Medical scanner is first to capture 3D pictures of whole human body

Devised by UC Davis scientists Simon Cherry and Ramsey Badawi, Explorer is a combined positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner that could eventually have applications ranging from improving diagnostics to tracking disease progression to researching new drug therapies.

The first images from scans of humans using the new device will be shown at the upcoming Radiological Society of North America meeting. The scanner has been developed in partnership with Shanghai-based United Imaging Healthcare (UIH).

“While there is still a lot of careful analysis to do, I think we already know that Explorer is delivering roughly what we had promised,” said Cherry, distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“The level of detail was astonishing, especially once we got the reconstruction method a bit more optimised,” said Badawi, head of nuclear medicine at UC Davis Health and vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology. “We could see features that you just don’t see on regular PET scans. And the dynamic sequence showing the radiotracer moving around the body in three dimensions over time was, frankly, mind-blowing.”