Development of novel low-cost readout electronics for large field-of-view gamma camera detectors.

PURPOSE: Large scintillation crystals-based gamma cameras play a crucial role in nuclear medicine imaging. In this study, a large field-of-view (FOV) gamma detector consisting of 48 square PMTs developed using a new readout electronics, reducing 48 (6 × 8) analog signals to 14 (6 + 8) analog sums of each row and column, with reduced complexity and cost while preserving image quality. METHODS: All 14 analog signals were converted to digital signals using AD9257 high-speed analog to digital (ADC) converters driven by the SPARTAN-6 family of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) in order to calculate the signal integrals. The positioning algorithm was based on the digital correlated signal enhancement (CSE) algorithm implemented in the acquisition software. The performance characteristics of the developed gamma camera were measured using the NEMA NU 1-2018 standards. RESULTS: The measured energy resolution of the developed detector was 8.7 % at 140 keV, with an intrinsic spatial resolution of 3.9 mm. The uniformity was within 0.6 %, while the linearity was within 0.1 %. CONCLUSION: The performance evaluation demonstrated that the developed detector has suitable specifications for high-end nuclear medicine imaging.

Development and characterization of an all-in-one gamma probe with auto-peak detection for sentinel lymph node biopsy based on NEMA NU3-2004 standard.

BACKGROUND: A gamma probe is a handheld device used for intraoperative interventions following interstitial injection of a radiotracer to locate regional lymph nodes through the external detection of radiation. This work reports on the design and performance evaluation of a novel fully integrated gamma probe (GammaPen), recently developed by our group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GammaPen is an all-in-one pocket gamma probe with low weight and adequate dimensions, consisting of a detector, a control unit and output all together. The detector module consists of a cylindrical Thallium-activated Cesium Iodide [CsI (Tl)] crystal optically coupled to a Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), shielded using Tungsten housing on side and back faces. The electronics of the probe consists of two small boards to handle signal processing and analog peak detection tasks. A number of parameters, including probe sensitivity in air/water, spatial resolution in air/water, angular resolution in air/water, and side and back shielding effectiveness, were measured to evaluate the performance of the probe based on NEMA NU3-2004 standards. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the probe in air at distances of 10, 30, and 50 mm is 18784, 3500, and 1575 cps/MBq. The sensitivity in scattering medium was also measured at distances of 10, 30, and 50 mm as 17,680, 3050, and 1104 cps/MBq. The spatial and angular resolutions in scattering medium were 47 mm and 87 degree at 30 mm distance from the probe, while they were 40 mm and 77 degree in air. The detector shielding effectiveness and leakage sensitivity are 99.91% and 0.09%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The performance characterization showed that GammaPen can be used effectively for sentinel lymph node localization. The probe was successfully used in several surgical interventions by an experienced surgeon confirming its suitability in a clinical setting.

Standard SPECT myocardial perfusion estimation from half-time acquisitions using deep convolutional residual neural networks.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this work was to assess the feasibility of acquisition time reduction in MPI-SPECT imaging using deep leering techniques through two main approaches, namely reduction of the acquisition time per projection and reduction of the number of angular projections. METHODS: SPECT imaging was performed using a fixed 90° angle dedicated dual-head cardiac SPECT camera. This study included a prospective cohort of 363 patients with various clinical indications (normal, ischemia, and infarct) referred for MPI-SPECT. For each patient, 32 projections for 20 seconds per projection were acquired using a step and shoot protocol from the right anterior oblique to the left posterior oblique view. SPECT projection data were reconstructed using the OSEM algorithm (6 iterations, 4 subsets, Butterworth post-reconstruction filter). For each patient, four different datasets were generated, namely full time (20 seconds) projections (FT), half-time (10 seconds) acquisition per projection (HT), 32 full projections (FP), and 16 half projections (HP). The image-to-image transformation via the residual network was implemented to predict FT from HT and predict FP from HP images in the projection domain. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the proposed framework was performed using a tenfold cross validation scheme using the root mean square error (RMSE), absolute relative error (ARE), structural similarity index, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) metrics, and clinical quantitative parameters. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the predicted FT had better image quality than the predicted FP images. Among the generated images, predicted FT images resulted in the lowest error metrics (RMSE = 6.8 ± 2.7, ARE = 3.1 ± 1.1%) and highest similarity index and signal-to-noise ratio (SSIM = 0.97 ± 1.1, PSNR = 36.0 ± 1.4). The highest error metrics (RMSE = 32.8 ± 12.8, ARE = 16.2 ± 4.9%) and the lowest similarity and signal-to-noise ratio (SSIM = 0.93 ± 2.6, PSNR = 31.7 ± 2.9) were observed for HT images. The RMSE decreased significantly (P value < .05) for predicted FT (8.0 ± 3.6) relative to predicted FP (6.8 ± 2.7). CONCLUSION: Reducing the acquisition time per projection significantly increased the error metrics. The deep neural network effectively recovers image quality and reduces bias in quantification metrics. Further research should be undertaken to explore the impact of time reduction in gated MPI-SPECT.

