Research Paper#Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Positronium Lifetime Imaging (PLI), Radionuclides, Medical Imaging🔬 ResearchAnalyzed: Jan 3, 2026 15:52
First Positronium Lifetime Imaging with Mn-52 and Co-55
Published:Dec 30, 2025 14:36
•1 min read
•ArXiv
Analysis
This paper presents the first application of Positronium Lifetime Imaging (PLI) using the radionuclides Mn-52 and Co-55 with a plastic-based PET scanner (J-PET). The study validates the PLI method by comparing results with certified reference materials and explores its application in human tissues. The work is significant because it expands the capabilities of PET imaging by providing information about tissue molecular architecture, potentially leading to new diagnostic tools. The comparison of different isotopes and the analysis of their performance is also valuable for future PLI studies.
Key Takeaways
- •Demonstrates the feasibility of PLI using Mn-52 and Co-55 with a plastic-based PET scanner.
- •Validates the PLI method by comparing results with certified reference materials.
- •Explores the application of PLI in human tissues (cardiac myxoma and adipose).
- •Compares the performance of Mn-52 and Co-55 for PLI, highlighting the trade-offs between half-life, background, and spectral purity.
- •Shows that the applied selection criteria on the data measured with the modular J-PET can be used for PLI studies even with radionuclides with complex decay patterns.
Reference
“The measured values of $τ_{ ext{oPs}}$ in polycarbonate using both isotopes matches well with the certified reference values.”