result, it was shown that simultaneous estimation method for a PET image and correction data combined with deep learning has potential for the quantitative measurement for a brain dedicated PET system with high timing resolution.

Free Research Field

医用画像工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

時間情報を用いたＰＥＴは、測定対象が大きいほど効果が高いため、主に全身用装置において研究開発が進められてきたが、ＴＯＦヘルメット型ＰＥＴ装置のような頭部専用かつ高時間分解能装置を対象とした点に新規性と学術的意義がある。
高齢化社会において認知症対策は喫緊の課題であり、早期診断によって発症を遅らせたり、抑えたりできる可能性がある。本課題の成果により、低コストな普及型の頭部用ＰＥＴ装置開発が加速され、多くの人が認知症の早期診断の恩恵を受けられるようになると期待できる。