Physicists build a more affordable brain scanner

March 29, 2018

News

Zurich – Two scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich are building a brain scanner that is considerably less expensive and smaller than current models. The two have now earned a place in the “30 Under 30” list published by the U.S. business magazine Forbes.

Particle physicists Jannis Fischer and Max Ahnen at the Federal Institute of Technical (ETH) in Zurich are developing a PET brain scanner. PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography and is an imaging method used in nuclear medicine to detect cancer as well as neurological and cardiovascular diseases.

According to ETH Zurich, conventional scanners take up around 15 square metres of floor space and cost between 1.5 and 5.5 million Swiss francs, which many hospitals are unable to afford.

Fischer and Ahnen are working to improve this situation with their invention called Brain PET (BPET). It will be used to identify neurological disorders, including brain tumours and diseases of the nervous system, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, all of which can cause dementia.

BPET is expected to cost just a tenth of current PET devices and will have a footprint of less than two square metres.

“It looks a bit like a hair salon chair with an integrated hairdryer hood,” explained Ahnen. Thanks to its size and affordable price, it is suitable for use not only in big hospitals but also in smaller clinics in South America, Asia or Africa.

The ETH scientists are now in the process of setting up their new company, Positrigo, and they plan to finish construction of the first prototype by September 2018. Their goal is to bring Brain PET onto the market in 2012, as this is the date when many pharmaceutical companies plan to launch new Alzheimer’s drugs.

In recognition of their invention, the U.S. business magazine Forbes included Fischer and Ahnen in its “30 Under 30 Europe” list in the category of Science & Healthcare. The list is compiled every year to recognise “the most intelligent young entrepreneurs and inventors” in different disciplines.