Researchers from INM-4 present their latest PET imaging studies at the 2026 DGN Annual Meeting
28th January 2026
Dr. Christoph Lerche, Group Leader of the PET Group at INM-4, and post-doctoral researcher Dr. Elisabeth Pfaehler have been selected to present their research at the 64th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Nuclear Medicine (DGN Annual Meeting 2026). The conference is the largest interdisciplinary meeting for nuclear medicine in the German-speaking world. From the 22nd to the 25th of April 2026, experts from science, clinics, nursing, research, politics, and healthcare will gather in Münster, Germany, to discuss current developments in nuclear medicine, provide new impetus, and jointly shape progress in nuclear medicine. Following evaluation by the conference review committee, both contributions were accepted into the scientific programme aslighthouse presentations.
Dr. Pfaehler will present her work in the Young Talent Session, which showcases outstanding research by early-career scientists. Her presentation, titled “ML-EM Algorithm for the Reconstruction of Dual-Tracer PET Images,” introduces a new method for simultaneous dual-tracer PET imaging. Currently, imaging two metabolic targets requires separate scans, but simultaneous imaging could offer new insights into neurotransmitter systems and neurological disorders. The proposed approach combines a standard β+-emitter (like 18F) with a β+-γ-emitter (like 44Sc), using the γ photon to distinguish between the two tracers. Since the γ photon is often not detected due to scatter, the researchers estimate the ratio of triple to double detection events based on attenuation and event position, then incorporate this into the ML-EM reconstruction algorithm. Testing on simulated cylinders showed a relative mean difference of 4.2-10.5% from ground truth, demonstrating effective quantitative separation of both tracers.
Dr. Lerche will present his work in Session LT 6: Medical Physics, Radiomics, and Dosimetry. His presentation, titled “Imaging Performance Evaluation of a Human 7T BrainPET Insert,” focuses on the performance assessment of advanced PET imaging systems for ultra-high-field brain imaging.
The presentations reflect current research work at INM-4 in medical imaging and related methodological development.
DUAL TRACER PET RECONSTRUCTION
