Improving spatial resolution in SPECT with the combination of PSPMT based detector and iterative reconstruction algorithms

Comput Med Imaging Graph. 2003 Jul-Aug;27(4):307-13. doi: 10.1016/s0895-6111(02)00080-0.

Abstract

This paper investigates the possibility of developing a SPECT system that combines the high spatial resolution of position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs) with the excellent performance of iterative reconstruction algorithms. A small field of view (FOV) camera based on a PSPMT and a pixelized scintillation crystal made of CsI(Tl) have been used for the acquisition of the projections. With the use of maximum likelihood expectation maximization (ML-EM) and ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) slices of the object are obtained while three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the object is carried out using a modified marching cubes (MMC) algorithm. The spatial resolution of tomographic images obtained with the system was 2-3mm. The spatial resolution of a conventional system that uses filtered backprojection (FBP) for slices reconstruction was more than 9 mm.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Gamma Cameras
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / instrumentation
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / methods*