Wearable PET Scanner For Rats Enables Real-Time Monitoring of Awake, Moving Animals' Brains
Rat with PET Scanner The RatCAP wearable PET scanner lets lab rats move around while scientists monitor their brain activity. Nature NewsPET scan for pets A new type of brain scanner attaches to a rat's head, allowing neuroscientists to study the brains of fully awake, mobile lab animals for the first time. The RatCAP, for Rat Conscious Animal PET, is worn over a rat's head like a crown. A system of springs and motion stabilizers help the rat hold its head high and walk around. Positron emission tomography scans enable scientists to study the molecular processes of brain activity, both in animals and in humans. To use the scanners, a patient has to lie down with his or her head in a machine. But good luck telling a lab rat to sit still. Usually, animals are immobilized or given anesthesia, although those methods make it impossible to study the correlation...