Development and performance test of an online blood sampling system for determination of the arterial input function in rats.

Background: For positron emission tomography (PET) kinetic modelling, an accurate determination of the arterial input function is required. In this study, a blood sampling system was developed and tested using different radiotracers in rats.

Methods: The detector consists of pairs of lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) detectors, photomultiplier tubes and lead shield assembled within a steel casing working in coincidence mode.