PhD project: Can the latest positron emission tomography scanners use tracer kinetics to differentiate liver tumours? a simulation study.
Project description
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique for observing physiological processes within the body. It is currently undergoing a revolution due to the development of combined PET/MRI scanners and total-body PET scanners with unprecedented sensitivity.
For two decades it has been know that the PET tracer 11C-acetate was a valuable way to identify liver lesions. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that kinetic studies (showing changes across several tens of minutes) could be used to differentiate tumours from benign lesions. This latter approach requires knowledge of the variation through time of the tracer concentration in the portal vein. At the time, this was practically impossible to obtain.
This PhD will use computer simulation techniques to investigate whether this problem is now soluble by either using the complementary soft tissue information from MRI or via the enhanced spatial resolution of a total-body PET scanner. There will also be the opportunity to compare the single-tracer approach with the performance of PET scans carried out using both 11C-acetate and 18F-FDG tracers together.
Project supervisor
- Professor Paul Clegg (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
The project supervisor welcomes informal enquiries about this project.
Find out more about this research area
The links below summarise our research in the area(s) relevant to this project:
- Find out more about Physics of Living Matter.
- Find out more about the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems.
What next?
- Find out how to apply for our PhD degrees.
- Find out about fees and funding and studentship opportunities.
- View and complete the application form (on the main University website).
- Find out how to contact us for more information.