SPECT imaging of fluorine-18.
The objective of this work was to determine the potential clinical usefulness of SPECT to image 511-keV annihilation photons.


METHODS
A triple-headed gamma camera equipped with ultra-high-energy collimators was used to image 18F. Sensitivity measurements were carried out and the FWHM and FWTM were determined in air and for a unit-density scattering medium. Additionally, tomographic phantom studies were acquired to evaluate image quality.


RESULTS
The sensitivities of the three cameras were, for all practical purposes, identical. At a source-to-collimator distance of 100 mm, the FWHM and FWTM were 13 and 29 mm, respectively. A tomographic phantom study demonstrated that spheres with a diameter of 20 mm were well resolved when filled with 18F activity and placed inside a water-filled phantom.


CONCLUSIONS
The triple-headed SPECT camera in this investigation is a practical means of acquiring tomographic 18F images. The reconstructed slices were of sufficient quality to be of value in some clinical studies.
Leichner
P K
PK
Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 68198-1045, USA.
Morgan
H T
HT
Holdeman
K P
KP
Harrison
K A
KA
Valentino
F
F
Lexa
R
R
Kelly
R F
RF
Hawkins
W G
WG
Dalrymple
G V
GV
D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D015902:Gamma Cameras; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008961:Models, Structural; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes