Euromedim 2006 :1st European Conference on Molecular Imaging Technology

Results obtained with the ClearPET(TM) Rodent small animal PET scanner

11 May 2006, 14:00

1h

Palais du Pharo, Marseille

poster • Status of animal and clinical PET, SPECT and CT (biomedical and technical) Poster session : Imaging systems, Molecular Imaging

Speaker

Dr Olivier Devroede (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Description

We will report result obtained with a ClearPET(TM) Rodent small animal PET scanner at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The ClearPET(TM) scanner was build to be modular. At its basis it consists of cassettes that can contain up to four 64 channel PMTs (Hamamatsu R7600-M64) in line. The scintillator used is a combination of LYSO and LuYAP (each 8mm long), that can be distinguished through their different decay times. This effectively gives DOI information. The signals are digitised using free running ADCs operating at 40MHz. The cassettes are mounted on a rotating gantry, allowing the use of a partial ring geometry. The scanner under test comprises of 8 cassettes each equipped with 2 PMTs. Due to an axial shift introduced into every 2nd cassette, the effective axial field of view amounts to 50mm. The cassettes are placed such that each cassette has another cassette directly opposing it (180° further at the gantry). Measurements of the spatial resolutions and sensitivity will be presented and compared with simulations obtained with Gate. Furthermore, a position calibration method will be outlined and the influence on the spatial resolution will be quantified. Due to the peculiar geometry, a dedicated image reconstruction procedure based on direct list mode reconstrution was developped and will be presented. Images with a Derenzo phantom and first (18)FDG images with rats will also be shown, illustrating the potential of the scanner.