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Kuang Z, Zhang L, Ren N, Kinyanjui SM, Liu Z, Sun T, Hu Z, Yang Y. Effect of depth of interaction resolution on the spatial resolution of SIAT aPET. Phys Med Biol 2023; 68:22NT02. [PMID: 37890466 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad078b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Objective.Spatial resolution is a crucial parameter for a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. The spatial resolution of a high-resolution small animal PET scanner is significantly influenced by the effect of depth of interaction (DOI) uncertainty. The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of DOI resolution on the spatial resolution of a small animal PET scanner called SIAT aPET and determine the required DOI resolution to achieve nearly uniform spatial resolution within the field of view (FOV).Approach. The SIAT aPET detectors utilize 1.0 × 1.0 × 20 mm3crystals, with an average DOI resolution of ∼2 mm. A default number of 16 DOI bins are used during data acquisition. First, a Na-22 point source was scanned in the center of the axial FOV with different radial offsets. Then, a Derenzo phantom was scanned at radial offsets of 0 and 15 mm in the center axial FOV. The measured DOI information was rebinned to 1, 2, 4 and 8 DOI bins to mimic different DOI resolutions of the detectors during image reconstruction.Main results. Significant artifacts were observed in images obtained from both the point source and Derenzo phantom when using only one DOI bin. When accurate measurement of DOI is not achieved, degradation in spatial resolution is more pronounced in the radial direction compared to tangential and axial directions for large radial offsets. The radial spatial resolutions at a 30 mm radial offset are 5.05, 2.62, 1.24, 0.86 and 0.78 mm when using 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 DOI bins, respectively. The axial spatial resolution improved from ∼1.3 to 0.7 mm as the number of DOI bins increased from 1 to 16 at radial offsets from 0 to 25 mm. Two DOI bins are required to obtain images without significant artifacts. The required DOI resolution is about three times the crystal width of SIAT aPET to achieve a uniform submillimeter spatial resolution within the central 60 mm FOV and resolve the 1 mm rods of the Derenzo phantom at both positions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghua Kuang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- School of Physics and Electronics-Electrical Engineering, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ling Zhang
- School of Medicine, Hunan University of Medicine, Huaihua 418000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Ren
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Samuel M Kinyanjui
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Sun
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhanli Hu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongfeng Yang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
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Sang Z, Kuang Z, Wang X, Ren N, Wu S, Niu M, Cong L, Liu Z, Hu Z, Sun T, Liang D, Liu X, Zheng H, Li Y, Yang Y. Mutual interferences between SIAT aPET insert and a 3 T uMR 790 MRI scanner. Phys Med Biol 2023; 68. [PMID: 36549011 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/acae17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Objective.Dual-modality small animal PET/MR imaging provides temporally correlated information on two biochemical processes of a living object. An magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-compatible small animal PET insert named Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) aPET was developed by using dual-ended readout depth encoding detectors to simultaneously achieve a uniform high spatial resolution and high sensitivity at the SIAT. In this work, the mutual interferences between SIAT aPET and the 3 T uMR 790 MRI scanner of United Imaging was quantitatively evaluated.Approach.To minimize the mutual interferences, only the PET detectors and the readout electronics were placed inside the MRI scanner, the major signal processing electronic was placed in the corner of the MRI room and the auxiliary unit was placed in the MRI technical room. A dedicated mouse radio fRequency (RF) coil with a transmitter and receiver was developed for the PET insert. The effects of PET scanner on theB0andB1field of the MRI scanner and the quality of the MRI images were measured. The effects of MRI imaging on the performance of both the PET detectors and scanner were also measured.Main results.The electronic and mechanical components of the PET insert affected the homogeneity of theB0field. The PET insert had no effect on the homogeneity ofB1produced by the dedicated mouse coil but slightly reduced the strength ofB1. The mean and standard deviation of the RF noise map were increased by 2.2% and 11.6%, respectively, while the PET insert was placed in the MRI scanner and powered on. Eddy current was produced while the PET insert was placed in the MRI scanner, and it was further increased while the PET insert was powered on. Despite the above-mentioned interferences from the PET insert, the MR images of a uniform cylindrical water phantom showed that the changes in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and homogeneity as the PET insert was placed in the MRI scanner were acceptable regardless of whether the PET insert was powered off or powered on. The maximum reduction of SNR was less than 11%, and the maximum reduction of homogeneity was less than 2.5% while the PET insert was placed inside the MRI scanner and powered on for five commonly used MRI sequences. MRI using gradient echo (GRE), spin echo (SE) and fast spin echo (FSE) sequences had negligible effects on the flood histograms and energy resolution of the PET detectors, as well as the spatial resolution and sensitivity of the PET scanner.Significance.The mutual interference between the SIAT aPET and the 3 T uMR 790 MRI scanner are acceptable. Simultaneous PET/MRI imaging of small animals can be performed with the two scanners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziru Sang
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhonghua Kuang
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.,Shenzhen College of Advanced Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Ren
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - San Wu
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Niu
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Longhan Cong
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhanli Hu
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Sun
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Dong Liang
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Liu
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Hairong Zheng
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Ye Li
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongfeng Yang
- Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
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Liu Z, Niu M, Kuang Z, Ren N, Wu S, Cong L, Wang X, Sang Z, Williams C, Yang Y. High resolution detectors for whole-body PET scanners by using dual-ended readout. EJNMMI Phys 2022; 9:29. [PMID: 35445890 PMCID: PMC9023628 DOI: 10.1186/s40658-022-00460-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most current whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) scanners use detectors with high timing resolution to measure the time-of-flight of two 511 keV photons, improving the signal-to-noise ratio of PET images. However, almost all current whole-body PET scanners use detectors without depth-encoding capability; therefore, their spatial resolution can be affected by the parallax effect. METHODS In this work, four depth-encoding detectors consisting of LYSO arrays with crystals of 2.98 × 2.98 × 20 mm3, 2.98 × 2.98 × 30 mm3, 1.95 × 1.95 × 20 mm3, and 1.95 × 1.95 × 30 mm3, respectively, were read at both ends, with 6 × 6 mm2 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) pixels in a 4 × 4 array being used. The timing signals of the detectors were processed individually using an ultrafast NINO application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to obtain good timing resolution. The 16 energy signals of the SiPM array were read using a row and column summing circuit to obtain four position-encoding energy signals. RESULTS The four PET detectors provided good flood histograms in which all crystals could be clearly resolved, the crystal energy resolutions measured being 10.2, 12.1, 11.4 and 11.7% full width at half maximum (FWHM), at an average crystal depth of interaction (DOI) resolution of 3.5, 3.9, 2.7, and 3.0 mm, respectively. The depth dependence of the timing of each SiPM was measured and corrected, the timing of the two SiPMs being used as the timing of the dual-ended readout detector. The four detectors provided coincidence time resolutions of 180, 214, 239, and 263 ps, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The timing resolution of the dual-ended readout PET detector was approximately 20% better than that of the single-ended readout detector using the same LYSO array, SiPM array, and readout electronics. The detectors developed in this work used long crystals with small cross-sections and provided good flood histograms, DOI, energy, and timing resolutions, suggesting that they could be used to develop whole-body PET scanners with high sensitivity, uniform high spatial resolution, and high timing resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Liu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Ming Niu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Zhonghua Kuang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Ning Ren
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - San Wu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Longhan Cong
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Ziru Sang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Crispin Williams
- European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Yongfeng Yang
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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