Strategies for mitigating inter-crystal scattering effects in positron emission tomography: a comprehensive review

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nuclear Physics

Background:

• Inter-crystal scattering (ICS) events in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) negatively impact system sensitivity and image quality.
• Understanding the underlying physics of ICS is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the physics of ICS events in PET detectors.
• To introduce and evaluate various methodologies for identifying and correcting ICS events.
• To highlight the potential of advanced techniques like Artificial Intelligence (AI) for improving PET imaging.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of energy-based comparisons for ICS event identification.
• Utilization of Compton kinematics for first interaction position estimation.
• Application of statistical methods and AI algorithms (e.g., neural networks) for enhanced positioning accuracy.

Main Results:

• Energy-based methods provide a simple approach to ICS detection.
• Compton kinematics-based methods offer reasonably good trajectory information for position estimation.
• AI techniques show significant promise in improving positioning accuracy and recovering ICS events.
• Simulation and experimental studies validate the potential for enhanced PET sensitivity and image quality.

Conclusions:

• Various methods, particularly AI, offer promising solutions for mitigating ICS challenges in PET.
• Successful implementation can lead to improved PET image accuracy, resolution, and diagnostic capabilities.
• Further validation on real PET systems is required to assess practical feasibility and theoretical results.