Development of an imaging method for in vivo single-cell tracking under high-noise conditions: a proof of principle

This paper reports the development of a positron imaging method for in vivo single-cell tracking under high-noise conditions. Following biological processes spatially and temporally at a single-cell level in a living organism is desirable for inquiring into the relationships between the behaviours and properties of cells. Positron-emitting radionuclides enable detecting and following radioactivity-labelled substances deep inside living organisms. However, positron imaging has several challenges, such as the distribution of high noise in other areas close to the cell under investigation. In this work, an algorithm for locating a cell with millisecond resolution to combat the strong interference of nearby noise is developed. The feasibility of the method is verified by the demonstration of particle tracking and detection of behavioural changes in an environment with the signal-to-noise ratio of 1:9.