A SPECT Scanner for Rodent Imaging Based on Small-Area Gamma Cameras

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science Vol. 57; no. 5; pp. 2524 - 2531
• Main Authors: Lage, E, Villena, J L, Tapias, G, Martinez, N P, Soto-Montenegro, M L, Abella, M, Sisniega, A, Pino, F, Ros, D, Pavia, J, Desco, M, Vaquero, J J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.10.2010; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Apertures; Cameras; Collimators; Detectors; Imaging; Pinholes; Rodents; Scanners; Sensitivity; Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT); small-animal imaging; small-area gamma camera; Spatial resolution
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2010.2057516

We developed a cost-effective SPECT scanner prototype (rSPECT) for in vivo imaging of rodents based on small-area gamma cameras. Each detector consists of a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube (PS-PMT) coupled to a 30 x 30 Nal(Tl) scintillator array and electronics attached to the PS-PMT sockets for adapting the detector signals to an in-house developed data acquisition system. The detector components are enclosed in a lead-shielded case with a receptacle to insert the collimators. System performance was assessed using 99mTc for a high-resolution parallel-hole collimator, and for a 0.75-mm pinhole collimator with a 60° aperture angle and a 42-mm collimator length. The energy resolution is about 10.7% of the photopeak energy. The overall system sensitivity is about 3 cps/μCi/detector and planar spatial resolution ranges from 2.4 mm at 1 cm source-to-collimator distance to 4.1 mm at 4.5 cm with parallel-hole collimators. With pinhole collimators planar spatial resolution ranges from 1.2 mm at 1 cm source-to-collimator distance to 2.4 mm at 4.5 cm; sensitivity at these distances ranges from 2.8 to 0.5 cps/μCi/detector. Tomographic hot-rod phantom images are presented together with images of bone, myocardium and brain of living rodents to demonstrate the feasibility of preclinical small-animal studies with the rSPECT.