PET Imaging of Human Subjects and Animals

The MGH PET Core is cGMP/FDA registered PET drug manufacturer that operates at cost to provide investigators with required personnel, equipment and services to design and conduct research studies using positron emission tomography.

Services

Main services include:

  • Synthesis of radiotracers and radiopharmaceuticals
  • PET and SPECT animal and human imaging
  • Experimental design and pharmacokinetic modeling
  • Validation and regulatory submission of compound for human use
Radiopharmaceuticals Available for Human and Animal Use

The Core has synthesized over 20 compounds for clinical evaluation and routine use for neurology, cardiology and oncology. In addition, it has pioneered the use of 18F Tau imaging agents for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injuries.

F-18

FDG* (tumour metabolism/hypometabolism)
Florbetaben** (amyloid imaging)
Flutemetamol** (amyloid imaging)
Florbetapir** (amyloid imaging)
Fluciclovine** (tumor metabolism/prostate cancer imaging)
Sodium Fluoride** (bone imaging)
FES (estrogen receptor)†
Flortaucipir [T807] (tau protein)†
FPEB (mGlur5)‡
BFPET (myocardial perfusion) †
GE180 (TSPO/PBR)†
FLT (cellular proliferation)†

FET (amino acid uptake) †
THK 5351/GE-216 (tau protein)†
FMISO (hypoxia)†
MK-6240 (tau protein) †
GE179 (NMDA receptor)‡

C-11
PiB (amyloid)†
Altropane (Dopamine transport)‡
Raclopride (D2/D3 receptor imaging) †
Methionine (amino acid uptake)†
CO (gas for labeling red blood cells in vivo) ‡
Rolipram (PDE-4 receptor imaging) ‡
P943 (5-HT1B)
PBR-28 (TSPO/PBR)†
(S,S)-[11C]Methylreboxetine (MeNR/MRB)‡ – targets norepinephrine transporter
Nociceptive opioid peptide (NOP) receptor

N-13
Ammonia*
N2 in Saline (lung perfusion imaging) ‡

Ga-68
DOTATATE** (neuroendocrine tumor imaging)

O-15
C15O2 (blood flow imaging) ‡

*FDA approved, MGH PET Center holds FDA marketing authorization
**FDA approved, available through local commercial nuclear pharmacies
†Active IND held by MGH Gordon PET Core
‡Available under Radioactive Drug Research Committee (RDRC) oversight

The MGH PET Core can validate a radiopharmaceutical for clinical research use. Please send inquiries to:
Peter Rice
Email:

User Fees (effective from 10/1/2023 to 9/30/2024)

ServicesInternal User Fee for Non-Profit and Federal Sponsored Research (Direct Cost)External User Fee for Non-Profit and Federal Sponsored Research (inclusive of institutional indirect cost)External & Internal User Fee for Industry Sponsored Research
13N Ammonia$         4,060.00 $         5,846.00Contact us for rate
13N2 PET GMP Production + Imaging$         2,900.00 $         4,176.00Contact us for rate
13N2 PET Production + Imaging$         1,400.00 $         2,016.00Contact us for rate
13 NH3 Cardiac Blood Flow$         3,750.00 $         5,400.00Contact us for rate
18F FDG + Imaging$         2,450.00 $         3,528.00Contact us for rate
Other PET GMP Production + Imaging (includes: 11C compounds and 18F compounds; excludes: 18F FDG, 13NH3, 13N2 and 13N Ammonia)$         3,500.00 $         5,040.00Contact us for rate
Other PET Production + Imaging (includes: 11C compounds and 18F compounds; excludes: 18F FDG, 13NH3, 13N2 and 13N Ammonia)$         2,600.00 $         3,744.00Contact us for rate
PET Imaging Only (no dose, up to two hours)$         2,350.00 $         3,384.00Contact us for rate
Additional Imaging Time  (per hour)$            715.00 $         1,029.00Contact us for rate
Phantom Imaging$         1,800.00 $         2,592.00Contact us for rate
PET Compound Dose (No Imaging)$         1,750.00  $         2,520.00Contact us for rate
Cyclotron Beam Time  Isotope Production (per hour)$         1,100.00 $         1,584.00Contact us for rate
Small Animal PET/CT Imaging Only$            650.00 $            936.00Contact us for rate
Small Animal Imaging Additional Imaging Hour$            300.00 $            432.00Contact us for rate
Blood Processing$         1,400.00 $         2,016.00Contact us for rate
Consent Charge$            150.00 $            216.00Contact us for rate
CT$         1,200.00 $         1,728.00Contact us for rate
IRB Renewal$         3,800.00 $         5,472.00Contact us for rate
Kinetic Modeling$         1,250.00 $         1,800.00Contact us for rate
Radionuclidic Purity Testing$            460.00 $            662.40Contact us for rate
Regulatory Submission$      12,000.00 $      17,280.00Contact us for rate
SPECT$         2,200.00 $         3,168.00Contact us for rate
SPECT-CT$         2,800.00 $         4,032.00Contact us for rate
Start-up Fee$         8,000.00 $      11,520.00Contact us for rate
Technician Training / Site Qualification (per hour)$            500.00 $            720.00Contact us for rate
Validation of Radiotracer for Animal Use$      18,000.00 $      25,920.00Contact us for rate
Validation of Radiotracer for Human and NHP Use$      30,000.00 $      43,200.00Contact us for rate
18F FDG Dose (No Imaging)$            200.00 $            288.00Contact us for rate
GA68 PSMA 11 Production + Imaging$         7,725.00 $         11,124.00Contact us for rate
GA68 Chloride Production$         2,025.00 $         2,916.00Contact us for rate
IRB Protocol Review$         2,100.00 $         3,024.00Contact us for rate
Reprocessing / Data Access$            225.00 $            324.00Contact us for rate
Optical Imaging (Dual Channel NIR Imaging System)$            200.00 $            288.00Contact us for rate
Optical Imaging (NIR-II Imaging System)$            250.00$            360.00Contact us for rate
Optical Imaging (Trifoil InSyte)$            300.00$            432.00Contact us for rate
Optical Imaging (Cytation5)$            150.00$            216.00Contact us for rate
Optical Imaging (JuLi Stage w/ Cell Incubation)$            200.00$            288.00Contact us for rate
Conjugation Service$            500.00$            720.00Contact us for rate

