IMAGING RESEARCH CORE FACILITY

Director: Christopher A. Flask, PhD
Assistant Professor, Radiology
flask@uhrad.com

Imaging Research Center home page

Imaging Research Center Instrumentation

GAMMAMEDICA X-SPECT (CT/SPECT COMBINED) SCANNER

Overview

We purchased an X-SPECT scanner manufactured by GammaMedica, Northridge, CA. The scanner uses a 5" x 5" gamma detector with pinhole collimator to achieve sub-millimeter resolution for small animal scans. For the CT component, an X-ray generator operates at maximum 50 kVP and 1mA, along with a 4.72" X 4.72" X-ray CMOS detector w/2048 x 2048 pixels. The resolution of CT images is less than 100 mm. The scanner can accommodate a pair of mice or a rat. The scanner can be used for either SPECT (even planar gamma scintigraphy) or CT scans only, or in the combined mode for structure-function overlay, depending on the application. Detailed performance characteristics of this scanner are documented in a white paper available upon request.

SPECT imaging is done using radiolabeled pharmaceuticals. There is a wide range of gamma emitting radionuclides with the most commonly used label as 99mTc, 123I, 125I, 111In, and many others have been used. This allows dual- or multi-isotope imaging (separated by gamma photon energy) to follow multiple targets simultaneously. Small molecules, peptides/ligands and proteins/antibodies can be labeled with these radionuclides for SPECT imaging depending on the study design. The less expensive radioiodide, 131I is not suitable for this scanner due to the high energy of the gamma photons (not in the design). Please contact Zhenghong Lee regarding availability of other radiopharmaceuticals.

To keep animals still for imaging, anesthesia is routinely used. Isoflurane is the preferred anesthetic and we have a special anesthesia machine designed for mice and rats.

Availability

This instrument is part of the imaging research facility and as such is treated as a university resource. Researchers from all departments are welcome to develop projects and protocols that use it.

Fees

$200/hour	Basic scan costs, standard image reconstruction
$25/animal	Insertion of catheter in tail vein
$ /dose	Cost varies among the tracers from a few dollars to several hundred dollars depending on the radionuclide and labeling procedure (please ask Z. Lee).
$20/hour	Isoflurane anesthesia

Contact

Zhenghong Lee zxl11@case.edu

Acknowledgment

The X-SPECT scanner was purchased on the Ohio BRTT grant (PIs: J. Nadeau and J. Duerk).

For More Information

Marketing for the scanner is being done via Siemens Medical Solutions
www.medical.siemens.com