# Hyperspectral Single Photon Imaging of Targeted Alpha-Emitters

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $388,046

## Abstract

Abstract / Project Summary:
 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible brain disease that affects tens of millions of people in the world.
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for AD except symptoms release treatments. Even with advanced
knowledge of AD accumulated over the past several decades, many clinical trials aiming to intervene at the
causative pathological elements have failed to produce disease-altering effects. One reason is that there are no
suitable biomarkers for early diagnosis and accurate differentiation of AD patients into different subtypes that
could benefit from certain treatment regimes. Molecular imaging such as PET and SPECT have the ability to
provide biomarkers that permit spatial assessment of pathophysiological molecular changes in AD and lead to
the development of interventions personalized to an individual's molecular risk and disease pathology profile. It
can also objectively evaluate and follow up therapeutic responses. Even though SPECT is more widely available
than PET and has the potential to perform dual-isotope imaging, brain SPECT imaging is rarely used both in
clinics and research for AD due to the poor sensitivity and spatial resolution of the current clinical SPECT system.
The goal of this proposed project is to develop an ultrahigh-resolution single-photon emission microscopy
imaging system for brain SPECT. The goal is to provide a spatial resolution of a few hundred microns while
maintaining a sensitivity that is close to a PET system. This system will lead to dynamic SPECT images with a
superior spatial resolution that is better than PET, as well as an opportunity to perform simultaneous multiple-
isotope/tracer imaging that can be applied to develop biomarkers of diagnosis and disease progression in
Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10497961
- **Project number:** 3R01EB031023-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Yong Du
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $388,046
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10497961

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10497961, Hyperspectral Single Photon Imaging of Targeted Alpha-Emitters (3R01EB031023-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10497961. Licensed CC0.

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