PhD project: Determining cerebral blood flow using positron emission tomography at high temporal resolution

Project description

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique for visualising processes within the body. A radioactive tracer is used to track, for example, cell metabolism, blood flow or inflammation. PET has recently undergone a huge change in signal sensitivity due to the introduction of total-body PET scanners which capture a much larger fraction of the radioactive decays. Importantly, this means that changes in tracer concentration can be recorded at a significantly higher temporal resolution. 

It is crucial to explore the implications of this enhanced temporal resolution for measurements of cerebral blood flow. Recent clinical studies have taken two very different approaches to analysing the new flow data. This PhD will create simulated data of the changes in tracer concentration in the brain which will then be analysed using these contrasting approaches. As well as determining any bias, it will also be possible to develop improvements to these methods. 

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