First Performance Results of a UHF-MRI Compatible BrainPET Insert for Neuroscience

First performance measurement results of a UHF-MRI compatible BrainPET insert for multimodal and multiparametric neuroscientific imaging applications have been obtained. The BrainPET-7T Insert was built for a human 7T MRI scanner from Siemens (MAGNETOM Terra) and comprises a total of 8 UHF-MR compatible PET modules [1]. The inner diameter of the BrainPET-7T insert and the axial FOV are 24.8 and 38.85 cm, respectively [2] and the attached PET-compatible 8 channel transmit/receive coil allows ¹ H-MR imaging of the entire head [3]. The gantry and the transmit receive coil were optimized for neuroscientific studies on humans with task-based activations and other interventions. A staggered layer scintillation detector design (pixelated) combined with a Maximum Likelihood position algorithm was chosen to obtain isotropic and homogeneous spatial resolution < 2mm throughout the entire PET FOV. The long axial FOV paired with the small PET ring diameter and the 24 mm thick scintillation blocks allow for a peak sensitivity higher than 12%. The system calibration, detailed performance measurements, and first images will be presented.