sensL Launch Open-Source PET Program In Collaboration With Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The low light detector solution provider, sensL, today announced their collaboration in an open-source PET electronics program, openPET, with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) California, USA.
This openPET program is the first of its kind in the Medical Imaging sector and is a concept jointly developed by researchers of sensL and LBNL. Both groups are actively working together with users to produce the first prototype system which will incorporate sensL's solid-state light detectors and readout system with LBNL's back-end electronics. OpenPET is designed so that it is compatible with a wide variety of detectors and will be freely available to researchers and organisations within the Medical Imaging field. The openPET group believes this will speed the development of new Medical Imaging systems in the detection of cancer, Alzheimer's, and cardiac disease. This concept mimics the open source software movement which has revolutionised the software industry.
"Our concept is that the openPET electronics serve the needs of users in raw performance and be scalable enough to be used in systems ranging in size from test stands with a small number of channels up to complete cameras with many detectors" says Dr. Bill Moses, Senior Scientist at the Life Science division of LBNL. "But the most important requirement is that it will be flexible and easy to use. We have designed the system to be flexible enough that anybody who develops a new detector will be able to plug it into openPET and have it running within hours. We also envision an openPET user community that shares open-source software for data acquisition, calibration, etc., which will allow users to go from concept to working camera in record time."
The founder and Chief Technology Officer of sensL, Dr. Carl Jackson, states "To date, open source has not been used in Medical Imaging. We believe it provides the fastest and most effective way to introduce our silicon photomultiplier technology to the market. The openPET system will allow new Medical Imaging concepts to be brought to completion faster than before." Jackson also adds "I believe what we are providing to the marketplace is unique and will change people's perception of how to best develop systems for the future".
About sensL
sensL headquartered in Cork, Ireland is an international low light sensing solution provider. They develop solid state low light detectors based on silicon technology which is capable of detecting extremely weak signals of light. Low light detectors are used in instrumentation for a wide range of applications such as medical imaging, homeland security, analytical medical instruments, process and environmental monitoring.
About Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory based in Berkley, California is a member of the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Science. It is managed by the University of California (UC) and is charged with conducting unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines. The Life Sciences Division is one of 15 scientific divisions at LBNL. Their main areas of research are in Cancer & DNA Damage Responses, Bioenergy/GTL & Structural Biology, Radiotracer Development & Imaging Technology, and Genome Dynamics.
SOURCE: sensL