# High-performance SPECT for dynamic brain imaging

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $604,714

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
Brain Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging has been of great importance for
many clinical applications such as epilepsy, dementia, posttraumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, and tumor imaging. The conventional dual-head gamma cameras (DHGCs) which have
been the mainstay in nuclear imaging (specifically for cardiac screening) are not optimized for brain imaging
where achieving simultaneously high resolution and high sensitivity is necessary. Depending on the collimator
choice, DHGC resolution is 7-15 mm FWHM, which is not very useful to visualize fine structures of the human
brain. There are several ongoing projects with the premise of improved scanner performance compared to the
DHGC systems, however they are either focusing on using old detector technology and mainly improving the
collimator geometry or focusing on very expensive (order of magnitude compared with the current designs)
semiconductor technology which also leads to a complex system.
With this application we seek to develop a portable SPECT scanner for dynamic brain imaging with ~4 mm
FWHM resolution at the same sensitivity of the DHGC or 8x more sensitivity at 7 mm resolution. The backbone
of the design is our enabling technology to fabricate high resolution detectors at practical cost. The proposed
project will open new avenues for low dose brain SPECT imaging applications and enable longitudinal studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10912817
- **Project number:** 5R01EB034785-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Hamid Sabet
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $604,714
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10912817

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10912817, High-performance SPECT for dynamic brain imaging (5R01EB034785-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10912817. Licensed CC0.

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