Positron Emission Tomography: Current Challenges and Opportunities for Technological Advances in Clinical and Preclinical Imaging Systems

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is based on detecting two time-coincident high-energy photons from the emission of a positronemitting radioisotope. The physics of the emission, and the detection of the coincident photons, give PET imaging unique capabilities for both very high sensitivity and accurate estimation of the in vivo concentration of the radiotracer. PET imaging has been widely adopted as an important clinical modality for oncological, cardiovascular, and neurological applications. PET imaging has also become an important tool in preclinical studies, particularly for investigating murine models of disease and other small-animal models. However, there are several challenges to using PET imaging systems. These include the fundamental trade-offs between resolution and noise, the quantitative accuracy of the measurements, and integration with X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. In this article, we review how researchers and industry are addressing these challenges.This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants R01-CA042593, U01-CA148131, R01CA160253, R01CA169072, and R01CA164371; by Human Frontier Science Program grant RGP0004/2013; and by the Innovative Medicines Initiative under grant agreement 115337, which comprises financial contributions from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007–2013