RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: We evaluate a fully data-driven method for the combined recovery and motion blur correction of small solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) in F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT). METHODS: The SPN was segmented in the low-dose CT using a variable Hounsfield threshold and morphological constraints. The combined effect of limited spatial resolution and motion blur in the SPN's PET image was then modelled by an effective Gaussian point-spread function (psf). Both isotropic and non-isotropic psfs were used. To validate the method, PET/CT measurements of the NEMA/IEC spheres phantom were performed. The method was applied to 50 unselected SPNs