Scientists at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands have developed a prototype SPECT system, the U-SPECT-I, which has achieved spatial resolution less than 0.5 mm in animal models.
According to the researchers, the first version of the small animal imaging device already has a 10 times higher volumetric resolution than currently available small animal PET systems, 0.1 mL compared with 1.0 mL, respectively. The group reported that tissue turnover in bones and local neurotransmission in mice brains can be monitored precisely.
The team, led by physicist Freek Beekman, Ph.D., has received a $2.3 million grant from UMC Utrecht to fund further development of the technology. Beekman said that he and his colleagues are at work on U-SPECT-II and U-SPECT-III to further improve spatial and temporal resolution.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
July 21, 2005
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