Workshop on Small-Animal SPECT

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Noninvasive, in vivo imaging of animals is an important tool in biomedical research. The Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging (CGRI) at the University of Arizona was established based on NIH funding to develop ultra-high resolution SPECT imaging systems, with submillimeter spatial resolution for small-animal applications. In January 2004, the Center hosted, with the aid of NIH funding, a very successful workshop on small animal SPECT imaging. We seek support to organize the second Workshop on Small-Animal SPECT to be held in Tucson, Arizona on March 8-10, 2006. The overall goal of the workshop is to promote information exchange and collaboration between the research groups who are developing systems for small-animal applications. Furthermore, the workshop intends to stimulate the use of SPECT systems in the areas of oncology, cardiology, and gene therapy. For this second workshop, we anticipate 75-100 attendees. This number was determined from the number of participants in attendance at the first workshop and the enthusiasm which the attendees expressed for a second workshop. The program will include short-course presentations by the faculty of CGRI and by select outside researchers and oral presentations given by the attendees. Topics include: biomedical significance of small-animal imaging, overview of detector technologies including scintillation cameras and semiconductor arrays, imager design, and data acquisition systems, animal handling and anesthesia issues, objective assessment of image quality, and system modeling and reconstruction algorithms. The grant will assist with the logistic support of organizing the workshop and provide travel support for about six graduate students and postdocs.