Positrigo – First University Medical Center in Germany to receive the NeuroLF® system
August 21, 2025
- The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the LMU Hospital in Munich purchased the NeuroLF system and is the first clinic in Germany to receive the award-winning device.
- The NeuroLF system will be used for clinical routine testing and in cutting-edge research projects.
Positrigo, a Swiss based company developing nuclear medical devices to advance functional brain imaging, today announced that the LMU Hospital in Munich is the first large hospital in Germany to purchase and use the NeuroLF® system – a dedicated brain positron emission tomography (PET) system. The device will be installed in the Department of Nuclear Medicine later this year and will be used for the diagnosis of brain related disorders and in various research projects where brain PET imaging is important. “We are excited to deliver one of our devices to the LMU Hospital in Munich which is a leading center in Germany and well known for its clinical and research expertise,” states Dr. Jannis Fischer, co-founder and CEO of Positrigo.
Amyloid PET scans to increase in Germany
Amyloid PET can detect so-called amyloid plaques in the brain. These protein deposits are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and thus provide important evidence for diagnosis. The Neuroimaging Committee of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) reported a few years ago that the nuclear medicine community projects an increase in the need of amyloid PET as high as 20-fold if disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for AD will become available in Europe 1, 2. In a recent survey which the Working Group Nuclear Brain Imaging of the German Society of Nuclear Medicine (DGN e. V.) conducted, it was assumed that the demand for brain PET might increase by a factor of 7 in Germany in the coming years with the availability of DMTs 3. Until now one DMT has been approved in Europe 4 but a second medication has been recommended for approval by the European Medical Agency 5 and is expected to receive approval still this year.
Reimbursement of Amyloid PET in Germany
Currently amyloid PET scans are not reimbursed in Germany despite the believe that this method increases the diagnostics certainty for AD patients. An ongoing research project named “ENABLE: Patient-and care-related benefits of amyloid PET imaging” aims to provide certainty about the added value of amyloid PET for patients 6. This study is financed by the “Federal Joint Committee”, a central body in the German healthcare system and it is expected that the study results will be considered in the future decisions on the services provided by the statutory health insurance companies. More than 20 study centers across Germany are participating in the investigation and the aim is to include more than thousand individuals with mild to moderate dementia of unclear cause by 2026.
“Currently we perform about 1’500 brain scans per year and to avoid capacity issues and to cope with the rising demand we decided to purchase the NeuroLF system.
The device is small in size and convenient to install, comfortable for patients, easy to use and delivers comparable image quality as a full whole-body PET/CT system – the ideal device to complement our existing infrastructure of imaging technology.”
Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Matthias Brendel, Deputy Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the LMU Hospital in Munich
Leading German Hospital to use the NeuroLF system
The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the LMU Hospital in Munich will be the first hospital in Germany to receive the NeuroLF system later this year. The clinic is well known for its clinical and research expertise, offers a broad spectrum of modern nuclear medicine examinations and treatment methods and is the largest facility of its kind in Germany. “Currently we perform about 1’500 brain scans per year and to avoid capacity issues and to cope with the rising demand we decided to purchase the NeuroLF system,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Matthias Brendel, Deputy Director Nuclear Medicine Department at the University Hospital of Munich. “The device is small in size and convenient to install, comfortable for patients, easy to use and delivers comparable image quality as a full whole-body PET/CT system – the ideal device to complement our existing infrastructure of imaging technology.”
About Positrigo:
Positrigo is a pioneer in nuclear medical imaging technologies. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the medical device company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off of ETH Zurich. Positrigo’s technology, development, clinical testing and commercialization has been supported by various private investors, the Swiss government and the European Innovation Council. NeuroLF – the company’s first device – is an ultra-compact brain Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner which has applications in the assessment of causes of dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other brain related disorders. This award-winning product is the first device of its to gain market clearance in the US and EU.
About The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the LMU Hospital in Munich
The Department of Nuclear Medicine offers outpatients and inpatients at the LMU Hospital in Munich the entire spectrum of modern nuclear medicine examination and treatment methods, including pediatric nuclear medicine, and is one of the largest facilities of its kind in Germany.
References:
- Garibotto et al. The approval of a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease: impact and consequences for the nuclear medicine community. Eur J Nucl Med Mol. 2021; 48: 3033–6.
- Verger et al. FDA approval of lecanemab: the real start of widespread amyloid PET use? – the EANM neuroimaging committee perspective. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2023; 50: 1553–5.
- Buchert et al. Capacity for brain amyloid PET in Germany: Results from the 1st survey on nuclear brain imaging in Germany. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025; 52: 3613–7.
- Approval of Leqembi by EMA.
- Recommendation of Kisunla by EMA.
- Patient- and care-related benefits of amyloid PET imaging: ENABLE Trial in Germany.
