Pet-Compton system. Comparative evaluation with PET system using Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in small animals has actually achieved spatial resolution round about 1 mm and currently there are under study different approaches to improve this spatial resolution. One of them combines PET technology with Compton Cameras. This paper presents the idea of the so called "PET-Compton" systems and has included comparative evaluation of spatial resolution and global efficiency in both PET and PET-Compton system by means of Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 code. Simulation was done on a PET-Compton system made-up of LYSO-LuYAP scintillating detectors of particular small animal PET scanner named "Clear-PET" and for Compton detectors based on CdZnTe semiconductor. A group of radionuclides that emits a positron () and quantum almost simultaneously and fulfills some selection criteria for their possible use in PET-Compton systems for medical and biological applications were studied under simulation conditions. By means of analytical reconstruction using SSRB (Single Slide Rebinning) method were obtained superior spatial resolution in PET-Compton system for all tested radionuclides (reaching sub-millimeter values of for source). However this analysis done by simulation have shown limited global efficiency values in "PET-Compton" system (in the order of %) instead of values around % that have been achieved in PET system.

Keywords

• efecto compton, simulación computarizada, método de monte carlo, tomografía computarizada con positrón, resolución espacial, código g