Design and development of a dedicated portable gamma camera system for intra-operative imaging.

PURPOSE: We developed a high performance portable gamma camera platform dedicated to identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) and radio-guided surgery for cancer patients. In this work, we present the performance characteristics of SURGEOSIGHT-I, the first version of this platform that can intra-operatively provide high-resolution images of the surveyed areas. METHODS: At the heart of this camera, there is a 43×43 array of pixelated sodium-activated cesium iodide (CsI(Na)) scintillation crystal with 1×1mm(2) pixel size and 5mm thickness coupled to a Hamamatsu H8500 flat-panel multi-anode (64 channels) photomultiplier tube. The probe is equipped with a hexagonal parallel-hole lead collimator with 1.2mm holes. The detector, collimator, and the associated front-end electronics are encapsulated in a common housing referred to as head. RESULTS: Our results show a count rate of ∼41kcps for 20% count loss. The extrinsic energy resolution was measured as 20.6% at 140keV. The spatial resolution and the sensitivity of the system on the collimator surface was measured as 2.2mm and 142cps/MBq, respectively. In addition, the integral and differential uniformity, after uniformity correction, in useful field-of-view (UFOV) were measured 4.5% and 4.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This system can be used for a number of clinical applications including SLN biopsy and radiopharmaceutical-guided surgery.

Performance evaluation of a newly developed high-resolution, dual-head animal SPECT system based on the NEMA NU1-2007 standard.

Small-animal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system plays an important role in the field of drug development and investigation of potential drugs in the preclinical phase. The small-animal High-Resolution SPECT (HiReSPECT) scanner has been recently designed and developed based on compact and high-resolution detectors. The detectors are based on a high-resolution parallel hole collimator, a cesium iodide (sodium-activated) pixelated crystal array and two H8500 position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes. In this system, a full set of data cor- rections such as energy, linearity, and uniformity, together with resolution recovery option in reconstruction algorithms, are available. In this study, we assessed the performance of the system based on NEMA-NU1-2007 standards for pixelated detector cameras. Characterization of the HiReSPECT was performed by measure- ment of the physical parameters including planar and tomographic performance. The planar performance of the system was characterized with flood-field phantom for energy resolution and uniformity. Spatial resolution and sensitivity were evaluated as functions of distance with capillary tube and cylindrical source, respectively. Tomographic spatial resolution was characterized as a function of radius of rotation (ROR). A dedicated hot rod phantom and image quality phantom was used for the evaluation of overall tomographic quality of the HiReSPECT. The results showed that the planar spatial resolution was ~ 1.6 mm and ~ 2.3 mm in terms of full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) along short- and long-axis dimensions, respectively, when the source was placed on the detector surface. The integral uniformity of the system after uniformity correction was 1.7% and 1.2% in useful field of view (UFOV) and central field of view (CFOV), respectively. System sensitivity on the collimator surface was 1.31 cps/µCi and didn't vary significantly with distance. Mean tomographic spatial resolution was measured ~ 1.7 mm FWHM at the radius of rotation of 25 mm with dual-head configuration.The measured performance demonstrated that the HiReSPECT scanner has acceptable image quality and, hence, is well suited for preclinical molecular imaging research.