Task-based design of a synthetic-collimator SPECT system used for small animal imaging.

PURPOSE: In traditional multipinhole SPECT systems, image multiplexing - the overlapping of pinhole projection images - may occur on the detector, which can inhibit quality image reconstructions due to photon-origin uncertainty. One proposed system to mitigate the effects of multiplexing is the synthetic-collimator SPECT system. In this system, two detectors, a silicon detector and a germanium detector, are placed at different distances behind the multipinhole aperture, allowing for image detection to occur at different magnifications and photon energies, resulting in higher overall sensitivity while maintaining high resolution. The unwanted effects of multiplexing are reduced by utilizing the additional data collected from the front silicon detector. However, determining optimal system configurations for a given imaging task requires efficient parsing of the complex parameter space, to understand how pinhole spacings and the two detector distances influence system performance. METHODS: In our simulation studies, we use the ensemble mean-squared error of the Wiener estimator (EMSEW ) as the figure of merit to determine optimum system parameters for the task of estimating the uptake of an 123 I-labeled radiotracer in three different regions of a computer-generated mouse brain phantom. The segmented phantom map is constructed by using data from the MRM NeAt database and allows for the reduction in dimensionality of the system matrix which improves the computational efficiency of scanning the system's parameter space. To contextualize our results, the Wiener estimator is also compared against a region of interest estimator using maximum-likelihood reconstructed data. RESULTS: Our results show that the synthetic-collimator SPECT system outperforms traditional multipinhole SPECT systems in this estimation task. We also find that image multiplexing plays an important role in the system design of the synthetic-collimator SPECT system, with optimal germanium detector distances occurring at maxima in the derivative of the percent multiplexing function. Furthermore, we report that improved task performance can be achieved by using an adaptive system design in which the germanium detector distance may vary with projection angle. Finally, in our comparative study, we find that the Wiener estimator outperforms the conventional region of interest estimator. CONCLUSIONS: Our work demonstrates how this optimization method has the potential to quickly and efficiently explore vast parameter spaces, providing insight into the behavior of competing factors, which are otherwise very difficult to calculate and study using other existing means.

Resolution and super-resolution.

Many papers have claimed the attainment of super-resolution, i.e. resolution beyond that achieved classically, by measurement of the profile of a feature in the image. We argue that measurement of the contrast of the image of a dark bar on a bright background does not give a measure of resolution, but of detection sensitivity. The width of a bar that gives an intensity at the center of the bar of 0.735 that in the bright region (the same ratio as in the Rayleigh resolution criterion) is λ/(13.9×numerical aperture) for the coherent case with central illumination. This figure, which compares with λ/(numerical aperture) for the Abbe resolution limit with central illumination, holds for the classical case, and so is no indication of super-resolution. Theoretical images for two points, two lines, arrays of lines, arrays of bars, and grating objects are compared. These results can be used a reference for experimental results, to determine if super-resolution has indeed been attained. The history of the development of the theory of microscope resolution is outlined.

Imaging Theory、Predominance and Clinical Applications of PET/CT / 中国医学物理学杂志

Objective:To explore the imaging theory、Predominance and clinical applications of PET/CT.Methods:The definition of PET/CT was firstly explained in the paper.Then,we could learn not only the imaging theory and important parameters,but also predominance and clinical applications of PET/CT.Results:PET/CT can make the modality of PET and CT images,so that it is more widely used.Conclusion:PET/CT represents the highest level of medical imaging equipment nowadays,It is the ideal combination of the medical imaging diagnostic echnology.