# Time-of-Flight PET for Improved Whole-Body Imaging

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $507,718

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This application is a competitive renewal of R01-CA-113941 to develop technology and methodologies for time-
of-flight (TOF) imaging to advance the performance of positron emission tomography (PET) instruments and
their utilization in the management of cancer and other diseases. In this renewal we propose to continue a
systematic approach to TOF PET scanner design, but with a shift towards combining advanced TOF technology
with longer axial field-of-view (AFOV) scanner designs. Both the uEXPLORER at UC Davis and the PennPET
Explorer have produced qualitatively superior images, unmatched by modern clinical scanners, and there is
enormous excitement in the field for the opportunities that such total-body (TB) PET instruments offer. However,
the success of TB-PET will ultimately depend on integration and utilization at multiple sites, which, in turn
depends on the cost as well as performance of the instrument. We propose to perform studies to demonstrate
how to achieve improved performance while also considering ways to constrain the cost of the design.
Our goal is to study scanner configurations, with varied axial field-of-view (AFOV) and advanced detector designs
that offer different trade-offs in performance and to judge the merits of these choices by their impact on a variety
of potential TB-PET clinical/research applications. Our studies will include development of enabling technology
for two TOF detector concepts: one (with LYSO) emphasizing TOF performance with a target of 150 ps, below
that of any existing PET scanner, with the other (with BGO) emphasizing higher intrinsic sensitivity. These
detectors will be studied in the context of scanner geometries with full detector coverage, or with inter-ring gaps
that permit extending the AFOV while constraining the number of detectors. A TB-PET scanner has a dramatic
increase in the number of lines-of-response (LORs), so we can leverage the advantages of improved TOF (and
spatial) resolutions to optimize the number of LYSO detectors, or alternatively, use the higher sensitivity, but
less-costly BGO detectors.
Human clinical/research studies performed on the PennPET Explorer scanner will be complemented by
simulations of varying scanner designs and advanced detector technology. The new detector concepts will be
tested both on the benchtop and with a scanner demonstrator setup using a small number of detectors operating
in coincidence. Our work will be guided with consideration of scalability to a full system and the impact of new
methods on system performance and clinical benefit. Our access to clinical research data from a TB-PET system
provides us a unique advantage in achieving our goals. The outcome of this project will provide guidance to
prioritize the design of future TB-PET systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10769825
- **Project number:** 5R01CA113941-17
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JOEL S KARP
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $507,718
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-04-07 → 2026-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10769825

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10769825, Time-of-Flight PET for Improved Whole-Body Imaging (5R01CA113941-17). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10769825. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*