Development of ClearPEM-Sonic, a multimodal mammography system for PET and Ultrasound

Abstract

ClearPEM-Sonic is an innovative imaging device specifically developed for breast cancer. The possibility to work in PEM-Ultrasound multimodality allows to obtain metabolic and morphological information increasing the specificity of the exam. The ClearPEM detector is developed to maximize the sensitivity and the spatial resolution as compared to Whole-Body PET scanners. It is coupled with a 3D ultrasound system, the SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer that improves the specificity of the exam by providing a tissue elasticity map. This work describes the ClearPEM-Sonic project focusing on the technological developments it has required, the technical merits (and limits) and the first multimodal images acquired on a dedicated phantom. It finally presents selected clinical case studies that confirm the value of PEM information.

Dedicated Breast Gamma Camera Imaging and Breast PET

“…Several researchers are working on hybrid systems such dedicated simultaneous PET-MRI system developed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory 76 , where a PET ring detector has been integrated with a 1.5T dedicated breast MRI scanner. Other multimodality systems under development include Clear PEM-Sonic, developed by CERN that has a ring type breast PET scanner integrated with an ultrasound system developed by Supersonic Imagine 77 (Aix-en-Provence, France). The group at University of California Davis is developing a dedicated breast PET/CT scanner consisting of a dual-head PET camera and cone-beam CT integrated into a single gantry and have performed early clinical feasibility studies 78 .…”

Positron Emission Tomography: state of the art and future developments

“…The advantages of these hybrid systems over simple PET scanners have already been highlighted in section 2. Some organ dedicated devices have also been developed for specific targets, such as diagnosis of breast cancer and neurological studies on brain [16][17][18]. For these scanners, combinations with other imaging modalities has also been explored, namely Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance [19].…”

Positron Emission Mammography

“…More recently, the ClearPEM scanner has been used to create a multimodal PEM and ultrasound scanner [59]. The aim of this system is to provide high resolution, high sensitivity and high specificity metabolic information from PEM matched with 3D high resolution anatomic information.…”