Resolution Small Animal PET Scanner Research Articles

Design and performance evaluation of high resolution small animal PET scanner based on monolithic crystal: a simulation study

Dedicated small-animal PET scanners functionality can be optimized by improving the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the scanner. Approximately most of the developed and commercially available small-animal PET scanners are equipped with pixelated scintillators; therefore, their spatial resolution is limited to the crystal pixel size. Complex fabrication, low-sensitivity, and disability in depth of interaction calculation (DOI) are the major disadvantages of pixelated crystals. However, monolithic scintillator crystals are known as one of the most commonly used substitutions, as they have higher sensitivity, DOI recognition, and lower cost. We already designed and implemented a dedicated small-animal PET scanner based on pixelated scintillator crystals and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). In this study, we plan to present a new optimized design based on the monolithic crystal, with similar performance by the previous scanner. Then we would optimize the thickness of the monolithic crystals for animal PET scanners as a function of sensitivity and spatial resolution. All simulations were performed based on GEANT4, a validated Monte Carlo toolkit. We simulated a recently fabricated scanner with pixelated crystals and compared it with a simulated scanner based on an optimized monolithic crystal. The experimental setup used for comparison and validation is a small Animal PET consisting of ten pixelated modules. This study anticipates that by replacing a pixelated crystal (consist of 24 × 24 LYSO elements, and 2 × 2 ×10 mm3 crystal size) with a monolithic crystal (with 8 mm thickness and 50.2 × 50.2 entrance area), the average spatial resolution stays the same and sensitivity grows ∼ 17% in the center of AFOV and also the fabrication cost dives remarkably. Simulation reveals that although the depth of interaction DOI was not taken into consideration, the crystals with 6 mm thickness have acceptable spatial resolution (∼ 1.3 mm FWHM at the centre of the AFOV) and relatively good absolute sensitivity (∼ 1.6%).

A new virtual ring-based system matrix generator for iterative image reconstruction in high resolution small volume PET systems

A common approach to improving the spatial resolution of small animal PET scanners is to reduce the size of scintillation crystals and/or employ high resolution pixellated semiconductor detectors. The large number of detector elements results in the system matrix—an essential part of statistical iterative reconstruction algorithms—becoming impractically large. In this paper, we propose a methodology for system matrix modelling which utilises a virtual single-layer detector ring to greatly reduce the size of the system matrix without sacrificing precision. Two methods for populating the system matrix are compared; the first utilises a geometrically-derived system matrix based on Siddon’s ray tracer method with the addition of an accurate detector response function, while the second uses Monte Carlo simulation to populate the system matrix. The effectiveness of both variations of the proposed technique is demonstrated via simulations of PETiPIX, an ultra high spatial resolution small animal PET scanner featuring high-resolution DoI capabilities, which has previously been simulated and characterised using classical image reconstruction methods. Compression factors of and are achieved using this methodology for the system matrices produced using the geometric and Monte Carlo-based approaches, respectively, requiring a total of 0.5–1.2 GB of memory-resident storage. Images reconstructed from Monte Carlo simulations of various point source and phantom models, produced using system matrices generated via both geometric and simulation methods, are used to evaluate the quality of the resulting system matrix in terms of achievable spatial resolution and the CRC, CoV and CW-SSIM index image quality metrics. The Monte Carlo-based system matrix is shown to provide the best image quality at the cost of substantial one-off computational effort and a lower (but still practical) compression factor. Finally, a straightforward extension of the virtual ring method to a three dimensional virtual cylinder is demonstrated using a 3D DoI PET scanner.

Towards Quantitative Image Reconstruction Using Monte-Carlo Simulations in Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber-Based Small Animal PET

The quadHIDAC is a dedicated high resolution small animal PET scanner based on multi-wire proportional chamber detectors. It provides very high spatial resolution, good sensitivity, and a large field-of-view allowing the examination of more than one animal in a single scan or a whole body scan of larger species in a single bed position. Excellent image quality has been obtained through list-mode-based EM reconstruction using resolution recovery. However, quantitative results on local uptake are still missing due to both (1) lack of energy discrimination and (2) inaccurate characterization of random events recorded by the scanner. In this work we describe how quantification can be achieved through the use of an appropriate Monte Carlo simulation of the quadHIDAC. The complex structure of the quadHIDAC has been completely implemented in a Geant4 simulation. Point sources, line sources, cylindrical phantoms, and voxelized image data have been successfully simulated and compared to real measurements. The magnitude and spatial distribution of scattered and random events could be quantitatively characterized for the different phantom geometries. The simulation provides access to information on single hit distributions resulting in appropriate randoms corrections in image reconstruction. Both randoms and scatter correction is demonstrated to improve quantification. Their accuracy and performance was tested on simulated and measured data. Using simulation-based correction techniques for quantitative image reconstruction, multi-wire proportional chamber-based PET technology may be attractive for future high resolution PET scanners.

