A new total-body PET scanner to be hosted in Cambridge - one of only a handful in the country - will transform our ability to diagnose and treat a range of conditions in patients and to carry out cutting-edge research and drug development.
This is an exciting new technology that will transform our ability to answer important questions about how diseases arise and to search for and develop new treatments
Franklin Aigbirhio
The scanner, funded through a £5.5m investment from the UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC), will form part of the National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP), the UK's first-of-its-kind national total-body PET imaging platform for drug discovery and clinical research.
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful technology for imaging living tissues and organs down to the molecular level in humans. It can be used to investigate how diseases arise and progress and to detect and diagnose diseases at an early stage.
Total-body PET scanners are more sensitive than existing technology and so can provide new insights into anatomy that have never been seen before, improving detection, diagnosis and treatment of complex, multi-organ diseases.
Current PET technology is less sensitive and requires the patient to be repositioned multiple times to achieve a full-body field of view. Total-body PET scans can achieve this in one session and are quicker, exposing patients to considerably lower doses of radiation. This means more patients, including children, can participate in clinical research and trials to improve our understanding of diseases.
ANGLIA network of universities and NHS trusts
Supplied by Siemens Healthineers, the scanner will also be the focus of the ANGLIA network, comprising three universities, each paired with one or more local NHS trusts: the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; UCL and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and the University of Sheffield with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The network, supported by UKRI, is partnered with biotech company Altos Labs and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, both with R&D headquarters in Cambridge, and Alliance Medical, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging.
Franklin Aigbirhio, Professor of Molecular Imaging Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, will lead the ANGLIA network. He said: "This is an exciting new technology that will transform our ability to answer important questions about how diseases arise and to search for and develop new treatments that will ultimately benefit not just our patients, but those across the UK and beyond.
"But this is more than just a research tool. It will also help us diagnose and treat diseases at an even earlier stage, particularly in children, for whom repeated investigations using standard PET scanners was not an option."
The scanner will be located in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, ensuring that the discoveries and breakthroughs it enables can be turned rapidly into benefits to patients. It will expand NHS access to PET services, particularly in underserved areas across the East of England, and support more inclusive trial participation.
Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: "The ANGLIA network, centred on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and with collaborations across the wider University and its partners, will drive innovations in many areas of this key imaging technology, such as new radiopharmaceuticals and application of AI to data analysis, that will bring benefits to patients far beyond its immediate reach. Its expertise will help build the next generation of PET scientists, as well as enabling partners in industry to use PET to speed up the development of new drugs."
Roland Sinker, Chief Executive of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke's Hospital, said: "I am pleased that our patients will be some of the first to benefit from this groundbreaking technology. Harnessing the latest technologies and enabling more people to benefit from the latest research is a vital part of our work at CUH and is crucial to the future of the NHS.
"By locating this scanner at Addenbrooke's we are ensuring that it can be uniquely used to deliver wide ranging scientific advances across academia and industry, as well as improving the lives of patients."
It is anticipated that the scanner will be installed by autumn 2026.
Enhancing training and research capacity
The co-location of the total-body PET scanner with existing facilities and integration with systems at the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital will also enhance training and research capacity, particularly for early-career researchers and underrepresented groups.
The ANGLIA network will provide opportunities to support and train more by people from Black and other minority ethnic backgrounds to participate in PET chemistry and imaging. The University of Cambridge will support a dedicated fellowship scheme, capacity and capability training in key areas, and strengthen the network partnership with joint projects and exchange visits.
Professor Aigbirhio, who is also co-chair of the UKRI MRC's Black in Biomedical Research Advisory Group, added: "Traditionally, scientists from Black and other minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented in the field of medical imaging. We aim to use our network to change this, providing fellowship opportunities and training targeted at members of these communities."
The National PET Imaging Platform
Funded by UKRI's Infrastructure Fund, and delivered by a partnership between Medicines Discovery Catapult, MRC and Innovate UK, NPIP provides a critical clinical infrastructure of scanners, creating a nationwide network for data sharing, discovery and innovation. It allows clinicians, industry and researchers to collaborate on an international scale to accelerate patient diagnosis, treatment and clinical trials. The MRC funding for the Cambridge scanner will support the existing UKRI Infrastructure Fund investment for NPIP and enables the University to establish a total-body PET facility.
Dr Ceri Williams, Executive Director of Challenge-Led Themes at MRC said: "MRC is delighted to augment the funding for NPIP to provide an additional scanner for Cambridge in line with the original recommendations of the funding panel. This additional machine will broaden the geographic reach of the platform, providing better access for patients from East Anglia and the Midlands, and enable research to drive innovation in imaging, detection, and diagnosis, alongside supporting partnership with industry to drive improvements and efficiency for the NHS."
Dr Juliana Maynard, Director of Operations and Engagement for the National PET Imaging Platform, said: "We are delighted to welcome the University of Cambridge as the latest partner of NPIP, expanding our game-changing national imaging infrastructure to benefit even more researchers, clinicians, industry partners and, importantly, patients.
"Once operational, the scanner will contribute to NPIP's connected network of data, which will improve diagnosis and aid researchers' understanding of diseases, unlocking more opportunities for drug discovery and development. By fostering collaboration on this scale, NPIP helps accelerate disease diagnosis, treatment, and clinical trials, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for patients."
