MR-PET für Medizinische Bildgebung

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Schwaiger
• Co-Applicants: Professor Dr. Peter Bartenstein; Professor Dr. Maximilian Reiser; Professor Dr. Ernst Rummeny
• Subject Area: Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiobiology
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 164567475

Multimodality imaging combines structural, functional, and biologic information for the noninvasive characterization of diseases. This DFG application for a hybrid whole-body MR-PET instrumentation will address the methodological as well as clinical validation of this new imaging approach in comparison to existing modalities. It is hypothesized, that MR-PET will be superior to PET/CT in the diagnosis and staging of many types of cancer by providing better soft tissue contrast. In addition, MR offers not only high resolution structural imaging, but also measurements of physiological and biochemical tissue function complementing molecular signals by PET for phenotyping of disease. In order to exploit the promising potential of MR-PET, an interdisciplinary research consortium involving both universities in Munich (TUM / LMU), called Munich HYCON, will perform methodological and clinical research focussing on whole body imaging in oncology and cardiology. The cooperation of physicists, biologists and physicians of both universities in the area of imaging is based on an established preclinical (SFB 824, MOBITUM) and clinical research network providing the necessary infrastructure for the proposed research.

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: 3 Tesla MR-PET
• Instrumentation Group: 3322 PET-MRT-Hybridgeräte (Positronen-Emissions-Tomograph und Magnetresonanz-Tomograph)