Salerno Isabella, Benabdallah Nadia, Fears Amanda, Unnerstall Ryan, Hauck Lindsey, Komarov Sergey, Cox Linda, Zhang Hanwen, Poenicke Kevin, Aromando Joseph, Tai Yuan-Chun, Wencewicz Timothy, Veis Deborah J, Thorek Daniel L J
Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Program in Quantitative Molecular Therapeutics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
EJNMMI Res. 2025 Feb 21;15(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s13550-025-01202-0.
Biocontainment protocols are critical for conducting infectious disease (ID) research, particularly when using small animal models in biosafety level (BSL) 2/3 environments. This study evaluates the impact of poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) containment vessels on the performance of preclinical positron emission tomography (PET) systems. We tested containment vessels designed with varying wall thicknesses (3, 6, and 9 mm) to simulate ID imaging facility equipment and protocols. Through the use of multicomponent phantoms and in vivo mouse models of Staphylococcus aureus infection, we assessed key performance metrics including count rate, image quality, activity recovery, and spatial resolution.
The results indicate that the use of PMMA containment causes only minor reductions in imaging performance. The thickest PMMA (9 mm) led to a maximum 6.8% decrease in count rate, which remains well within the acceptable range of variation. Effects on spatial resolution were most noticeable for smaller structures within the phantom study, with a 19.65% difference in full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the thickest walled vessel. In vivo, using infected mice, the containment devices had modest effects on the task of activity concentration to be detected at the infection site, even with the thickest PMMA tube.
These findings suggest that PMMA biocontainment vessels have small but measurable impact on preclinical PET system performance, making them a viable and cost-effective solution for conducting infectious disease imaging under BSL-2/3 conditions. Specifically, the thinnest containment (3 mm) had only minor effects on all tested parameters, suggesting it is well-suited for use in ID enclosures while maintaining accurate qualitative and quantitative assessments. This approach may reduce the burden for fully separate and specialized modifications for BSL-3 imaging facilities, and can be broadly applied to preclinical research involving pathogenic organisms.
生物安全防护方案对于开展传染病（ID）研究至关重要，尤其是在生物安全水平（BSL）2/3环境中使用小动物模型时。本研究评估了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）隔离容器对临床前正电子发射断层扫描（PET）系统性能的影响。我们测试了设计有不同壁厚（3、6和9毫米）的隔离容器，以模拟ID成像设施设备和方案。通过使用多组分体模和金黄色葡萄球菌感染的体内小鼠模型，我们评估了包括计数率、图像质量、活度恢复和空间分辨率在内的关键性能指标。
结果表明，使用PMMA隔离仅导致成像性能略有下降。最厚的PMMA（9毫米）导致计数率最大下降6.8%，仍在可接受的变化范围内。在体模研究中，对较小结构的空间分辨率影响最为明显，最厚壁容器的半高宽（FWHM）差异为19.65%。在体内，使用感染小鼠，即使使用最厚的PMMA管，隔离装置对感染部位要检测的活度浓度任务也有适度影响。
这些发现表明，PMMA生物安全隔离容器对临床前PET系统性能有微小但可测量的影响，使其成为在BSL-2/3条件下进行传染病成像的可行且经济高效的解决方案。具体而言，最薄的隔离（3毫米）对所有测试参数的影响都很小，这表明它非常适合在ID隔离环境中使用，同时保持准确的定性和定量评估。这种方法可能会减轻BSL-3成像设施完全单独和专门改造的负担，并且可以广泛应用于涉及致病生物的临床前研究。
