Active-PET: a multifunctional PET scanner with dynamic gantry size featuring high-resolution and high-sensitivity...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Instrumentation

Background:

• Dedicated organ-specific PET scanners offer high resolution and sensitivity but are costly and space-intensive.
• Existing PET scanner designs lack flexibility for diverse clinical and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the Active-PET, a novel, multifunctional PET scanner concept.
• To demonstrate the capability of reconfigurable detector modules for variable field-of-view and performance optimization.

Main Methods:

• Monte Carlo simulations were employed to model a PET scanner with two sets of Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate (LSO(Ce)) detectors.
• Detector modules with varying pixel sizes and crystal thicknesses were utilized.
• Linear motors enabled radial displacement of detector modules to achieve variable gantry diameters.

Main Results:

• The simulated Active-PET achieved a maximum sensitivity of 15.98 kcps/MBq with a small gantry and high-sensitivity detectors.
• Optimal spatial resolution (2.2 mm tangential, 2.3 mm radial, 2.5 mm axial FWHM) was obtained with a small gantry and high-resolution detectors.
• A large-bore configuration demonstrated superior performance and image quality compared to the Biograph mCT in phantom studies.

Conclusions:

• The Active-PET concept presents a non-static PET scanner capable of switching between large/small fields-of-view and high-resolution/high-sensitivity imaging.
• This reconfigurable design offers a cost-effective and space-saving solution compared to multiple dedicated PET scanners.
• Active-PET holds potential for diverse applications including brain, breast, prostate, and image-guided therapy.