Preclinical Image of the Year 2020

August 4, 2020

MILabs preclinical image of the year

Each year, at the occasion of the SNMMI, MILabs chooses an image that best exemplifies the most promising advances in the field of molecular imaging. Among numerous entries, there were many new multi-isotope PET-SPECT and radiotheranostic applications as well as contributions related to SARS-CoV-2-virus research which initiated a worldwide preclinical research effort. However, before going into detail, we would like to bring homage to the passing of a true pioneer of advanced molecular imaging, Prof. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, professor and chair of radiology at the Stanford School of Medicine.

Remembering Prof. Sanjiv S. Gambhir

Our founding Scientific Advisory Board member and dear friend, Prof. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir passed away on July 18th. This has been truly sad news for all of us at MILabs. Prof. Gambhir was a brilliant researcher and a giant in molecular imaging. Scores of researchers and industrial innovators have lost a trailblazing mentor and champion. Prof. Gambhir received numerous awards, medals, and other honors for his work in advancing Molecular Imaging, Nuclear Medicine, and early cancer detection. Tributes from the global science community have poured in. He will be sadly missed. Read the Stanford tribute here.

Why preclinical Ultra-High Definition PET (U-PET) is here to stay

MILabs approach of physically collimated PET rather than electronically collimated PET (so-called coincidence PET) is often dismissed by die-hard coincidence-based PET opponents as a curiosity. Unfortunately, most of the dismissive comments come from a misunderstanding how UHD-PET works. It’s beyond the scope of this newsletter to go in the operational details. The best way to comprehend it is to compare it as confocal fluorescence microscopy to broad field fluorescence microscopy. Both technologies have their place in biomedical research. Therefore, if you are interested in detailed preclinical PET research, UHD-PET offers many unique advantages. Just look for instance at the accompanying ⁸⁹Zr image showing the uptake of mAb-⁸⁹Zr in the tumor microenvironment: read more or watch the webinar presented by Prof. Bart Cornelissen, Univ. of Oxford

MILabs co-images of the year

Because of the multiple entries related to pulmonary research relevant to SARS-Cov-2 virus imaging, multiple pulmonary contributions were selected as co-images for the Preclinical Image of the Year award:
Co-winner #1 – Ferrets can get the same respiratory infections as humans, including Covid-19. Researchers at the University of Alabama demonstrated how quantitative pulmonary imaging in ferrets can be accomplished. Read more
Co-winner #2 – While high-resolution in vivo CT is used for many pulmonary research applications, the use of molecular tracers can add critical extra information. The University of British Columbia ranked different quantitative pulmonary administration methods of nuclear tracers to mouse models. Read more
Co-winner #3 – In a joint effort, TU Delft, UMC Utrecht and MILabs developed a virtual lung endoscopy methods to localize pathological processes in the bronchi of mice, guinea pigs and ferrets. For further viewing