Noise Equivalent Count Research Articles

Performance Characteristics of a New Generation 148-cm Axial Field-of-View uMI Panorama GS PET/CT System with Extended NEMA NU 2-2018 and EARL Standards.

The uMI Panorama GS PET/CT system is a new long-axial-field-of-view scanner featuring high sensitivity, time-of-flight (TOF) resolution, spatial resolution, and count rate performance. The aim of this study is to assess the PET system on the basis of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 2-2018 and European Association of Nuclear Medicine Research Limited (EARL) standards. Methods: Spatial resolution, count rate performance, sensitivity, accuracy, image quality, TOF resolution, and coregistration accuracy were evaluated following the NEMA NU 2-2018 standard. Additional experiments included energy resolution, 200-cm-long line sources for sensitivity, a 175-cm-long scatter phantom for count rate and TOF resolution, as well as the compliance with the EARL guideline. Moreover, an 18F-FDG PET patient study was reconstructed with various frame durations. Results: The PET system achieved sub-3-mm transaxial and axial spatial resolutions at a 1-cm radial offset. The sensitivities with the 70-cm-long and 200-cm-long line sources were observed to be 176.3 and 90.8 kcps/MBq, respectively, at the center of the field of view. The noise-equivalent count rates (NECRs) of the 70-cm-long and 175-cm-long scatter phantoms were measured to be 3.35 Mcps at 57.57 kBq/mL and 2.24 Mcps at 33.27 kBq/mL, respectively. The TOF resolutions for both phantoms were approximately 189 ps at 5.3 kBq/mL and lower than 200 ps below the NECR peaks. The absolute count rate errors of all 34 acquisitions were less than 3% below the NECR peak for the 70-cm-long scatter phantom. With the standard NEMA image quality phantom experiment, the contrast recovery coefficient varied from 68.17% to 94.20% and the background variabilities were all below 2%. The maximum PET/CT coregistration error was 1.33 mm. Regarding EARL compliance, the gaussian filter of 5-mm full width at half maximum could produce acceptable images. The patient data demonstrate visually satisfactory image quality with short frames (less than 1 min). Conclusion: The uMI Panorama GS exhibits spatial resolution and TOF resolution similar to those of the uMI Panorama system (35-cm axial field of view), despite the extended axial field of view. The 148-cm axial coverage, sub-200-ps TOF resolution, high sensitivity, and count rate performances are expected to yield superior image quality and offer new opportunities for various clinical applications.

Performance evaluation of a small-animal PET scanner with 213 mm axis using NEMA NU 4-2008.

Long-axis positron emission tomography (PET) has emerged as one of the recent research directions in PET due to its ability to significantly enhance sensitivity and counting performance for low-dose imaging, rapid imaging, and whole-body dynamicimaging. The PET system presented in this study is a long-axis animal PET based on lutetium-yttrium orthosilicate and silicon photomultiplier, designed for whole-body imaging in rats. It features a diameter of 143 mm and an axial length of 213.3 mm. This study evaluated the performance of this PET system in accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 4-2008standards. The performance evaluation was conducted according to the NEMA NU 4-2008 standards in terms of spatial resolution, sensitivity, counting rate performance, scatter fraction (SF) and image quality. In addition, a rat imaging study was conducted to assess the imaging capability of this PETsystem. The average energy resolution of the PET system was 12.87%, the average coincidence timing resolution was 751 ps. The FWHM of spatial resolution reconstructed by filtered back projection and 3D-OSEM-PSF algorithm at 5 mm radial offset from the axial center were 1.65 and 0.88 mm. The peak absolute sensitivity measured by a point source at the center of the field of view was evaluated as 6.71% (361-661keV) and 10.31% (250-750 keV). For the mouse-like phantom, the SF was 11.0% and the peak noise equivalent counting rate (NECR) was 1193 kcps at 94.2 MBq (2.54 mCi). For the rat-like phantom, the SF was 26.8% and the NECR was 682.5 kcps at 78.6 MBq (2.12 mCi). The performance measurement results demonstrate that this PET system exhibits high sensitivity and count rate performance, making it potential for high-quality whole-body dynamic imaging ofrats.

