Valencia, Spain – – The Hospital La Fe in Valencia has become the first hospital selected to validate a prototype that appears to be lifted from the realm of science fiction: the Helmet-PET. This innovative positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, designed exclusively for the brain, promises to fundamentally change how we detect and treat complex neurological conditions. The initiative, framed within a public pre-commercial procurement model, offers “a new hope for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, or brain tumors,” and other neurological pathologies.
The hospital’s selection was due to the resources of its Clinical Imaging Department and the volume and complexity of its patient cases. During an institutional visit to the Nuclear Medicine service, the Minister of Health, Marciano Gómez, emphasized that “the choice of La Fe for this project demonstrates the level of excellence of this reference hospital.” However, beyond the machinery, “the success of this advancement lies in the synergy between cutting-edge engineering and the talent of the center’s specialists.”
We spoke with the two individuals leading the testing of this device: Irene Torres, Deputy Head of Hospital Radiophysics at Hospital La Fe, and Begoña Martínez, a specialist in Nuclear Medicine (Neurology) at Hospital La Fe. They believe the scanner will “improve brain imaging through faster and more comfortable studies, with a lower dose for the patient and higher quality, higher resolution images.”
Geometry Serving the Brain
The key difference between a conventional PET scanner and the new Helmet-PET lies in its physical architecture and proximity to the patient. According to Irene Torres, “while standard devices house their detectors in a cylindrical structure between 70 and 80 centimeters, this new prototype reduces that base to just 26 centimeters in diameter, fitting compactly around the patient’s head like a helmet.”
Torres explains that this specialization is key to its precision, stating that “the disruption of the Helmet-PET resides in its shape and its proximity to the object of study, the brain.” This proximity isn’t merely aesthetic; bringing the detectors closer “increases the sensitivity of the equipment, which is fundamental for good differentiation between signal and noise,” exponentially improving image clarity.
The device also incorporates technology not found in standard systems: “the ability to identify the depth of interaction of photons within the detector crystal.” Torres highlights that this feature “achieves a significant improvement in spatial resolution, allowing for better visualization of small structures.” In practical terms, In other words doctors will be able to observe anatomical and functional details previously unseen in whole-body scanners.
Less Radiation and More Comfort: A New Paradigm for the Patient
One of the greatest benefits of this technological advancement is the optimization of patient safety. Torres explains that “given the new design’s greater sensitivity, we can administer a lower activity of radiopharmaceutical to the patient for the study. More relevance will be given to reducing the dose, for example, in patients who need follow-up PET scans, or to reducing study time, to be able to study more patients in the same workday.”
“The impact of dose reduction is aimed at decreasing the probability of long-term effects due to radiation.”
Begoña Martínez, specialist in Nuclear Medicine at Hospital La Fe
This reduction in radiation burden has a direct impact on both patients, especially those requiring continuous follow-up, and healthcare personnel responsible for handling these substances. The goal is “to minimize the probability of long-term side effects due to radiation, while always maintaining the highest diagnostic quality.”
Comfort is another fundamental pillar of the project. The equipment, with a modular design, includes an ergonomic motorized chair that adapts to any position, facilitating the test even for people in wheelchairs. Martínez explains that streamlining positioning time is vital because “the sensitivity of the equipment will give us the possibility of performing the study in the shortest possible time, given its difficulty in positioning in patients with damage after a stroke or movement disorders.” They also have “an algorithm for reconstruction that corrects the changes associated with this movement; an algorithm that we are very eager to validate. It has been tested in prototypes of PET dedicated to small animals and Here’s the first time it will be used in a team for humans.”
A Multipathological Detector: From Parkinson’s to Psychiatry
Although Alzheimer’s disease is the focus of this advancement, the Helmet-PET has a much wider range of applications, encompassing epilepsy to psychiatric disorders. The key to diagnosing such diverse diseases lies in the combination of the scanner with specific radiopharmaceuticals.
Martínez details that the device uses “a radioactive isotope (emitter of positrons, which after its annihilation will produce a pair of photons detected in coincidence in the Helmet-PET) and a compound that will act as a vehicle towards the object of study and that is what allows us to see certain physiological and metabolic processes related to the disease. For example, there are several radiopharmaceuticals labeled with fluorine-18 that allow us to visualize the amyloid plaques that deposit in the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease; or the radiolabeled amino acids that accumulate in brain tumors.”
This specialization of the equipment “will also allow us to decongest conventional PET/CT equipment, which are currently saturated by the high priority of oncological studies.” Martínez points out that the idea is for the Helmet-PET to handle studies focused on the brain, allowing for a much more efficient management of hospital resources.
Artificial Intelligence and Multidisciplinary Talent
The Helmet-PET is not just hardware; it’s an intelligent system. The equipment incorporates an image processing station that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process and optimize diagnostic results. Although the equipment is still in the pre-operational validation phase, Martínez is confident that “AI will play a fundamental role in optimizing resources to obtain a high-quality diagnostic image.”
However, as Minister Gómez reminded us, “technology alone is insufficient without the human factor.” Validating this prototype requires a complex and coordinated infrastructure involving nuclear medicine physicians, radiophysicists, nurses, imaging technicians, radiopharmacy, and even computer and infrastructure services. Torres highlights that for this project they have “highly motivated personnel with a desire to advance knowledge of technology applied to diagnostic advancement,” which is essential to overcome the logistical challenges of an installation of this type. “the platform is being prepared so that doctors can compare images in an optimal way and without their preparation taking too much time, that is, that the time dedicated is only for the evaluation of the images.”
The Path to the National Health System
The process for this technology to reach routine use is ambitious but rigorous. Currently, the equipment is being calibrated and characterized through tests with technical mannequins. “Once we obtain images of mannequins with sufficient quality, we will begin with studies of volunteer patients,” and once this phase is completed, studies will begin with 10 volunteer patients, a milestone that must be reached before March 2026. “These images will be evaluated by the nuclear medicine physicians dedicated to nuclear brain imaging to make a comparison between commercial PET and Helmet-PET.”
Irene Torres warns that “the timeline for definitive commercialization is complex and can take years, as it requires obtaining the CE marking and validating the equipment in other additional centers.” However, the impetus of the Public Pre-Commercial Procurement, financed with European Next Generation funds, “has greatly accelerated the development timelines.” The developing company, SEDECAL, has managed to “in less than a year, decide on the best technology, assemble it and have the equipment ready. Now comes the most interesting part from the clinical point of view, which is to analyze, in addition to the basic proposals, what more can be obtained from the equipment given its design and its performance. We are in close contact with the equipment supplier company, with which we will have to coordinate to make the improvements and modifications that are necessary.”
The Nuclear Medicine service at La Fe has extensive experience in validating PET and Compton Camera prototypes. “PROSPET (I3M-UPV-CSIC), CareMiBrain (Oncovision), MACACO camera (IFIC-UV-CSIC) and recently, IMAS (FBI-Conselleria Sanidad) are examples of various image equipment that have been validated or are being validated within the service,” Torres lists. With the passion of the human team and institutional support, the Helmet-PET is on its way to becoming more than just a prototype and becoming the promise of “a future where the human brain is a little less mysterious and its diseases, much more treatable.”
It should be remembered that this project is funded by the Ministry of Health and is part of an initiative led by the CDTI and the CIBER, co-financed with MRR and Next Generation funds.
