Philips Healthcare and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston are collaborating to develop new imaging technology that might help identify the start and cause of an infectious disease epidemic.
Dr. King Li, radiology chair and project leader, and other Methodist scientists will use an $8.6 million imaging suite that will include Philips' Ingenia 3-tesla MRI scanner, Gemini TF 64 PET/CT scanner, Precedence 16 SPECT/CT scanner, and Veradius mobile C-arm.
The purpose of the suite is to study pathogens that require biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) containment. BSL-3 pathogens include the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.
The suite is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. Methodist will be the sole practical test site for the development of the technology.