PET digitization chain for Monte Carlo simulation in GATE

Objective. We introduce a versatile methodology for the accurate modelling of PET imaging systems via Monte Carlo simulations, using the Geant4 application for tomographic emission (GATE) platform. Accurate Monte Carlo modelling involves the incorporation of a complete analytical signal processing chain, called the digitizer in GATE, to emulate the different count rates encountered in actual positron emission tomography (PET) systems. Approach. The proposed approach consists of two steps: (1) modelling the digitizer to replicate the detection chain of real systems, covering all available parameters, whether publicly accessible or supplied by manufacturers; (2) estimating the remaining parameters, i.e. background noise level, detection efficiency, and pile-up, using optimisation techniques based on experimental single and prompt event rates. We show that this two-step optimisation reproduces the other experimental count rates (true, scatter, and random), without the need for additional adjustments. This method has been applied and validated with experimental data derived from the NEMA count losses test for three state-of-the-art SiPM-based time-of-flight (TOF)-PET systems: Philips Vereos, Siemens Biograph Vision 600 and GE Discovery MI 4-ring. Main results. The results show good agreement between experiments and simulations for the three PET systems, with absolute relative discrepancies below 3%, 6%, 6%, 7% and 12% for prompt, random, true, scatter and noise equivalent count rates, respectively, within the 0–10 kBq·ml−1 activity concentration range typically observed in whole-body 18F scans. Significance. Overall, the proposed digitizer optimisation method was shown to be effective in reproducing count rates and NECR for three of the latest generation SiPM-based TOF-PET imaging systems. The proposed methodology could be applied to other PET scanners.

Performance Characteristics of the NeuroEXPLORER, a Next-Generation Human Brain PET/CT Imager.

The collaboration of Yale, the University of California, Davis, and United Imaging Healthcare has successfully developed the NeuroEXPLORER, a dedicated human brain PET imager with high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, and a built-in 3-dimensional camera for markerless continuous motion tracking. It has high depth-of-interaction and time-of-flight resolutions, along with a 52.4-cm transverse field of view (FOV) and an extended axial FOV (49.5 cm) to enhance sensitivity. Here, we present the physical characterization, performance evaluation, and first human images of the NeuroEXPLORER. Methods: Measurements of spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate performance, energy and timing resolution, and image quality were performed adhering to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 2-2018 standard. The system's performance was demonstrated through imaging studies of the Hoffman 3-dimensional brain phantom and the mini-Derenzo phantom. Initial 18F-FDG images from a healthy volunteer are presented. Results: With filtered backprojection reconstruction, the radial and tangential spatial resolutions (full width at half maximum) averaged 1.64, 2.06, and 2.51 mm, with axial resolutions of 2.73, 2.89, and 2.93 mm for radial offsets of 1, 10, and 20 cm, respectively. The average time-of-flight resolution was 236 ps, and the energy resolution was 10.5%. NEMA sensitivities were 46.0 and 47.6 kcps/MBq at the center and 10-cm offset, respectively. A sensitivity of 11.8% was achieved at the FOV center. The peak noise-equivalent count rate was 1.31 Mcps at 58.0 kBq/mL, and the scatter fraction at 5.3 kBq/mL was 36.5%. The maximum count rate error at the peak noise-equivalent count rate was less than 5%. At 3 iterations, the NEMA image-quality contrast recovery coefficients varied from 74.5% (10-mm sphere) to 92.6% (37-mm sphere), and background variability ranged from 3.1% to 1.4% at a contrast of 4.0:1. An example human brain 18F-FDG image exhibited very high resolution, capturing intricate details in the cortex and subcortical structures. Conclusion: The NeuroEXPLORER offers high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. With its long axial length, it also enables high-quality spinal cord imaging and image-derived input functions from the carotid arteries. These performance enhancements will substantially broaden the range of human brain PET paradigms, protocols, and thereby clinical research applications.

Modelization of extended axial field-of-view PET scanners to analyze the performance improvement

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) offers non-invasive insights into physiological processes. However, in clinical practice conventional PET scanners face limitations in comprehensive imaging due to their restricted axial field of view (FOV).This study explores the benefits and challenges of extending PET scanner AFOV using Monte Carlo simulation with GATE 9.1. The Biograph Vision Quadra scanner is a novel system based on the Digital Biograph Vision 600 scanner. Both devices use silicon photomultipliers and 3.2 x 3.2 × 20 mm Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate crystals (LSO). However, the 32 detector rings of the Quadra scanner enable a four-fold expansion in the Axial Field Of View (FOV) compared to Vision. As a result, higher sensitivity, and an enhancement of noise equivalent count rate and image quality are achieved. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of increasing the number of detector rings and the axial FOV on the scanner performance. To accomplish this, four different geometries are modeled using GATE (GEANT4 Application for Tomographic Emission). Based on the Biograph Vision 600 model, the length and the number of detector rings are gradually extended to reach the length of the Quadra scanner. Thus, four geometries with 8 (25.6 cm), 16 (51.2 cm), 24 (76.8 cm) and 32 (102.4 cm) detector rings are simulated, keeping the crystal configuration and the dimensions in the transaxial plane. The study evaluates sensitivity, Noise Equivalent Count Rate (NECR), and image quality parameters. Results indicate a significant increase in sensitivity and NECR with FOV extension, underscoring enhanced performance. However, artifact occurrence, particularly concentric circular patterns and background homogeneity changes, accentuates with extended AFOV. Normalization algorithms, particularly component-based normalization, mitigate these artifacts. This study contributes to the understanding of the advantages and limitations of extending PET scanner AFOV, offering insights into the effectiveness of component-based normalization for improving PET image quality.

