Design Study of an Ultrahigh Resolution Brain SPECT System Using a Synthetic Compound-Eye Camera Design With Micro-Slit and Micro-Ring Apertures.

Elena Maria Zannoni,Can Yang,Ling-Jian Meng

doi:10.1109/tmi.2021.3096920

Elena Maria Zannoni, Can Yang + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/tmi.2021.3096920

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Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the design study for a brain SPECT imaging system, referred to as the HelmetSPECT system, based on a spherical synthetic compound-eye (SCE) gamma camera design. The design utilizes a large number ( ~500) of semiconductor detector modules, each coupled to an aperture with a very narrow opening for high-resolution SPECT imaging applications. In this study, we demonstrate that this novel system design could provide an excellent spatial resolution, a very high sensitivity, and a rich angular sampling without scanning motion over a clinically relevant field-of-view (FOV). These properties make the proposed HelmetSPECT system attractive for dynamic imaging of epileptic patients during seizures. In ictal SPECT, there is typically no prior information on where the seizures would happen, and both the imaging resolution and quantitative accuracy of the dynamic SPECT images would provide critical information for staging the seizures outbreak and refining the plans for subsequent surgical intervention.We report the performance evaluation and comparison among similar system geometries using non-conventional apertures, such as micro-ring and micro-slit, and traditional lofthole apertures. We demonstrate that the combination of ultrahigh-resolution imaging detectors, the SCE gamma camera design, and the micro-ring and micro-slit apertures would offer an interesting approach for the future ultrahigh-resolution clinical SPECT imaging systems without sacrificing system sensitivity and FOV.

Highlights

Brain-dedicated SPECT imaging systems were the first organ-specific SPECT systems being developed since the late 1970s [1]
We present the design of a high-performance dedicated-brain SPECT system, the HelmetSPECT system, that will be potentially used for imaging patients with medically intractable focal epilepsy (MIFE) [17]
We present the design of a dedicated-brain SPECT scanner, the HelmetSPECT system, that combines ultrahigh resolution CZT imaging detectors, the synthetic compound-eye (SCE) gamma camera design, and microslit and micro-ring apertures, to deliver a clinical brain scanner with a very high spatial resolution and an excellent sensitivity over a clinically relevant FOV

Summary

Introduction

Brain-dedicated SPECT imaging systems were the first organ-specific SPECT systems being developed since the late 1970s [1]. As the demand for brain SPECT instrumentation with higher spatial resolution, energy resolution and sensitivity continue to rise for studies of neurodegenerative diseases and brain functions, the latest research and commercial systems are based on stationary multi-detector geometries coupled with stationary high-resolution collimators. The G-SPECT-I system [2, 3] uses nine large FOV NaI crystals coupled with 54 focusing pinholes, providing an excellent 2.5 mm spatial resolution with a sensitivity of 415 cps/MBq (0.0415%) when. A collaboration between the University of Massachusetts and University of Arizona is developing the AdaptiSPECT-C system [4, 5], a stationary helmet-shaped brain-dedicated SPECT system. The AdaptiSPECT-C system offers 8 mm spatial resolution with 0.0305% volumetric sensitivity when 2.72 mm-diameter pinhole collimators are used, in a clinically relevant spherical FOV of 21 cm in diameter [4]. The scanner achieves a spatial resolution of ~8 mm across the FOV (20 cm D × 9 cm L) and sensitivity of ~0.036% [9]

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