Jinyi Qi, Ph.D.

Positron emission tomography, or PET scanning, a technique for tracing metabolic processes in the body, has been widely applied in clinical diagnosis and research spanning physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. Now researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Fudan University, Shanghai, have shown how to use an advanced reconstruction method with an ultrasensitive total-body PET scanner to capture real-time videos of blood flow and heart function. The work paves the way for looking at the function of multiple organs, such as the brain and heart, at the same time. The researchers published their findings Jan. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The project makes use of the EXPLORER PET/CT total body scanner, originally developed by a team led by Professor Simon Cherry, UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Ramsey Badawi, professor of radiology in the UC Davis School of Medicine. A commercial version named uEXPLORER is manufactured by United Imaging Healthcare of Shanghai, and a Food and Drug Administration-approved model is now in clinical use at UC Davis… Continue reading.