NPRE Assistant Prof. Ling Jian Meng is developing radiation sensors that help scientists to observe phenomena ranging from the migration of cells in the human body to giant supernovas in outer space.
Meng’s work is focused on the development of x-ray and gamma ray sensors for nuclear imaging applications. Meng, an Assistant Professor at NPRE and an affiliated faculty member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, has recently received a $600,000 grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) for developing gamma ray detectors that can operate in strong magnetic fields.
Meng is also working with colleagues from Washington University at St Louis and the Harvard University to develop CdZnTe detectors for a hard x-ray telescope to be placed onboard the upcoming Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) satellite mission. Meng’s group will be working on the development of a highly-pixelated CdZnTe (CZT) detector for use as the HET’s focal-plane detector. This work has recently been awarded $800,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the effort will officially start in early 2010.
These coming supports, along with previous grants from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and DOE, have helped Meng and his research team build a comprehensive research lab to apply the key sensor technologies to a wide array of nuclear imaging applications. (For more information on Meng’s research efforts, go to https://npre.illinois.edu/faculty/meng.php.)
Over the past few years, interest has grown in the clinical potential of procedures in which cells are transferred to a patient. These include stem cell therapy for various diseases and adoptive therapy with lymphocytes for cancer. Meng’s lab is developing ultrahigh resolution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems that help to visualize the distribution of radio-labeled cells in mice (See Fig. 1). The group is currently working on a ultrahigh resolution SPECT system that can be installed inside a MRI scanner to allow simultaneous SPECT and MR imaging study of the same object. This combination provides a unique tool for in vivo cell imaging in mice. This system is based on a recently developed energy-resolved photon counting (ERPC) detector as shown in Fig. 2.
The group is also working with Yuan-Chuang Tai and H. Krawczynski at Washington University on the development of pixelated CdZnTe detectors for future positron-emission tomography (PET) systems. This project, funded by DOE, is aimed at CZT detectors with an intrinsic resolution of <500 um for gamma rays emitted in the annihilation process.
“We are interested in a wide range of nuclear imaging applications based on x-ray, gamma ray and charged particles,” Meng said. “We are in the process of expanding our effort to areas well beyond biomedical imaging.
He continued, “The group has certainly enjoyed the crucial contributions from group members, such as NPRE students Geng Fu, Jia-Wei Tan, Nan Li and Liang Cai. Their hard working and intelligent efforts have been the key for our recent success.”
Contact: Susan Mumm editor/alumni affairs coordinator, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, 217/244-5382 (campus office), 217/821-6866 (cell) 217/347-2166 (home office).