Center for Advanced Preclinical Imaging

@PEG nanoparticles are prospective for near-infrared (NIR) photothermal/photodynamic and SPECT/CT cancer theranostics.

The Compton camera concept is based on reconstruction of recorded Compton scattering events for incoming gamma rays. The camera usually consist of two or more position (2D) and energy sensitive detectors. The Compton scattering of the incoming gamma ray recoiling an electron occurs in the first detector. The position and energy of recoiled electron is recorded. The scattered gamma ray continues to the next detector where it is absorbed and its energy and position is recorded too. Knowing both positions and energies the scattering angle can be calculated using the Compton equation. By detecting multiple events the position and image of the gamma source can be reconstructed. The Compton scattering and absorption of the scattered gamma can occur within a single detector too. Such events can be used for reconstruction only if the detector provides information on 3D positions of both events along with their energies. The Timepix3, a hybrid single photon counting pixel detector, is perfect device for such measurements. It can record time-of-arrival (ToA) and energy of incident gamma rays simultaneously in each pixel. In this article we present a concept of miniaturized single layer Compton camera consisting of a single Timepix3 detector with a thick 2 mm CdTe sensor. Thanks to Timepix3 high resolution ToA measurement (1.6 ns), it is possible to measure the drift time of charge transport within the sensor and thus determine the vertical position (depth) of both interactions. By knowing both energy and position of the events in the sensor, we can reconstruct the image of the gamma source. The angular resolution of the presented Compton camera depends on the detected energy and reaches the order of a few degrees.

X-ray phase contrast imaging provides a method to distinguish materials with similar density and effective atomic number, which otherwise would be difficult using conventional X-ray absorption contrast. In recent years, multiple methods have been developed to acquire X-ray phase contrast images using incoherent laboratory sources. The single mask edge illumination setup has been demonstrated as a possible candidate for large scale applications due to its relaxed restrictions on longitudinal coherence and mask alignment, and for its ability to do bi-directional phase contrast images in a single sample exposure. Unfortunately, the single mask edge illumination setup's refraction sensitivity, and thereby signal to noise, is limited by detector artifacts. Furthermore, it requires multiple exposures to perform dark-field imaging, a method that enables imaging of micro-structures smaller than the image resolution. We propose using an Advapix detector with Timepix3 pixel-readout chip in a single mask imaging setup to improve signal to noise ratio in phase contrast images. This is achieved using the Timepix3 chip's ability to simultaneously acquire fast time of arrival and time over threshold measurement of single photon events, which enables sub-pixel identification of individual photons. In this paper, we demonstrate that signal to noise ratio can be improved by at least 67± 5 % using subpixel identification of single photons compared to conventional acquisitions methods. Thereby the required sample dose can be reduced considerably. This shows that there is a great potential in using Timepix3 chip to improve x-ray phase contrast imaging. Further, the results indicate the possibility for dark field imaging in a single sample exposure using Timepix3 in a single mask edge illumination setup.

We have prepared silica matrix with hexagonal symmetry of pores (SBA-15) and loaded it with anticancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) to promote it as a drug delivery system. Gd2O3 nanoparticles were incorporated into the matrix to enhance nanosystems applicability as contrast agent for MRI, thus enabled this nanocomposite to be used as multifunctional nano-based therapeutic agent. Drug release profile was obtained by UV-VIS spectroscopy, and it indicates the prolongated release of 5-FU during the first hours and the total release after 5 h. The cytotoxicity tests using MTT-assay, fluorescent microscopy, bright-field microscopy, and flow cytometry were carried out using human glioma U87 MG cells and SK BR 3 cells. The nanocomposite with anticancer drug (Gd2O3/SBA-15/5FU) showed toxic behaviour towards studied cells, unlike nanocomposite without drug (Gd2O3/SBA-15) that was non-toxic. Our drug delivery system was designed to minimalize negative effect of Gd3+ ions at magnetic resonance imaging and drug 5-FU on healthy cells due to their encapsulation into biocompatible silica matrix, so the Gd3+ ions are more stable (in comparison to chelates), lower therapeutic dose of 5-FU is needed and its prolongated release from silica pores was confirmed. Very good T1 contrast in MR images was observed even at low concentrations, thus this nanosystem can be potentially used as contrast imaging agent.

One of the limitations of Hybrid Pixel Detectors (HPD) is the intrinsic X-ray fluorescence emission from the detector semiconductor sensor. These fluorescence photons cause artifacts and false peaks in the photon energy spectrum measured by the HPD . ADVAPIX-Timepix3 is an energy dispersive HPD based on a semiconductor sensor (Si/CdTe/CZT/GaAS) and readout by a Timepix3 ASIC . Timepix3 is capable of measuring simultaneous Time-Over-Threshold (Energy) and Time-of-Arrival as well as sparse readout. This allows unambiguous one-by-one photon detection where each photon measurement is assigned a time stamp. In this work, we use the time and energy information of every single photon to identify intrinsic XRF events in a 57Co radioactive source spectrum as measured by a CdTe based detector. We compute the minimum time (ns) and space (pixels) coincidence window, between the XRF and escape photons, that is required to suppress the XRF effect. These parameters were found to be ± 15 ns and 10 pixels (pixel size = 55 μm) for 1 mm CdTe at 3000 V/cm, 24 ± 1°C, and a flux of 1.666 × 103 photons/s before correction.