Grant: Project Grant

BC Cancer / University of British Columbia (UBC) have acquired a first-in-Canada type of PET scanner that is 10 times more sensitive than a typical PET scanner. This opens exciting new possibilities of obtaining images that have much better quality, or alternatively, images of same quality as existing PET/CT scanners but acquired with much less radioactive injection to patients (reducing dose) or at much faster scan times (improving patient comfort) or obtained at much later times after injection (providing added information). It can also allow more reliable dynamic imaging of how radiopharmaceuticals evolve in the body, generating more valuable information. In the present work, working with our international collaborators, we aim to develop and validate data acquisition and image generation protocols on such PET/CT scanners optimized for clinical assessments, paving the way for reliable use of these scanners for imaging of cancer patients in Canada and beyond. We will also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to further improve our PET/CT imaging methods. Our ultimate goal is to validate these advanced techniques and integrate them into routine clinical practice, providing doctors with powerful tools for personalized and effective cancer care.