Low-cost, small-animal shelf for simultaneously assessing several small animals with a whole-body PET scanner.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this work was to establish a low-cost device for simple positioning of several small animals within a whole-body PET scanner. METHODS The device was designed as a stackable shelf for 3 x 3 animals, similar to a stackable shelf for wine bottles. It was constructed from ordinary PVC drain pipe and acrylic panes. RESULTS The shelf simplified accurate and reproducible positioning of the animals and, therefore, supported automatic data processing. Deterioration of image quality by attenuation of photons within the shelf itself was rather small. CONCLUSION The small-animal shelf is a useful, low-cost device for simultaneously assessing up to 9 small animals with a whole-body PET scanner.