Abstract
In Brazil, there are few microPET in use and a quality control protocols standardization are needed to harmonize their use in the research field. Thus, the purpose of this study is to characterize the image quality performance of the microPET scanner (LabPET 4, GE healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, WI) using the NEMA NU 4/ 2008 standards and specific phantom. The NEMA image-quality (IQ) phantom consists of 3 different regions to analyze distinct characteristics: image noise (%SD), expressed as percentage SD in a uniform region (%SD), recovery coefficient (RC) and Spill-over (SOR) in air and water. The IQ phantom was filled with 18F-FDG calibrated at the beginning of acquisition, placed in the center of the field-of-view (FOV) and measured with the typical whole body imaging protocol. The images were reconstructed with different reconstruction methods (FBP-2D; MLEM-3D and OSEM-3D); with and without high resolution (HR) when possible. The results were compared. The LabPET 4 system produces appropriate image and with performance according to the literature. The present study is an initial step to verify the NEMA NU 4/2008 use in the Brazilian scenario for further standardization.
Highlights
The importance of small-animal positron emission tomography has increased during the last decades as a valuable tool for studying animal models of human disease and to contribute in the development of new radiopharmaceuticals or in studies of new applications of traditional radiopharmaceuticals [1]
In Brazil, there are few microPET in use and a standardization of quality control protocols is needed to harmonize their use in the research field
The subsystem LabPET 4 consists of a stationary gantry with 1536 detectors. It employs an Avalanche Photo Diode (APD) detector ring incorporating an assembly of LYSO (Lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate – Lu1.9Y0.1SiO5) and LGSO (Lutetium gadolinium oxyorthosilicate – Lu0.4Gd1.6SiO5) scintillators optically coupled one after the other [3]
Summary
The importance of small-animal positron emission tomography (microPET) has increased during the last decades as a valuable tool for studying animal models of human disease and to contribute in the development of new radiopharmaceuticals or in studies of new applications of traditional radiopharmaceuticals [1]. Because of widespread use and commercial availability of microPET scanners, the National Electrical Manufactures Association (NEMA) published its NU 4/2008 standards [2], a consistent and standardized methodology for measuring scanner performance parameters for smallanimal PET imaging. In Brazil, there are few microPET in use and a standardization of quality control protocols is needed to harmonize their use in the research field. Thereby, the purpose of this study is to characterize the image quality performance of the microPET scanner (LabPET 4, GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, WI) using the NEMA NU 4/ 2008 standards and specific phantom
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