Quantification of Brain Function and Neurotransmission System In Vivo by Positron Emission Tomography: A Review of Technical Aspects and Practical Con
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Unlike many other imaging techniques, positron emission tomography, PET, necessitates gathering a broad array of competences: biologists/physicians have to interact with physicists, chemists and mathematicians to acquire and analyze PET data. The ensemble of a PET imaging experiment, from the creation of the isotope to the interpretation of the imaging data, requires a unique combination of high-tech equipment to be installed preferentially on the same site, such as: a cyclotron, a radiochemistry laboratory, a PET camera, an animal facility and a data treatment and storage facility.
In the material and methods chapter for each process, we discuss the requirements of the equipment and the usual procedures, from the creation of the isotope to the modelling of the PET data.
Depending on the animal model (mouse, rat, non-human primate, …) or the isotope (11 C, 18 F, …) used, the challenges and requisites for setting up a PET imaging experiment will be different. The notes section discusses some important considerations on animal handling in PET imaging and the basic experimental set-up to evaluate the characteristics of a radiotracer.
This chapter is concluded with some practical examples related to Parkinson disease and neuroin�flammation.