Image Acquisition and Attenuation Map Estimation for Multi-pinhole Clinical SPECT

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a well-established nuclear imaging modality for studying functional and pathological properties of the brain. Conventional general purpose SPECT systems typically offer a spatial resolution of about 10 mm with a sensitivity of 0.01-0.02%. A few dedicated brain SPECT scanners have been...

Development of high-resolution ex vivo single-photon and positron emission tomography

Molecular imaging aims for the visualisation, characterisation, and quantification of biological processes in humans and other living systems at the molecular and cellular level. For today’s patient care, molecular imaging allows for (early) detection and characterisation of disease, efficient planning and assessment of treatments, and...

Multi-pinhole Molecular Breast Tomosynthesis: from Simulation to Prototype

Breast cancer, being the most common cancer among females, is nowadays routinely diagnosed using X-ray mammography. Though this technique has proven its effectiveness in many cases, X-ray mammography has some disadvantages like reduced diagnostic sensitivity for dense breasts, need for strong breast compression and inability to assess tissues at...

Modelling, Simulation, and Optimization of Molecular Breast Tomosynthesis

In this thesis, we developed tools to model and simulate single gamma imaging modalities. These tools were subsequently used to simulate and optimize a design for Molecular Breast Tomosynthesis (MBT). The chapters in this thesis can be divided into two groups. The first group consists of Chapters 3 and 4 detailing technical topics concerning...

Development and applications of high-performance small-animal SPECT

Image acquisition and reconstruction in multi-pinhole emission tomography

Nowadays, tomographic imaging techniques are inseparable from modern medical practice as they allow non-invasive 3-dimensional visualization of the interior of a patient in order to e.g. establish a medical diagnosis, or to monitor disease progression and the effects of disease treatment. Next to clinical use, tomographic imaging techniques are...

High-resolution EM-CCD scintillation gamma cameras

The development of medical imaging techniques has dramatically changed clinical practice and biomedical science in the 20th century. Nuclear Medicine imaging techniques reveal the function of organs and tissues in vivo with the aid of radioactively labeled tracer molecules. These techniques, such as Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography ...

Silicon Photomultipliers and Monolithic Scintillators for Time-of-Flight PET

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medical imaging modality. Its aim is to visualize the 3-dimensional distribution of a radiopharmaceutical (also called the tracer) within a patient (clinical PET) or test-animal (in case of preclinical investigations). The information that can be obtained from the reconstructed distribution depends...

Monolithic scintillators and SiPMs in time-of-flight PET detectors

Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the key medical imaging modalities in the diagnosis and staging of e.g. cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The image formation is based on the measurement of annihilation photon pairs in the detector ring of the PET scanner. The diagnostic value of a PET image depends crucially on the image quality,...

Ultra-high-resolution CCD-based gamma detection

For the development and improvement of multi-pinhole SPECT systems, high-resolution gamma cameras can be essential. Electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices (EMCCDs) have a high resolution and sensitivity and therefore can be extremely useful for application in photon-counting scintillation gamma cameras. The scintillation crystal captures...

Modelling monolithic scintillator detectors for positron emission tomography

Monolithic scintillator detectors are very promising for high-resolution high-sensitivity PET. These detectors consist of several cubic centimetres of scintillating material coupled on one or more sides to position-sensitive avalanche photo-diode (APD) arrays. The coordinates of the entry point of an incoming gamma photon are estimated from the...

Monolithic scintillator detectors for high-resolution positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a technique for imaging the 3-dimensional distribution of radio-labelled molecules in vivo. This technique plays an increasingly important role in preclinical research involving mice and rats. The small dimensions of these animals impose stringent requirements on both the image resolution and the sensitivity...