Abstract:
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Purpose: A breast dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanner has been developed based
on monolithic LYSO crystals coupled to position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs). In this
study, we describe the ...[+]
Purpose: A breast dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanner has been developed based
on monolithic LYSO crystals coupled to position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs). In this
study, we describe the design of the PET system and report on its performance evaluation.
Methods: MAMMI is a breast PET scanner based on monolithic LYSO crystals. It consists of 12
compact modules with a transaxial field of view (FOV) of 170 mm in diameter and 40 mm axial
FOV that translates to cover up to 170 mm. The patient lies down in a prone position that facilitates
maximum breast elongation. Quantitative performance analysis of the calculated method for
the attenuation correction specifically developed for MAMMI, and based on PET image segmentation,
has also been conducted in this evaluation. In order to fully determine the MAMMI prototype’s
performance, we have adapted the measurements suggested for National Electrical Manufacturers
Association (NEMA) NU 2-2007 and NU 4-2008 protocol tests, as they are defined for whole-body
and small animal PET scanners, respectively.
Results: Spatial resolutions of 1.6, 1.8, and 1.9 mm were measured in the axial, radial, and tangential
directions, respectively. A scatter fraction of 20.8% was obtained and the maximum NEC was determined
to be 25 kcps at 44 MBq. The average sensitivity of the system was observed to be 1% for an
energy window of (250 keV–750 keV) and a maximum absolute sensitivity of 1.8% was measured at
the FOV center.
Conclusions: The overall performance of the MAMMI reported on this evaluation quantifies its ability
to produce high quality PET images. Spatial resolution values below 3 mm were measured in most
of the FOV. Only the radial component of spatial resolution exceeds the 3 mm at radial positions larger
than 60 mm. This study emphasizes the need for standardized testing methodologies for dedicated
breast PET systems similar to NEMA standards for whole-body and small animal PET scanners
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Thanks:
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This work was supported by the Spanish Plan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica (I+D+I) under Grant No. FIS2010-21216-CO2-01 and Valencian Local Government under Grant Nos. PROMETEO ...[+]
This work was supported by the Spanish Plan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica (I+D+I) under Grant No. FIS2010-21216-CO2-01 and Valencian Local Government under Grant Nos. PROMETEO 2008/114 and APOSTD 2010/012. The authors would like to thank Teodor Dima and Brennan Holt for checking and correcting the text.
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