First image from a combined positron emission tomography and field‐cycled MRI system

Combining positron emission tomography and MRI modalities typically requires using either conventional MRI with a MR‐compatible positron emission tomography system or a modified MR system with conventional positron emission tomography. A feature of field‐cycled MRI is that all magnetic fields can be turned off rapidly, enabling the use of conventional positron emission tomography detectors based on photomultiplier tubes. In this demonstration, two photomultiplier tube‐based positron emission tomography detectors were integrated with a field‐cycled MRI system (0.3 T/4 MHz) by placing them into a 9‐cm axial gap. A positron emission tomography‐MRI phantom consisting of a triangular arrangement of positron‐emitting point sources embedded in an onion was imaged in a repeating interleaved sequence of ～1 sec MRI then 1 sec positron emission tomography. The first multimodality images from the combined positron emission tomography and field‐cycled MRI system show no additional artifacts due to interaction between the systems and demonstrate the potential of this approach to combining positron emission tomography and MRI. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.