Campbell Desmond, Peterson Todd
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
IEEE Trans Radiat Plasma Med Sci. 2017 Sep;1(5):405-415. doi: 10.1109/TRPMS.2017.2725310. Epub 2017 Jul 11.
High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma cameras are an emerging technology for Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) due to their 2D lateral spatial resolution, depth-of-interaction (DOI) estimation, and superb energy resolution. In this simulation study, we investigate the potential imaging performance of an opposing view dual-head HPGe breast imaging system using a synthetic-projection technique, which utilizes DOI data with varying degrees of overlap in an iterative OSEM reconstruction algorithm to create 3D images from which new 2D projections are then created. The radiation transport simulator Monte Carlo N-Particle was employed to generate projections from 10-mm thick HPGe detectors using tungsten parallel-hole collimators with short and wide holes. Simulations modeling 140-keV emissions from various contrast-detail and breast-torso phantoms were conducted. Synthetic projections were generated along with conjugate-counting images from collected HPGe projections. Tumor contrast, SNR, and hot-spot detection measurements were used to compare images. Results show that the synthetic projections could resolve more low-contrast tumors compared to single-camera projections and conjugate-counting methods. MBI simulations also showed increased contrast and SNR in synthetic projections compared to individual projections. In conclusion, the HPGe imaging system employing a synthetic-projection technique may offer advantages over individual dual-camera projections or conjugate-counting methods in terms of contrast, SNR, and tumor detectability.
高纯度锗(HPGe)γ相机因其二维横向空间分辨率、相互作用深度(DOI)估计和出色的能量分辨率,成为分子乳腺成像(MBI)的一项新兴技术。在本模拟研究中,我们使用合成投影技术研究了对置视图双头HPGe乳腺成像系统的潜在成像性能,该技术在迭代OSEM重建算法中利用具有不同重叠程度的DOI数据来创建3D图像,然后从这些3D图像中创建新的2D投影。使用辐射传输模拟器蒙特卡罗N粒子,通过带有短而宽孔的钨平行孔准直器,从10毫米厚的HPGe探测器生成投影。对来自各种对比度细节和乳腺-躯干模型的140 keV发射进行了模拟。生成了合成投影以及从收集的HPGe投影中得到的共轭计数图像。使用肿瘤对比度、信噪比和热点检测测量来比较图像。结果表明,与单相机投影和共轭计数方法相比,合成投影能够分辨更多低对比度肿瘤。MBI模拟还表明,与单个投影相比,合成投影的对比度和信噪比有所提高。总之,采用合成投影技术的HPGe成像系统在对比度、信噪比和肿瘤可检测性方面可能优于单个双相机投影或共轭计数方法。