Imaging performance of the BNL PET imaging system for plant science

A PET scanner for the purpose of plant imaging has been developed by the BNL PET imaging group. The compact design of the integrated system permits its use within a plant growth chamber, in which various radioisotopes can be administered and tracked throughout the plant. The scanner has seen multiple upgrades, which improve its capability to investigate aspects of plant biology related to biofuels using radiotracer methods. These include the development of real-time feedback on data quality and a streamlined user interface. Further, a programmable movable stage allows us to focus on particular regions of interest in the plant, as well as extend the field of view to span the entire plant in a vertical scanning mode. We will present imaging results from PET studies conducted in association with the plant biology group at BNL.