A dedicated in-beam PET system with a modular dual-head for radiotherapy imaging in HIMM

This paper presents a heavy-ion in-beam PET, referred to as ibPET with a specifically custom designed data acquisition system, which was constructed and tested at the Heavy Ion Medical Machine (HIMM) beam-line, HICTC in Wuwei. The data acquisition system of ibPET has undergone several upgrades during the years, And its data processing capability now exceeds one million events per second per channel. To achieve optimal performance of the ibPET under existing conditions, we tested coincident events and noise equivalent count (NEC) under different time coincidence windows.The results show that the signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed image data reaches its peak when the time window is around 3 ns, indicating that the ibPET performance is optimal at this point. In order to determine the size of the time window, we measured the system's time resolution FWHM to be 1.63 ns, and ultimately chose a time window size of twice the time resolution FWHM, which is 3.25 ns. Meanwhile, we demonstrate the capability of our ibPET to monitor the dose range with various irradiation. The results demonstrate that the system exhibits the expected exponential decay in counting rate after irradiation, and accurately provides penetration depth positions at different energy levels.

Monte Carlo simulation of two Siemens Biograph PET/CT system using GATE: Image quality performance

The utilization of Monte Carlo simulation is a highly effective method in advancing research within the field of nuclear medicine. An important software tool for simulating and modeling cutting-edge systems for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is the Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE). This research specifically concentrates on two Siemens PET scanners: the Siemens Biograph True point (True V) and Siemens Biograph mcT 20 excel. Our primary objective was to validate the GATE V8.2 simulation in accordance with the NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) NU 2-2018 protocol, using a parallel computing platform on a local cluster of computers. This cluster was managed by the open-source package TORQUE version 6.1.0, which is based on the original wrapper PBS.The results of this validation process for the Siemens Biograph True point (True V) scanner were highly promising. The scatter fraction (SF), peak noise equivalent count rate (NECR), and sensitivity all demonstrated a remarkable level of agreement, with deviations within 10.02%, 5.4%, and 1.57%, respectively. Additionally, the spatial resolution was found to deviate by less than 0.59 mm. Image evaluations demonstrate high-quality results for both Siemens Biograph True point (True V) and Siemens Biograph mcT 20 excel scanners, validating the GATE simulation. The study on acquisition time provides insights into optimizing computing simulation time.This research demonstrates the effectiveness of Monte Carlo simulation, facilitated by GATE, in accurately modeling advanced PET systems. The validation results affirm the reliability of GATE V8.2 in accordance with NEMA standards for the Siemens Biograph True point (True V) scanner. The high-quality images obtained from GATE-validated scanners underscore the potential of this simulation approach in advancing nuclear medicine research. Additionally, the study on acquisition time provides valuable considerations for optimizing simulation efficiency.

Performance characteristics of the 5-ring GE Discovery MI PET/CT scanner using AAPM TG-126 report.

To report on the performance characteristics of the 5-ring GE Discovery MI PET/CT systems using the AAPM TG-126 report and compare these results to NEMA NU 2-2012 where applicable. TG-126 testing was performed on two GE 5-Rings Discovery MI scanners. Tests performed included spatial resolution, PET/CT image-registration accuracy, sensitivity, count rate performance, accuracy of corrections, image contrast, scatter/attenuation correction, and image uniformity. All acquired data were analyzed using scanner console or free software tools as described by TG-126 and the results were then compared to published NEMA NU 2-2012 values. Both scanners gave similar resolution results for TG-126 and NEMA NU 2-2012 and were within manufacturer specifications. Image-registration accuracy between PET and CT using our clinical protocol showed excellent results with values≤1mm. Sensitivity using TG-126 was 19.43cps/kBq while for NEMA the value was 20.73cps/kBq. The peak noise-equivalent counting rate was 2174 kcps at 63.1 kBq/mL and is not comparable to NEMA NU 2-2012 due to differences in phantoms and methods used to measure and calculate this parameter. The accuracy of corrections for count losses for TG-126 were expressed in SUV values and found to be within 10% of the expected SUV measurement of 1. Image contrast and scatter/attenuation correction using the TG-126 method gave acceptable results. Image uniformity assessment resulted in values within the recommended±5% limits. These results show that the 5-ring GE Discovery MI PET/CT scanner testing using TG-126 is reproducible and has similar results to NEMA NU 2-2012 tests where applicable. We hope these results start to form the basis to compare PET/CT systems using TG-126.

