Introducing positron emission particle tracking into the biomedical field

Positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) is an imaging methodology that offers high resolution visualisation on the trajectory of a single radiolabelled particle as it moves within a given system. Diverging from PET, where g-rays from positron annihilation serve to image radiolabelled tracers (radiopharmaceuticals), PEPT leverages the fact that all emitted photons originate from a singular point to triangulate the position and track individual particles even at high velocities in three dimensions and in a quantitative manner. The efficacy of PEPT in particle tracking hinges on factors such as radioactivity per particle and the sensitivity of the PEPT camera. Remarkable results are achievable with optimal configurations; for instance, the Forte camera at the University of Birmingham, UK, can track particles moving at 1ms-1 with submillimetre precision approximately 250 times per second. Ongoing advancements, including innovations like the superPEPT camera, promise further enhancements in spatiotemporal resolutions.

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