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Simulation study of a high‐performance brain PET system with dodecahedral geometry
Author(s) -
Tao Weijie,
Chen Gaoyu,
Weng Fenghua,
Zan Yunlong,
Zhao Zhixiang,
Peng Qiyu,
Xu Jianfeng,
Huang Qiu
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1002/mp.12996
Subject(s) - imaging phantom , scanner , monte carlo method , sensitivity (control systems) , image resolution , dodecahedron , computer science , physics , optics , computer vision , geometry , mathematics , engineering , electronic engineering , statistics
Purpose In brain imaging, the spherical PET system achieves the highest sensitivity when the solid angle is concerned. However, it is not practical. In this work, we designed an alternative sphere‐like scanner, the dodecahedral scanner, which has a high sensitivity in imaging and a high feasibility to manufacture. We simulated this system and compared the performance with a few other dedicated brain PET systems. Methods Monte Carlo simulations were conducted to generate data of the dedicated brain PET system with the dodecahedral geometry (11 regular pentagon detectors). The data were then reconstructed using the in‐house developed software with the fully three‐dimensional maximum‐likelihood expectation maximization (3D‐ MLEM ) algorithm. Results Results show that the proposed system has a high‐sensitivity distribution for the whole field of view ( FOV ). With a depth‐of‐interaction ( DOI ) resolution around 6.67 mm, the proposed system achieves the spatial resolution of 1.98 mm. Our simulation study also shows that the proposed system improves the image contrast and reduces noise compared with a few other dedicated brain PET systems. Finally, simulations with the Hoffman phantom show the potential application of the proposed system in clinical applications. Conclusions In conclusion, the proposed dodecahedral PET system is potential for widespread applications in high‐sensitivity, high‐resolution PET imaging, to lower the injected dose.