Setup and characterisation according to NEMA NU 4 of the phenoPET scanner, a PET system dedicated for plant sciences

Objective. The phenoPET system is a plant dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanner consisting of fully digital photo multipliers with lutetium–yttrium oxyorthosilicate crystals and located inside a custom climate chamber. Here, we present the setup of phenoPET, its data processing and image reconstruction together with its performance. Approach. The performance characterization follows the national electrical manufacturers association (NEMA) standard for small animal PET systems with a number of adoptions due to the vertical oriented bore of a PET for plant sciences. In addition temperature stability and spatial resolution with a hot rod phantom are addressed. Main results. The spatial resolution for a 22Na point source at a radial distance of 5 mm to the center of the field-of-view (FOV) is 1.45 mm, 0.82 mm and 1.88 mm with filtered back projection in radial, tangential and axial direction, respectively. A hot rod phantom with 18F gives a spatial resolution of up to 1.6 mm. The peak noise-equivalent count rates are 550 kcps @ 35.08 MBq, 308 kcps @ 33 MBq and 45 kcps @ 40.60 MBq for the mouse, rat and monkey size scatter phantoms, respectively. The scatter fractions for these phantoms are 12.63%, 22.64% and 55.90%. We observe a peak sensitivity of up to 3.6% and a total sensitivity of up to S A,tot = 2.17%. For the NEMA image quality phantom we observe a uniformity of %STD = 4.22% with ordinary Poisson maximum likelihood expectation-maximization with 52 iterations. Here, recovery coefficients of 0.12, 0.64, 0.89, 0.93 and 0.91 for 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm rods are obtained and spill-over ratios of 0.08 and 0.14 for the water-filled and air-filled inserts, respectively. Significance. The phenoPET and its laboratory are now in routine operation for the administration of [11C]CO2 and non-invasive measurement of transport and allocation of 11C-labelled photoassimilates in plants.

Performance Evaluation of the uMI Panorama PET/CT System in Accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NU 2-2018 Standard.

The uMI Panorama is a novel PET/CT system using silicon photomultiplier and application-specific integrated circuit technologies and providing exceptional spatial and time-of-flight (TOF) resolutions. The objective of this study was to assess the physical performance of the uMI Panorama in accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 2-2018 standard. Methods: Spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate performance, accuracy, image quality, and TOF resolution were evaluated in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the NEMA NU 2-2018 standard. Energy resolution was determined using the same dataset acquired for the count rate performance evaluation. Images from a Hoffman brain phantom, a mini-Derenzo phantom, and 3 patient studies were evaluated to demonstrate system performance. Results: The transaxial spatial resolution at full width at half maximum was measured as 2.88 mm with a 1-cm offset from the center axial field of view. The sensitivity at the center axial field of view was 20.1 kcps/MBq. At an activity concentration of 73.0 kBq/mL, the peak noise-equivalent count rate (NECR) reached 576 kcps with a scatter fraction of approximately 33.2%. For activity concentrations at or below the peak NECR, the maximum relative count rate error among all slices remained consistently below 3%. When assessed using the NEMA image quality phantom, overall image contrast recovery ranged from 63.2% to 88.4%, whereas background variability ranged from 4.2% to 1.1%. TOF resolution was 189 ps at 5.3 kBq/mL and was consistently lower than 200 ps for activity concentrations at or below the peak NECR. The patient studies demonstrated that scans at 2 min/bed produced images characterized by low noise and high contrast. Clear delineation of nuclei, spinal cords, and other substructures of the brain was observed in the brain PET images. Conclusion: uMI Panorama, the world's first commercial PET system with sub-200-ps TOF resolution, demonstrated fine spatial and fast TOF resolutions, robust count rate performance, and high quantification accuracy across a wide range of activity levels. This advanced technology offers enhanced diagnostic capability for detecting small and low-contrast lesions while showing promising potential under high-count-rate imaging scenarios.

