Design and physical characteristics of a small animal PET using BaF2 crystals and a photosensitive wire chamber

Bruyndonckx, Peter; Liu, Xuan; Rajeswaran, S.; Smolik, Waldemar T.; Tavernier, S.; Zhang, Shuping

doi:10.1016/s0168-9002(96)00804-2

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The need for scaling down large human or primate systems was recognized early on (e.g. Lecomte et al 1996, Bruyndonckx et al 1996, Cherry et al 1997, Chatziioannou et al 1999. The early approach was to combine fine pixelated scintillation crystals with either avalanche photodiodes (APDs; Pichler 1998), wire chambers (Bruyndonckx et al 1997) or PS-PMTs (Del Guerra et al 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DigiPET: sub-millimeter spatial resolution small-animal PET imaging using thin monolithic scintillators

España

Marcinkowski²,

Keereman³

et al. 2014

Phys. Med. Biol.

102

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A new preclinical PET system based on dSiPMs, called DigiPET, is presented. The system is based on thin monolithic scintillation crystals and exhibits superior spatial resolution at low-cost compared to systems based on pixelated crystals. Current dedicated small-rodent PET scanners have a spatial resolution in the order of 1 mm. Most of them have a large footprint, requiring considerable laboratory space. For rodent brain imaging, a PET scanner with sub-millimeter resolution is desired. To achieve this, crystals with a pixel pitch down to 0.5 mm have been used. However, fine pixels are difficult to produce and will render systems expensive. In this work, we present the first results with a high-resolution preclinical PET scanner based on thin monolithic scintillators and a large solid angle. The design is dedicated to rat-brain imaging and therefore has a very compact geometry. Four detectors were placed in a square arrangement with a distance of 34.5 mm between two opposing detector modules, defining a field of view (FOV) of 32 × 32 × 32 mm(3). Each detector consists of a thin monolithic LYSO crystal of 32 × 32 × 2 mm(3) optically coupled to a digital silicon photomultiplier (dSiPM). Event positioning within each detector was obtained using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method. To evaluate the system performance, we measured the energy resolution, coincidence resolving time (CRT), sensitivity and spatial resolution. The image quality was evaluated by acquiring a hot-rod phantom filled with (18)F-FDG and a rat head one hour after an (18)F-FDG injection. The MLE yielded an average intrinsic spatial resolution on the detector of 0.54 mm FWHM. We obtained a CRT of 680 ps and an energy resolution of 18% FWHM at 511 keV. The sensitivity and spatial resolution obtained at the center of the FOV were 6.0 cps kBq(-1) and 0.7 mm, respectively. In the reconstructed images of the hot-rod phantom, hot rods down to 0.7 mm can be discriminated. In conclusion, a compact PET scanner was built using dSiPM technology and thin monolithic LYSO crystals. Excellent spatial resolution and acceptable sensitivity were demonstrated. Promising results were also obtained in a hot-rod phantom and in rat-brain imaging.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DigiPET: sub-millimeter spatial resolution small-animal PET imaging using thin monolithic scintillators

España

Marcinkowski²,

Keereman³

et al. 2014

Phys. Med. Biol.

102

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While the earliest designs of laboratory-based PET scanners used conventional technology (Cutler et al, 1992;Watanabe et al, 1992;Bloom®eld et al, 1995;Hutchins et al, 1996;Bloom®eld et al, 1997), recently emerging systems have utilized more novel designs. These include different scintillating block materials such as yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP) (Weber et al, 1997) or lutetium orthosilicate (LSO) (Cherry et al, 1996), barium¯uoride detectors with photosensitive wire chambers (Bruyndonckx et al, 1996), avalanche photodiode detectors (Lecomte et al, 1996) and multiwire proportional chamber technology (Jeavons et al, 1999). Several groups have now begun to explore the potential of pinhole SPECT which can offer high resolution (Ishizu et al, 1995) although often at the expense of sensitivity (Weber and Ivanovic, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radio-imaging in small animals

Myers

Hume²,

Bloomfield³

et al. 1999

J Psychopharmacol

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As the resolution of radio-imaging systems improves, the prospect of in-vivo imaging of small animals becomes more attractive. Purpose-built positron emission tomography (PET) scanners capable of imaging individual tissues within the rat brain are now in routine experimental use and in-vivo tracer and saturation-kinetic studies are now possible. The study of small animals in this way does have intrinsic problems and constraints associated with it. For example, the animal must be completely immobilized, stable ligand within the radiolabelled preparation may be limiting and anatomical definition may be poor. In spite of this, consistent, semi-quantitative data can be produced and in-vivo radio-imaging can provide a genuine and unique complement to more conventional techniques. Animal numbers can be significantly reduced and the quality of data improved due to reduced inter-animal variation, and longitudinal studies, to monitor disease progression, are feasible. As the resolution of imaging systems improves still further, such studies could be extended to mouse, in addition to rat, models of disease.

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Small animal PET: aspects of performance assessment

Weber¹,

Bauer

2004

Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging

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Dedicated small animal positron emission tomography (PET) systems are increasingly prevalent in industry (e.g. for preclinical drug development) and biological research. Such systems permit researchers to perform animal studies of a longitudinal design characterised by repeated measurements in single animals. With the advent of commercial systems, scanners have become readily available and increasingly popular. As a consequence, technical specifications are becoming more diverse, making scanner systems less broadly applicable. The investigator has, therefore, to make a decision regarding which type of scanner is most suitable for the intended experiments. This decision should be based on gantry characteristics and the physical performance. The first few steps have been taken towards standardisation of the assessment of performance characteristics of dedicated animal PET systems, though such assessment is not yet routinely implemented. In this review, we describe current methods of evaluation of physical performance parameters of small animal PET scanners. Effects of methodologically different approaches on the results are assessed. It is underscored that particular attention has to be paid to spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction and count rate performance. Differences in performance measurement methods are described with regard to commercially available systems, namely the Concorde MicroPET systems P4 and R4 and the quad-HIDAC. Lastly, consequences of differences in scanner performance parameters are rated with respect to applications of small animal PET.

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Design and physical characteristics of a small animal PET using BaF2 crystals and a photosensitive wire chamber

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

DigiPET: sub-millimeter spatial resolution small-animal PET imaging using thin monolithic scintillators

DigiPET: sub-millimeter spatial resolution small-animal PET imaging using thin monolithic scintillators

Radio-imaging in small animals

Small animal PET: aspects of performance assessment

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