Conceptual design of a compact positron tomograph for prostateimaging
Huber, J.S.; Derenzo, S.E.; Qi, J.; Moses, W.W.; Huesman, R.H.; Budinger, T.F.
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 48, Issue 4, Aug 2001 Page(s):1506 - 1511
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/23.958388
Summary:We present a conceptual design of a compact positron tomograph for
prostate imaging using a pair of external curved detector banks, one
placed above and one below the patient. The lower detector bank is fixed
below the patient bed, and the top bank adjusts vertically for maximum
sensitivity and patient access. Each bank is composed of 40 conventional
block detectors, forming two arcs (44 cm minor, 60 cm major axis) that
are tilted to minimize attenuation and positioned as close as possible
to the patient to improve sensitivity. The individual detectors are
angled to point toward the prostate to minimize resolution degradation
in that region. Interplane septa extend 5 cm beyond the scintillator
crystals to reduce random and scatter backgrounds. A patient is not
fully encircled by detector rings in order to minimize cost, causing
incomplete sampling due to the side gaps. Monte Carlo simulation
(including randoms and scatter) demonstrates the feasibility of
detecting and differentiating partial and whole prostate tumors with a
tumor-to-background ratio of 2:1, utilizing the number of events that
should be achievable with a 6-min scan after a 10 mCi injection (e.g.,
carbon-11 choline or fluorine-18 fluorocholine)
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