An international multidisciplinary consortium of European organizations composed of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), Forschungszentrum Julich (Germany), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (France), Weeroc (France) and Inspiralia (Spain), is pleased to announce the launch of the project RETIMAGER: “Real Time Molecular Imager With Unsurpassed Resolution”, granted by the European Union under the European Innovation Council Pathfinder programme.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has been firmly established as the predominant molecular imaging technique due to its unmatched sensitivity and capability to address many different metabolic processes. However, there is huge room for improvement, as current clinical PET scanners are limited to spatial resolutions higher than 2.5 mm and temporal resolutions longer than 5 seconds. This hampers applications of PET for preclinical research and clinical diagnosis in small tissues or lesions and precludes real-time reconstruction of metabolic images.

RETIMAGER is a proposal for a molecular imaging system with a ten-fold spatial and temporal improvement on the reconstructed image with respect to current PET devices, boosting quantitative performance and enabling new applications in cardiology, vascular oncology, oncology, neurology, and other areas. We will achieve this by developing smart radiation detectors with non-conventional geometries that combine the advantages of both pixelated and monolithic detectors, aggregating blocks in a unique gantry self-adapting to the geometry of the field-of-view. RETIMAGER will achieve an unprecedented increase in sensitivity, with time frames as short as 0.01 sec and in vivo real-time imaging, providing 0.25 mm pixel resolvability. We will pair it with high-throughput data processing and AI tools to assess with a single tracer both perfusion and metabolism in preclinical and clinical models. In the long run, RETIMAGER’s faster, lower dose, and less invasive molecular imaging technology will become a game-changer for understanding disease processes by unveiling new accurate image-based quantitative biomarkers, taking scientific and healthcare stakeholders a step closer to personalized precision medicine.

Currently, we are half the way in the project execution, having reached month 21 out of the 42 scheduled execution months, and we are already proud to show some very positive and promising results, which can be presented and divided per Work Package:

WP1: VERTEX IDENTIFICATION AND IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION. To enhance image reconstruction, we have built a GPU-based Ultra-fast Monte Carlo positron emission tomography simulator (UMC-PET) incorporating emission, transport and detection physics of radiation in PET scanners, which has proven to be fast, versatile and accurate. Code has been simplified without adversely affecting simulation accuracy when compared to other approaches.
WP2: HIGH-THROUGHPUT DATA ACQUISITION AND SYSTEM INTERFACING. We have successfully designed, implemented and tested the ASIC system and corresponding interfacing electronics, including the coincidence boards, to enable real-time reconstruction, that will be then integrated and validated during WP3 execution.
WP3: ANATOMY-ADAPTIVE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE. Within this Work Package, we are progressing in the design and implementation of the PET detector system capable of adapting to the anatomy of the subject. Once that part is completed, the system with the detectors designed in WP1 and the electronics of WP2 will be integrated for testing and retrofitting, leading to a fully functional system validation.
WP4: VALIDATION OF THE RETIMAGER TOOL AND PRECLIICAL TESTING. With the overall aim of acquiring multiparametric PET data sets in a single session, we have implemented the first version of an image-derived input function (IDIF) method, which is a non-invasive alternative that enables estimation with no or minimal blood sampling. This work aims to develop a fully automated method for IDIF estimation for RETIMAGER in order to improve quantitation to estimate tissue perfusion for an improved diagnose of the diseased brain. The developed automated tool appears to be feasible for PET/MR and dedicated PET applications minimizing the need for manual user interactions.
WP5: CLINICAL EXPLORATION. A first risk assessment and clinical investigation protocol for the evaluation of our scanner has been drafted and the required documentation for the responsible authorities and Ethics committee to obtain the clearance for using the RETIMAGER hardware/software in scientific studies with humans is being prepared.
WP6: DISSEMINATION AND OUTREACH. Actively promoting RETIMAGER with a detailed plan including continuous updates on our project website, strong presence in Social Media, Open Access publications and presence in the most relevant conferences and fairs, among others.
WP7: PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Through a strict resource management strategy to ensure efficient project execution.

You can use this link to download the entire Press Release:

The RETIMAGER team remains fully and enthusiastically committed for doing our best during the second part of the project execution to try to make the World a little bit better.

For further information, please visit https://retimager.eu and follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/retimager/