Testing the count rate performance of the scintillation camera by exponential attenuation: decaying source; multiple filters.

An algorithm and two FORTRAN programs have been developed to evaluate the count rate performance of scintillation cameras from count rates reduced exponentially, either by a decaying source or by filtration. The first method is used with short-lived radionuclides such as 191mIr or 191mAu. The second implements a National Electrical Manufacturers' Association (NEMA) protocol in which the count rate from a source of 191mTc is attenuated by a varying number of copper filters stacked over it. The count rate at each data point is corrected for deadtime loss after assigning an arbitrary deadtime (tau). A second-order polynomial equation is fitted to the logarithms of net count rate values: ln(R) = A + BT + CT2 where R is the net corrected count rate (cps), and T is the elapsed time (or the filter thickness in the NEMA method). Depending on C, tau is incremented or decremented iteratively, and the count rate corrections and curve fittings are repeated until C approaches zero, indicating a correct value of the deadtime (tau). The program then plots the measured count rate versus the corrected count rate values.