Development of clinical simultaneous SPECT/MRI

There is increasing clinical use of combined positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but to date there has been no clinical system developed capable of simultaneous single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and MRI. There has been development of preclinical systems, but there are several challenges faced by researchers who are developing a clinical prototype including the need for the system to be compact and stationary with MRI-compatible components. The limited work in this area is described with specific reference to the Integrated SPECT/MRI for Enhanced stratification in Radio-chemo Therapy (INSERT) project, which is at an advanced stage of developing a clinical prototype. Issues of SPECT/MRI compatibility are outlined and the clinical appeal of such a system is discussed, especially in the management of brain tumour treatment

INSERT: A Novel Clinical Scanner for Simultaneous SPECT/MRI Brain Studies

A clinical SPECT insert for a commercial MRI scanner has been developed within the INSERT project, allowing simultaneous SPECT/MRI studies of the human brain. Here we present preliminary experimental results. The reconstructed resolution was 6-11 mm and the sensitivity 280-440 s-1/MBq. The INSERT is the first clinical SPECT prototype for simultaneous SPECT/MRI