Project 1.
Several years ago, the physics group built a device for whole-body projection imaging of tumor-bearing mice containing positron emitting isotopes.  This experimental bench top system, called the “positron projection imager” (PPI) has been used increasingly in drug development studies where it offers a number of practical advantages over conventional tomographic PET imaging The current PPI, however, is not “finished” and is comprised of various electronic and mechanical components that are not optimized for routine use.

We plan to upgrade the machine to commercial standards this summer, both electrical and mechanical, and we believe a summer student with knowledge of CAD/CAM mechanical design (Solid Works) could materially aid us in this work.  The end-product of this work would be a complete mechanical redesign of the PPI leading to the NIH shops implementing this design in a finished system.  

Project 2.
Dr. Seidel has written a computer simulation of the BioPET/CT small animal PET scanner and has used this simulator to “image” a digital rendering of a mouse, thereby producing an apparent PET scan of the simulated animal that is realistic in all details, anatomical and physical.  This digital mouse also contains a heart that can be made to beat just as in a real mouse.  Moreover, the chamber volumes of this heart can be varied as can the activity in each chamber.  As a result, it is possible to use this PET scan to investigate phenomena impossible to measure experimentally, e.g. the contribution of counts to a 3D left ventricular region of interest due to activity outside the ventricle.  This capability allows analytic methods to be developed that can compensate for these otherwise unmeasurable effects and produce more accurate estimates of cardiac function, a factor that influences MIP tumor imaging studies.  A student fluent in computer operations could analyze these simulation data with new analytic tools of our design that could assess and optimize these methods.  The end-product of the student’s work would be a comparison of the results of applying these tools to the known volumes, etc. of the simulation and measuring improvements in estimates of cardiac function and related factors.

For a student with either of these skill sets, these projects could likely be started and finished within the time frame of the appointment and result is a poster for presentation at the summer student poster session.