Feasibility study of small animal imaging using clinical PET/CT scanner

The feasibility of small animal imaging using a clinical positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanner with [F-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) was evaluated. Two protocols in PET/CT system, single-mouse high-resolution mode (SHR) and multi-mouse high throughput mode (MHT) protocol were employed to investigate the ability of the scanner and also explored the performance differences between microPET and clinical PET/CT. In this study, we have found that even the clinical PET/CT scanner could not compete with the microPET scanner, especially in spatial resolution; the high-resolution CT image could advance the anatomical information to sub-millimeter level. Besides, CT-based attenuation correction can improve the image uniformity characteristics and quantification accuracy, and the large bore of a human whole-body scanner broadens the possibility of high throughput studies. Considering all the benefits, clinical PET/CT imaging might be a potential alternative for small animal study.