Hyperspectral Single Photon Imaging: Transforming Nuclear Medicine from Monochromatic into Multi-Color and Multi-Functional Molecular Imaging Modalities

NPRE professor Ling-Jian Meng has recently been awarded a $2.5M research grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), entitled “Hyperspectral Single Photon Imaging” that has the potential for transforming molecular imaging techniques for both preclinical and clinical imaging applications.

“The emphasis of this research project is to develop a spectral imaging technique that utilize the latest CdZnTe (CZT) semiconductor imaging detectors to pick up gamma-ray signatures of multiple radiotracers based on their distinct (energies) wavelengths,” Meng said. “This development could transform typical nuclear medicine—such as SPECT and PET that typically produce single-function, monochromatic images—into multi-color imaging modalities that can simultaneously visualize multiple molecular processes in a given individual, which would greatly expand the capability of nuclear medicine in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.” 

While molecular imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), have enjoyed a wide range of applications in clinical applications, they share a common limitation. Both PET and SPECT typically produce monochromatic images, which use a single specific tracer to follow a specific molecular process. This is in sharp contrast to that fact that most of disease models under study are underlined by complex interplay of multiple molecular pathways and physiological processes.

This project is a collaboration between the Meng group at UIUC and Drs. Yu Do and Eric Frey’s lab at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.