Validation of a discovery MI 4-ring model according to the NEMA NU 2-2018 standards: from Monte Carlo simulations to clinical-like reconstructions

BackgroundWe propose a comprehensive evaluation of a Discovery MI 4-ring (DMI) model, using a Monte Carlo simulator (GATE) and a clinical reconstruction software package (PET toolbox). The following performance characteristics were compared with actual measurements according to NEMA NU 2-2018 guidelines: system sensitivity, count losses and scatter fraction (SF), coincidence time resolution (CTR), spatial resolution (SR), and image quality (IQ). For SR and IQ tests, reconstruction of time-of-flight (TOF) simulated data was performed using the manufacturer’s reconstruction software.ResultsSimulated prompt, random, true, scatter and noise equivalent count rates closely matched the experimental rates with maximum relative differences of 1.6%, 5.3%, 7.8%, 6.6%, and 16.5%, respectively, in a clinical range of less than 10 kBq/mL. A 3.6% maximum relative difference was found between experimental and simulated sensitivities. The simulated spatial resolution was better than the experimental one. Simulated image quality metrics were relatively close to the experimental results.ConclusionsThe current model is able to reproduce the behaviour of the DMI count rates in the clinical range and generate clinical-like images with a reasonable match in terms of contrast and noise.

Development and evaluation of a new high-TOF-resolution all-digital brain PET system

Objective. Time-of-flight (TOF) capability and high sensitivity are essential for brain-dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, as they improve the contrast and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enabling a precise localization of functional mechanisms in the different brain regions. Approach. We present a new brain PET system with transverse and axial field-of-view (FOV) of 320 mm and 255 mm, respectively. The system head is an array of 6 × 6 detection elements, each consisting of a 3.9 × 3.9 × 20 mm3 lutetium–yttrium oxyorthosilicate crystal coupled with a 3.93 × 3.93 mm2 SiPM. The SiPMs analog signals are individually digitized using the multi-voltage threshold (MVT) technology, employing a 1:1:1 coupling configuration. Main results. The brain PET system exhibits a TOF resolution of 249 ps at 5.3 kBq ml−1, an average sensitivity of 22.1 cps kBq−1, and a noise equivalent count rate (NECR) peak of 150.9 kcps at 8.36 kBq ml−1. Furthermore, the mini-Derenzo phantom study demonstrated the system’s ability to distinguish rods with a diameter of 2.0 mm. Moreover, incorporating the TOF reconstruction algorithm in an image quality phantom study optimizes the background variability, resulting in reductions ranging from 44% (37 mm) to 75% (10 mm) with comparable contrast. In the human brain imaging study, the SNR improved by a factor of 1.7 with the inclusion of TOF, increasing from 27.07 to 46.05. Time-dynamic human brain imaging was performed, showing the distinctive traits of cortex and thalamus uptake, as well as of the arterial and venous flow with 2 s per time frame. Significance. The system exhibited a good TOF capability, which is coupled with the high sensitivity and count rate performance based on the MVT digital sampling technique. The developed TOF-enabled brain PET system opens the possibility of precise kinetic brain PET imaging, towards new quantitative predictive brain diagnostics.

