First-in-human quantum entanglement imaging

Abstract

Annihilation photons are quantum-entangled in polarization, a phenomenon that has not been exploited in medical diagnostics so far. We present the first in vivo imaging of the degree of quantum entanglement of photons originating from positron-electron annihilation within a human subject. This study utilized the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography (J-PET) scanner, constructed from plastic scintillators. In plastics, annihilation photons interact primarily via the Compton effect, which provides simultaneous information regarding the photon interaction position and time, as well as the photon polarization plane. The patient was injected with a DOTA-TATE radiopharmaceutical labeled with the $^{68}$Ga radionuclide. Using the J-PET scanner, we determined the image of the radiopharmaceutical uptake and, simultaneously, the image of the degree of quantum entanglement. The latter was determined from the relative angle between the polarization planes of the annihilation photons. The values of the degree of quantum entanglement extracted for the liver and the spleen are smaller than those predicted for maximally entangled two-photon states, yet larger than expected for separable photons. This demonstration opens new perspectives for the application of quantum entanglement in clinical diagnostics.