Hybrid PET/MRI Methodology

Abstract

The hybrid PET/MR scanner represents the first implementation of the effective integration of two modalities allowing truly synchronous/simultaneous acquisition of their imaging signals. This integration, resulting from the innovation and development of specific hardware components has paved the way for new approaches in the study of neurodegenerative diseases. This chapter will describe the hardware development that has led to the availability of different clinical solutions for PET/MR imaging as well as the still-open technological challenges and opportunities related to the processing and exploitation of the simultaneous acquisition in neurological studies.

Keywords: Arterial input function; Attenuation correction; Bimodal probes; Hybrid imaging; Magnetic resonance; Motion correction; Partial volume correction; Pharmacokinetic modeling; Positron emission tomography; Preclinical PET/MR.