PET-CT scanner characterization for PET raw data use in biomedical research.

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Imaging

Background:

• Commercial PET-CT scanners lack explicit geometrical data linking image and raw data domains.
• Accurate geometrical interpretation is crucial for advanced applications like treatment verification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe experiments and methods for geometrical interpretation of new-generation PET-CT scanners.
• To enable off-line PET-based treatment verification in ion beam therapy.
• To provide a method applicable to commercial scanners without vendor-specific data.

Main Methods:

• Characterization of geometrical correspondence between PET image and sinogram domains.
• Development of methods for analyzing PET raw data.

Main Results:

• A method for geometrical interpretation of commercial PET-CT scanners was established.
• The approach facilitates the use of PET raw data for research and development.

Conclusions:

• The proposed geometrical characterization is applicable to commercial PET-CT scanners.
• This work supports the development of PET-based treatment verification in ion beam therapy.
• The methods allow utilizing PET raw data independently of vendor confidentiality.