SAFIR-I: first NEMA NU 4-2008-based performance characterization

BackgroundSmall Animal Fast Insert for MRI detector I (SAFIR-I) is a novel Positron Emission Tomography insert for a 7T\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$7\\,\\hbox {T}$$\\end{document} Bruker BioSpec 70/30 Ultra Shield Refrigerated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system. It facilitates truly simultaneous quantitative imaging in mice and rats at injected activities as high as 500MBq\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$500\\,\\hbox {MBq}$$\\end{document}. Exploitation of the resulting high count rates enables quick image formation at few seconds per frame. In this investigation, key performance parameters of SAFIR-I have been determined according to the evaluations outlined in the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Standards Publication NU 4-2008 (NEMA-NU4) protocol.ResultsUsing an energy window of 391 to 601keV\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$601\\,\\hbox {keV}$$\\end{document} and a Coincidence Timing Window of 500ps\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$500\\,\\hbox {ps}$$\\end{document}, the following performance was observed: The average spatial resolution at 5mm\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$5\\,\\hbox {mm}$$\\end{document} radial offset (Full Width at Half Maximum) is 2.54mm\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$2.54\\,\\hbox {mm}$$\\end{document} when using Filtered Backprojection, 3D Reprojection reconstruction. For the mouse- and rat-like phantoms, the maximal Noise-Equivalent Count Rates (NECRs) are 1368kcps\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1368\\,\\hbox {kcps}$$\\end{document} at the highest tested average effective concentration of 14.7MBqcc-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$14.7\\,\\hbox {MBq}\\,\\hbox {cc}^{-1}$$\\end{document}, and 713kcps\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$713\\,\\hbox {kcps}$$\\end{document} at the highest tested average effective concentration of 1.72MBqcc-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1.72\\,\\hbox {MBq}\\,\\hbox {cc}^{-1}$$\\end{document}, respectively. The NECR peak is not yet reached for either of these cases. The peak sensitivity is 1.46%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1.46\\,\\%$$\\end{document}. The Image Quality phantom uniformity standard deviation is 4.8%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$4.8\\,\\%$$\\end{document}. The Recovery Coefficient for the 5mm\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$5\\,\\hbox {mm}$$\\end{document} rod is (1.08±0.10)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(1.08 \\pm 0.10)$$\\end{document}. The Spill-Over Ratios are (0.22±0.03)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(0.22 \\pm 0.03)$$\\end{document} and (0.22±0.02)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(0.22 \\pm 0.02)$$\\end{document}, for the water- and air-filled cylinder, respectively. An accuracy of 4.3%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$4.3\\,\\%$$\\end{document} was achieved for the quantitative calibration of reconstructed voxel values.ConclusionsThe measured performance parameters indicate that the various design goals have been achieved. SAFIR-I offers excellent performance, especially at the high activities it was designed for. This facilitates planned experiments with fast tracer kinetics in small animals. Ways to potentially improve performance can still be explored. Simultaneously, further performance gains can be expected for a forthcoming insert featuring 2.7 times longer axial coverage named Small Animal Fast Insert for MRI detector II (SAFIR-II).

An extended bore length solid-state digital-BGO PET/CT system: design, preliminary experience, and performance characteristics.

A solid-state PET/CT system uses bismuth germanium oxide (BGO) scintillating crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers over an extended 32 cm axial field-of-view (FOV) to provide high spatial resolution and very high sensitivity. Performance characteristics were determined for this digital-BGO system, including NEMA and EARL standards. Spatial resolution, scatter fraction (SF), noise equivalent count rate (NECR), sensitivity, count rate accuracy, and image quality (IQ) were evaluated for the digital-BGO system as per NEMA NU 2-2018, at 2 sites of first clinical install. System energy resolution was measured. Bayesian penalized-likelihood reconstruction (BPL) was used for IQ. EARL Standards 2 studies were reconstructed by BPL combined with a contrast-enhancing deep learning algorithm. An Esser PET phantom was evaluated. Three patient examples were obtained with low-dose radiotracer activity: 2 MBq/kg of [18F]FDG ([18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose), 2.3 MBq/kg [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE ([dodecane tetra-acetic acid,Tyr3]-octreotate), and 14.5 MBq/kg [82Rb]RbCl ([82Rb]-rubidium-chloride). Total scan times were ≤ 8 min. NEMA sensitivity was 47.6 cps/kBq at the axial center. Spatial resolution at 1 cm from the center axis was ≤4.5 mm (filtered back projection) and ≤3.8 mm (ordered subset expectation maximization). SF was 35.6%, count rate accuracy was 2.16%, and peak NECR was 485.2 kcps at 16.9 kBq/mL. Contrast for IQ was 61.1 to 90.7% (smallest to largest sphere) with background variations from 7.6 to 2.1%, and a "lung" error of 4.7%. The average detector energy resolution was 9.67%. Image quality for patient scans was good. EARL Standards 2 criteria were robustly met and Esser phantom features ≥4.8 mm were resolved at 2 min per bed position. A solid-state 32 cm axial FOV digital-BGO PET/CT system provides good spatial and energy resolution, high count rates, and superior NEMA sensitivity in its class, enabling fast clinical acquisitions with low-dose radiotracer activity.

A new simpler image quality index based on body size for FDG-PET/CT.

