Design and geometry optimization of a dual-panel prostate dedicated PET scanner.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Dual-panel PET scanners offer compact configurations for prostate imaging but face challenges with limited angular sampling.
• Optimizing transaxial angular coverage is crucial for improving image quality in these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate system design and optimization strategies for the ProVision prostate-dedicated time-of-flight, depth-of-interaction, dual-panel PET scanner.
• To compare the performance of static versus dynamic (moving) panel configurations to improve imaging.

Main Methods:

• Two strategies were evaluated: large static panels with optimized gap patterns and smaller movable panels with motion protocols.
• Candidate designs were screened using a reconstruction-independent framework assessing sampling characteristics and Monte Carlo simulations for image quality analysis.
• Image quality was assessed using contrast recovery, noise, CNR, and full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) for elongation.

Main Results:

• Nonuniform gap configurations improved static panel performance, balancing contrast recovery, noise, and elongation.
• More complex motion protocols enhanced dynamic panel performance, yielding modest gains in contrast recovery and noise reduction.
• Moving-panel designs improved contrast recovery and elongation but at the cost of significantly increased noise, indicating a performance-noise-complexity trade-off.

Conclusions:

• Two complementary evaluation frameworks provide distinct insights for system design and optimization.
• This study offers a structured approach to analyzing trade-offs in static and dynamic dual-panel PET configurations for prostate imaging.
• The findings guide practical design constraints and methodological implications for dual-panel PET system development.