13th FERO Fellowship – Dr. Alberto Jiménez Schuhmacher

Biomedical imaging consists of pictures that help doctors make decisions (X-rays, ultrasounds, ultrasound images). Positron emission tomography (PET) is a technique that makes 3D images by detecting physical particles called positrons. At present, there are still few positron-emitting substances that can be detected with PET, mainly a positron-emitting sugar (FDG). Tumour cells take up more sugar, which makes it possible to detect small tumours and small metastases. However, this PET approach is very limited for brain tumours; it is not effective because our brain consumes a lot of sugar. Survival for glioblastoma, the deadliest brain tumour, is barely 15 months, and taking an intracranial biopsy to confirm the diagnosis carries many risks and is also not sufficient because these tumours are highly heterogeneous, mosaic-like.

The project aims to produce better PET images to detect and obtain information about these brain tumours. This would be a “virtual biopsy” that would provide the same information as several biopsies, but through non-invasive imaging tests. With this technique, it would be possible to obtain information about the anatomy, geography of the tumour, its grade, and its response to potential treatments.