Noise equivalent count density (NECdensity) is often used to evaluate the image quality of whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose tomography tests. However, this index is calculated using the patient volume, which is difficult to obtain at every facility. In this study, we proposed new image quality indices that can be evaluated at all facilities. In total, 94 patients were enrolled in the study. The correlations of patients' body weight and BMI with volume were examined. New image quality indices normalized by body weight and BMI were defined as NECbw and NECbmi, respectively. Correlations between NECbw, NECbmi, and NECdensity were examined. Further, the correlations between these two new indices and visual scores were evaluated. Good correlations were observed between volume and body weight (r = 0.861, P < 0.001) and between volume and BMI (r = 0.728, P < 0.001). NECbw and NECbmi correlated well with NECdensity (r = 0.954 for NECbw and r = 0.897 for NECbmi, P < 0.001). These correlations improved when the examined bed positions were set to the same number. Additionally, the correlations of visual scores with NECbw and NECbmi were similar to those between the visual score and NECdensity. Our investigation indicated that the newly proposed image quality metrics, NECbw and NECbmi, were easily calculated and as useful as NECdensity for evaluating image quality when subjects had similar physiques.

Performance Characteristics of a New-Generation Digital Bismuth Germanium Oxide PET/CT System, Omni Legend 32, According to NEMA NU 2-2018 Standards.

The Omni Legend 32 PET/CT system features silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-based detectors with bismuth germanium oxide crystals and a 32-cm axial field of view (FOV). The present study aimed to determine the performance characteristics of the Omni Legend 32 PET/CT system according to National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 2-2018 standards. Methods: The PET component of this system comprises 22 detector modules; each module contains 24 detector blocks with 72 bismuth germanium oxide crystals with a volume of 4.1 × 4.1 × 30 mm coupled to 18 SiPM devices with a 6 × 6 mm area, resulting in an axial FOV of 32 cm. The spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate performance, and image quality delivered by PET were evaluated using the NEMA NU 2-2018 standard. PET images of 2 patients were evaluated to get a visual first impression of the Omni Legend 32 PET/CT system together with Precision DL. Results: The average spatial resolution at 1, 10, and 20 cm from the central axis was 4.3, 5.3, and 6.2 mm, respectively, for filtered backprojection and 3.7, 4.3, and 5.1 mm, respectively, for ordered-subset expectation maximization. The NEMA sensitivity was 47.30 and 47.05 cps/kBq at the axial center of the FOV and at a 10-cm radial offset, respectively. The scatter fraction, count rate accuracy, and peak noise-equivalent count rates were 35.4%, 1.7%, and 501.7 kcps, respectively, at 15.7 kBq/mL. Contrast recovery for the NEMA body phantom from the smallest to the largest sphere ranged from 61.3% to 93.0%, with a background variability of 5.4%-11.7% and a lung error of 5.1% for Q.Clear (β-value, 50). Good patient image quality was obtained with the Omni Legend 32. Conclusion: The Omni Legend 32 has class-leading sensitivity and count rates within the category of whole-body PET systems while maintaining spatial resolution broadly comparable to that of other current SiPM-based PET/CT systems. This combination of properties results in a very good image quality.

Accurate modeling and performance evaluation of a total-body pet scanner using Monte Carlo simulations.

The limited axial field-of-view (FOV) of conventional clinical positron emission tomography (PET) scanners (∼15 to 26cm) allows detecting only 1% of all coincidence photons, hence limiting significantly their sensitivity. To overcome this limitation, the EXPLORER consortium developed the world's first total-body PET/CT scanner that significantly increased the sensitivity, thus enabling to decrease the scan duration or injected dose. The purpose of this study is to perform and validate Monte Carlo simulations of the uEXPLORER PET scanner, which can be used to devise novel conceptual designs and geometrical configurations through obtaining features that are difficult to obtain experimentally. The total-body uEXPLORER PET scanner was modeled using GATE Monte Carlo (MC) platform. The model was validated through comparison with experimental measurements of various performance parameters, including spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate performance, and image quality, according to NEMA-NU2 2018 standards. Furthermore, the effects of the time coincidence window and maximum ring difference on the count rate and noise equivalent count rate (NECR) were evaluated. Overall, the validation study showed that there was a good agreement between the simulation and experimental results. The differences between the simulated and experimental total sensitivityfor the NEMA and extended phantoms at the center of the FOV were2.3% and 0.0%, respectively. The difference in peakNECR was 9.9% for the NEMA phantom and 1.0% for the extended phantom. The average bias between the simulated and experimental results of the full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) for six different positions and three directions was 0.12mm. The simulations showed that using a variable coincidence time window based on the maximum ring difference can reduce the effect of random coincidences and improve the NECR compared to a constant time coincidence window. The NECR corresponding to 252-ring difference was 2.11 Mcps, which is larger than the NECR corresponding to 336-ring difference (2.04 Mcps). The developed MC model of the uEXPLORER PET scanner was validated against experimental measurements and can be used for further assessment and design optimization of the scanner.

