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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

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Open Access 01-11-2010 | Original Article

Absolute quantitative total-body small-animal SPECT with focusing pinholes

Authors: Chao Wu, Frans van der Have, Brendan Vastenhouw, Rudi A. J. O. Dierckx, Anne M. J. Paans, Freek J. Beekman

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 11/2010

Abstract

Purpose

In pinhole SPECT, attenuation of the photon flux on trajectories between source and pinholes affects quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. Previously we introduced iterative methods that compensate for image degrading effects of detector and pinhole blurring, pinhole sensitivity and scatter for multi-pinhole SPECT. The aim of this paper is (1) to investigate the accuracy of the Chang algorithm in rodents and (2) to present a practical Chang-based method using body outline contours obtained with optical cameras.

Methods

Here we develop and experimentally validate a practical method for attenuation correction based on a Chang first-order method. This approach has the advantage that it is employed after, and therefore independently from, iterative reconstruction. Therefore, no new system matrix has to be calculated for each specific animal. Experiments with phantoms and animals were performed with a high-resolution focusing multi-pinhole SPECT system (U-SPECT-II, MILabs, The Netherlands). This SPECT system provides three additional optical camera images of the animal for each SPECT scan from which the animal contour can be estimated.

Results

Phantom experiments demonstrated that an average quantification error of –18.7% was reduced to –1.7% when both window-based scatter correction and Chang correction based on the body outline from optical images were applied. Without scatter and attenuation correction, quantification errors in a sacrificed rat containing sources with known activity ranged from –23.6 to –9.3%. These errors were reduced to values between –6.3 and +4.3% (with an average magnitude of 2.1%) after applying scatter and Chang attenuation correction.

Conclusion

We conclude that the modified Chang correction based on body contour combined with window-based scatter correction is a practical method for obtaining small-animal SPECT images with high quantitative accuracy.

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Title: Absolute quantitative total-body small-animal SPECT with focusing pinholes
Authors: Chao Wu
Frans van der Have
Brendan Vastenhouw
Rudi A. J. O. Dierckx
Anne M. J. Paans
Freek J. Beekman
Publication date: 01-11-2010
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 11/2010
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1519-9

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Absolute quantitative total-body small-animal SPECT with focusing pinholes

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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