Late Cancellation Policy

A PET study that is cancelled or rescheduled within 48 business hours of the original imaging session may incur a fee up to the cost of the cancelled imaging session. A radiotracer production that is not cancelled 48 business hours prior to the production day may incur a fee up to the cost of the produced dose.

Effective 2/9/22: cancellations due to COVID-19 will no longer be exempt from the late cancellation policy.

Late cancellations due to an act of God are not subject to the general cancellation policy. Since our facility operates at cost, please notify Nicole DaSilva at as soon as possible to allow us to make other arrangements.

Overhead Policy

An investigator using a Mass General Brigham fund is considered an internal user and is subject to the overhead rate applied by their institution. The internal user fee is calculated based on the direct costs of providing each service. The external user fee comprises a direct fee negotiated with the PET Core plus an overhead component. The overhead rate set by Mass General Brigham is 44% for external academic users and 59% for external industry users.

Uncompleted Studies

The PET Core commits its best efforts to successfully complete scheduled studies. However, given the very nature of many PET studies that rely on manufacturing of radiopharmaceuticals and in vivo imaging, the Core cannot be held responsible for costs associated with incomplete studies due to equipment failure or circumstances outside of our control. 

Acknowledgement of Federal Funding

Measurement of radioactivity in blood and tissue samples uses state-of-the- art equipment acquired through the support of the NIH shared instrumentation grant S10OD018035. Users of our blood sampling and kinetic modeling services are encouraged to acknowledge the grant in their publications and to report it back to us.

The grant details are:

  • Project Number: S10OD018035
  • Title: Gamma Counter and Continuous Blood Sampler for Quantitative PET Imaging,
  • PIs: Georges El Fakhri, Marc Normandin

Location

MGH Main Campus, Boston, MA: Edwards Basement (cyclotron, radiochemistry, and human and large animal imaging)
MGH Navy Yard Campus, Charlestown, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA (small animal imaging)

Major Equipment
  • GE Discovery PET/CT
  • Automated Radiochemical Synthesis systems
  • E.cam (Siemens) SPECT Systems and Planar Gamma Cameras
  • Exact HR+ Large Bore PET Scanner
  • NeuroPET/CT dedicated high sensitivity brain scanner
  • PC4096 Large Bore PET Scanner
  • Siemens PET/CT Scanner
  • Siemens Symbia SPECT/CT
  • VISTA small animal micro PET/CT
  • Tri-modality MicroPET-SPECT-CT
  • Perkin Elmer Wizard2 2480 gamma counter
  • Perkin Elmer Wizard 3860 gamma counter
  • Swisstrace Twilite II continuous blood counter

Contact Information