TRIMAGE – Development of a Simultaneous Trimodal (PET/MR/EEG) Imaging Tool for Early Diagnosis of Schizophrenia and Other Mental Disorders

Abstract

Introduction

The FP7-European funded project TRIMAGE is run by a European consortium of 7 research institutes and 4 SMEs. It started in December 2013 and has a duration of 4 years. It is coordinated by the Department of Physics 'E. Fermi” of the University of Pisa (Italy),

Objective

TRIMAGE aims to create a trimodal, cost-effective imaging tool consisting of PET/MR/EEG. It uses cutting edge technology with performance beyond the state of the art. The tool is intended for broad distribution to enable effective early diagnosis of schizophrenia and possibly other mental health disorders.

Methods

The goals of this project will be achieved by the scientific and technological developments in both the clinical and technological fields, as detailed by the following three strongly correlated S&T sub-objectives:

1. a) Find new biomarkers and define a suitable multimodal paradigm with already available PET, MR, EEG and PET/MR systems thus providing clinical evidence on the feasibility of early schizophrenia diagnosis.

2. b) Construct and test an optimized cost-effective trimodality imaging instrument (brain PET/MR/EEG) for diagnosis, monitoring and follow-up of schizophrenia disorders.

3. c) Validate the trimodal imaging device built by this Consortium with regard to the results and the clinical data obtained from sub-objective a).

Discussion

This presentation will describe the outlines of the project and will present an update after the first year of running.