11 June 2026

UZ Leuven has become the first hospital in the world to use the new NeuroExplorer PET scanner in routine clinical practice, a development researchers say could help detect neurological diseases years before symptoms appear.

According to Prof Dr Koen Van Laere, head of Nuclear Medicine at UZ Leuven and chair of the Department of Imaging and Pathology at KU Leuven, the scanner could improve the early diagnosis of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and dementia.

Sharper view of the brain

The NeuroExplorer offers a resolution up to 20 times higher than that of conventional PET scanners, allowing doctors to visualise biological and chemical processes in the brain with unprecedented detail using mildly radioactive tracers.

“The difference in sharpness is like a nearsighted person putting on glasses for the first time,” Van Laere said. “We are now seeing brain abnormalities in very small brain nuclei and in the brainstem, which was not possible with any other imaging technique.”

Researchers say the technology could help identify new biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders, while also improving understanding of how medicines reach and affect targets in the brain.

Potential for neurological and psychiatric disorders

The scanner has already been tested in a clinical study involving patients with dementia, movement disorders, pituitary tumours, head and neck cancers, and vascular inflammation. According to UZ Leuven, the first results suggest additional diagnostic value, including for neurosurgical procedures.

“With the device, we will henceforth look at brain regions involved in movement and memory, but also in motivation, mood, and sleep,” Van Laere said. “For Parkinson’s disease and dementia, too, we can investigate and monitor early processes in the affected brain nuclei and the connections between them much more precisely.”

He also highlighted potential applications in psychiatry, including research into disrupted information processing in conditions such as Schizophrenia.Although more than 30 research centres worldwide already use the NeuroExplorer for scientific studies, UZ Leuven is the first institution to deploy the scanner clinically on patients. The device was developed by United Imaging Healthcare.                                                                                                                                           

    Source: Belga News