A Simultaneous PET/MRI scanner based on RatCAP in small animals

The ability to acquire high resolution anatomical data as well as quantitative functional information in vivo is becoming an increasingly important factor in the diagnosis of disease. Simultaneous acquisition of PET and MRI data would provide essentially perfect co-registration between the two images which is particularly important for tissues whose position and shape can change between sequential scans. RatCAP is a complete 3D tomograph that is designed to image the brain of an awake rat. A special MRI coil composed of 2 saddle elements working in quadrature mode was mounted on a Delrin cylinder specifically designed to fit inside the RatCAP but allowing the rat's head to be placed inside as well. Simultaneous PET/MRI images of the rat brain have been acquired in a 4 T MRI scanner using the RatCAP detector, with minimal effect on MRI images.