*3.1.3. PET-MRI*

Simultaneous PET and MRI scans eliminate the need to move patients from one imaging unit to another, making it easier to combine data from both scans to produce enhanced details. The scanner also exposes patients to significantly lower radiation levels than an older combined scanning technique, PET-computed tomography (CT). PET-MRI scanner is used in under‐ standing certain types of malignancies, such as cancers of the brain, neck and pelvis because the anatomy is very complex in those areas, and combined PET-MRI should produce a more detailed reading of the intricate boundaries between disease and healthy tissue. The integra‐ tion of PET and MRI for simultaneous scanning was a complex task because powerful MRI magnets interfered with the imaging detectors on the PET scanner. But scientists overcome this problem and PET-MRI scanners are nowadays available for research and patient care (Figure 11).

In 2010, Philips unveiled its own solution which involves a 3T MR and a high resolution PET scanner with an integrated rotating table that passes the patient from one machine immediately into the other. Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MR is a new modality so original and resourceful that it offers Astonish Time-of-Flight technology combined with the superior soft tissue imaging of Achieva 3.0T MRI in a whole-body footprint.

In 2011, Siemens Healthcare said that its hybrid PET-MRI scanner received USA Food and Drug Administration clearance. The device, the Biograph mMR, is the first integrated PET-MR device capable of doing simultaneous whole-body magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography scans. It combines a 3-Tesla MR system with PET detectors, giving doctors the morphological and soft tissue information from MR with the cellular and metabolic activity data from PET.

**Figure 11.** Actually available PET-MRI hybrid scanners.