Monte Carlo simulation of the system performance of a long axial field-of-view PET based on monolithic LYSO detectors

BackgroundIn light of the milestones achieved in PET design so far, further sensitivity improvements aim to optimise factors such as the dose, throughput, and detection of small lesions. While several longer axial field-of-view (aFOV) PET systems based on pixelated detectors have been installed, continuous monolithic scintillation detectors recently gained increased attention due to their depth of interaction capability and superior intrinsic resolution. As a result, the aim of this work is to present and evaluate the performance of two long aFOV, monolithic LYSO-based PET scanner designs.MethodsGeant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) v9.1 was used to perform the simulations. Scanner designs A and B have an aFOV of 36.2 cm (7 rings) and 72.6 cm (14 rings), respectively, with 40 detector modules per ring each and a bore diameter of 70 cm. Each module is a 50 × 50 × 16 mm3 monolithic LYSO crystal. Sensitivity, noise equivalent count rate (NECR), scatter fraction, spatial resolution, and image quality tests were performed based on NEMA NU-2018 standards.ResultsThe sensitivity of design A was calculated to be 29.2 kcps/MBq at the centre and 27 kcps/MBq at 10 cm radial offset; similarly, the sensitivity of design B was found to be 106.8 kcps/MBq and 98.3 kcps/MBq at 10 cm radial offset. NECR peaks were reached at activity concentrations beyond the range of activities used for clinical studies. In terms of spatial resolution, the values for the point sources were below 2 mm for the radial, tangential, and axial full width half maximum. The contrast recovery coefficient ranged from 53% for design B and 4:1 contrast ratio to 90% for design A and 8:1 ratio, with a reasonably low background variability.ConclusionsLonger aFOV PET designs using monolithic LYSO have superior spatial resolution compared to current pixelated total-body PET (TB-PET) scanners. These systems combine high sensitivity with improved contrast recovery.

Rapid Whole-Body FDG PET/MRI in Oncology Patients: Utility of Combining Bayesian Penalised Likelihood PET Reconstruction and Abbreviated MRI.

This study evaluated the diagnostic value of a rapid whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach, combining Bayesian penalised likelihood (BPL) PET with an optimised β value and abbreviated MRI (abb-MRI). The study compares the diagnostic performance of this approach with the standard PET/MRI that utilises ordered subsets expectation maximisation (OSEM) PET and standard MRI (std-MRI). The optimal β value was determined by evaluating the noise-equivalent count (NEC) phantom, background variability, contrast recovery, recovery coefficient, and visual scores (VS) for OSEM and BPL with β100-1000 at 2.5-, 1.5-, and 1.0-min scans, respectively. Clinical evaluations were conducted for NECpatient, NECdensity, liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), lesion maximum standardised uptake value, lesion signal-to-background ratio, lesion SNR, and VS in 49 patients. The diagnostic performance of BPL/abb-MRI was retrospectively assessed for lesion detection and differentiation in 156 patients using VS. The optimal β values were β600 for a 1.5-min scan and β700 for a 1.0-min scan. BPL/abb-MRI at these β values was equivalent to OSEM/std-MRI for a 2.5-min scan. By combining BPL with optimal β and abb-MRI, rapid whole-body PET/MRI could be achieved in ≤1.5 min per bed position, while maintaining comparable diagnostic performance to standard PET/MRI.

Validation of a Monte Carlo model of the uEXPLORER total-body PET scanner using GATE code

PurposeTo develop and validate a GATE model of the newly manufactured total-body PET scanner (uEXPLORER), in order to evaluate the capability of GATE to simulate PET scanners with long AFOV, and to provide a reliable model to be used in further optimization studies. MethodsThe detector geometry of our model consists of 564,480 LYSO crystals grouped into blocks and modules in accordance with the actual scanner's specifications. Signal processing chain was modeled directly in GATE through the digitizer modules. For model validation, we performed spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate and scatter fraction tests following the National Electrical Manufactures Association (NEMA) NU 2–2018 protocol, in addition to other devised tests representative of total-body acquisitions. The simulation results were then compared to published measurements. ResultsOverall, our simulation model demonstrated good agreement with the experimental results, within 6% for sensitivity, 7% for scatter fraction and 17% for noise equivalent count rate. For the spatial resolution test, the model matched the experimental results to within 0.1–1.3 mm. ConclusionsWe have shown that our developed model predicts the uEXPLORER PET scanner's performances with good accuracy. Consequently, we conclude that GATE is reasonably suitable for simulating long AFOV PET scanners.