Energy, Timing and Position Resolution Studies With 16-Pixel Silicon Photomultiplier Matrices for Small Animal PET

A high resolution small animal PET scanner that employs Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) matrices as photodetectors is under development at the University of Pisa and INFN Pisa. The first SiPM matrices fabricated by the Center for Scientific and Technological Research, FBK-irst (Trento, Italy), are being evaluated for this purpose. The devices are composed of 16 (4 times4) pixel elements of 1 mmtimes1 mm in a common substrate. The first tests have been carried out employing the ASIC MAROC2 for the readout. Energy and timing resolution, and position determination tests have been performed coupling both pixellated and continuous LYSO scintillator crystals to the matrix, and the results have been compared with the ones obtained for single SiPMs. The first tests on position determination with continuous crystals and SiPM matrices have been performed. An intrinsic spatial resolution of 0.61 mm FWHM has been obtained.

First results in the application of silicon photomultiplier matrices to small animal PET

A very high resolution small animal PET scanner that employs matrices of silicon photomultipliers as photodetectors is under development at the University of Pisa and INFN Pisa. The first SiPM matrices composed of 16 ( 4 × 4 ) 1 mm × 1 mm pixel elements on a common substrate have been produced at FBK-irst, and are being evaluated for this application. The MAROC2 ASIC developed at LAL-Orsay has been employed for the readout of the SiPM matrices. The devices have been tested with pixelated and continuous LYSO crystals. The results show the good performance of the matrices and lead to the fabrication of matrices with 64 SiPM elements.

The distribution of D2/D3 receptor binding in the adolescent rhesus monkey using small animal PET imaging

PET imaging of the neuroreceptor systems in the brain has earned a prominent role in studying normal development, neuropsychiatric illness and developing targeted drugs. The dopaminergic system is of particular interest due to its role in the development of cognitive function and mood as well as its suspected involvement in neuropsychiatric illness. Nonhuman primate animal models provide a valuable resource for relating neurochemical changes to behavior. To facilitate comparison within and between primate models, we report in vivo D2/D3 binding in a large cohort of adolescent rhesus monkeys. Methods: In this work, the in vivo D2/D3 dopamine receptor availability was measured in a cohort of 33 rhesus monkeys in the adolescent stage of development (3.2–5.3 years). Both striatal and extrastriatal D2/D3 binding were measured using [F-18]fallypride with a high resolution small animal PET scanner. The distribution volume ratio (DVR) was measured for all subjects and group comparisons of D2/D3 binding among the cohort were made based on age and sex. Because two sequential studies were acquired from a single [F-18]fallypride batch, the effect of competing (unlabeled) ligand mass was also investigated. Results: Among this cohort, the rank order of regional D2/D3 receptor binding did not vary from previous studies with adult rhesus monkeys, with: putamen > caudate > ventral striatum > amygdala ∼ substantia nigra > medial dorsal thalamus > lateral temporal cortex ∼ frontal cortex. The DVR coefficient of variation ranged from 14%–26%, with the greatest variance seen in the head of the caudate. There were significant sex differences in [F-18]fallypride kinetics in the pituitary gland, but this was not observed for regions within the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore, no regions in the brain showed significant sex or age related differences in DVR within this small age range. Based on a wide range of injected fallypride mass across the cohort, significant competition effects could only be detected in the substantia nigra, thalamus, and frontal cortex, and were not evident above intersubject variability in all other regions. Conclusion: These data represent the first report of large cohort in vivo D2/D3 dopamine whole brain binding in the adolescent brain and will serve as a valuable comparison for understanding dopamine changes during this critical time of development and provide a framework for creating a dopaminergic biochemical atlas for the rhesus monkey.

High spatial resolution small animal YAP-PET

We are assembling a high resolution small animal PET scanner. The detector module is composed of a YAP:Ce matrix, consisting of 400 crystals 2×2×30mm3 glued together, and optically isolated by a 5μm thick reflective layer. The matrix is directly coupled to a position sensitive photomultiplier Hamamatsu mod. R2486-06 (PSPMT). Two detector modules are mounted on a rotating gantry. The opposite detectors can be positioned at a distance ranging from 5 to 25cm so that the scanner transaxial FOV (Fiel Of View) is variable in the 2.5–15cm range. The scanner axial FOV is 4cm. The positron test source was 22Na. The system will operate in 3D data acquisition mode. The measured axial spatial resolution at the center using a simple back-projection planar reconstruction algorithm is 2.3mm FWHM after correction for the PSPMT position nonlinearities and for source dimension. By eliminating the full-absorption events (mainly due to multiple interactions in the multi-crystals) the spatial resolution was improved to 1.8mm. This result is very appropriate for small animal PET studies.