Targeted multi-pinhole SPECT

Purpose: Small-animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with focused multi-pinhole collimation geometries allows scanning modes in which large amounts of photons can be collected from specific volumes of interest. Here we present new tools that improve targeted imaging of specific organs and tumours, and validate the effects of...

Accurate Coregistration between Ultra-High-Resolution Micro-SPECT and Circular Cone-BeamMicro-CT Scanners

Spatially registering SPECT with CT makes it possible to anatomically localize SPECT tracers. In this study, an accurate method for the coregistration of ultra-high-resolution SPECT volumes andmultiple cone-beam CT volumes is developed and validated, which does not require markers during animal scanning. Methods. Transferable animal beds were...

Absolute quantitative total-body small-animal SPECT with focusing pinholes

Purpose: In pinhole SPECT, attenuation of the photon flux on trajectories between source and pinholes affects quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. Previously we introduced iterative methods that compensate for image degrading effects of detector and pinhole blurring, pinhole sensitivity and scatter for multi-pinhole SPECT. The aim of...

3-D Rat Brain Phantom for High-Resolution Molecular Imaging: Experimental studies aimed at advancing understanding of human brain disease and malfunction, and of behavior problems, may be aided by computer models of small laboratory animals

With the steadily improving resolution of novel small-animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography devices, highly detailed phantoms are required for testing and optimizing these systems. We present a three-dimensional (3-D) digital and physical phantom pair to represent, e.g., cerebral blood flow,...

U-SPECT-II: An Ultra-High-Resolution Device for Molecular Small-Animal Imaging

We present a new rodent SPECT system (U-SPECT-II) that enables molecular imaging of murine organs down to resolutions of less than half a millimeter and high-resolution total-body imaging. Methods: The U-SPECT-II is based on a triangular stationary detector set-up, an XYZ stage that moves the animal during scanning, and interchangeable cylindric...

High-Resolution Cardiac Rat SPECT: Effect ofDose and Acquisition Time

SPECT imaging with low dose or short acquisition time can lead to very noisy reconstructed images. With the USPECT-II system we study the effect of low-count scans, and 3D Gaussian blurring to suppress statistical errors. Three different groups of short-time cardiac rat scans were derived from a longtime scan. Images were reconstructed and then...

System Calibration and Statistical Image Reconstruction for Ultra-High Resolution Stationary Pinhole SPECT

For multipinhole single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), iterative reconstruction algorithms are preferred over analytical methods, because of the often complex multipinhole geometries and the ability of iterative algorithms to compensate for effects like spatially variant sensitivity and resolution. Ideally, such compensation...

Imaging dynamics of organs and drugs at sub-half-MM and sub-minite resolution using focusing pinhole spect

We demonstrate new technologies for SPECT imaging with unsurpassed resolution in mice and rats. Results of the imaging of living animals will be shown. In addition development of detectors for next generation systems with an even higher resolution will be shown.