A Positron Emission Tomography registered Ultrafast Sonography prototype for preclinical in-vivo studies

A novel hybrid device is described herein for performing simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging (UUI) in vivo. This study aims in qualifying this device for in-vivo studies. Two major issues are addressed: the co-registration of the images originating from each modality and the effect of placing a US probe inside a PET system on the PET images. Experiments on UUI/CT and PET phantoms were performed for the co-registration calibration of this prototype and for quantifying the effect of the US probe on the PET signal.