title: PET/CT Biograph Sensation 16. Performance improvement using faster electronics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The new PET/CT Biograph Sensation 16 (BS16) tomographs have faster detector electronics which allow a reduced timing coincidence window and an increased lower energy threshold (from 350 to 400 keV). This paper evaluates the performance of the BS16 PET scanner before and after the Pico-3D electronics upgrade.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four NEMA NU 2-2001 protocols, (i) spatial resolution, (ii) scatter fraction, count losses and random measurement, (iii) sensitivity, and (iv) image quality, have been performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A considerable change in both PET count-rate performance and image quality is observed after electronics upgrade. The new scatter fraction obtained using Pico-3D electronics showed a 14% decrease compared to that obtained with the previous electronics. At the typical patient background activity (5.3 kBq/ml), the new scatter fraction was approximately 0.42. The noise equivalent count-rate (R(NEC)) performance was also improved. The value at which the R(NEC) curve peaked, increased from 3.7 x 10(4) s(-1) at 14 kBq/ml to 6.4 x 10(4) s(-1) at 21 kBq/ml (2R-NEC rate). Likewise, the peak true count-rate value increased from 1.9 x 10(5) s(-1) at 22 kBq/ml to 3.4 x 10(5) s(-1) at 33 kBq/ml. An average increase of 45% in contrast was observed for hot spheres when using AW-OSEM (4ix8s) as the reconstruction algorithm. For cold spheres, the average increase was 12%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The performance of the PET scanners in the BS16 tomographs is improved by the optimization of the signal processing. The narrower energy and timing coincidence windows lead to a considerable increase of signal- to-noise ratio. The existing combination of fast detectors and adapted electronics in the BS16 tomographs allow imaging protocols with reduced acquisition time, providing higher patient throughput.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Department, Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universitaet Muenchen, Ismaninger Strasse 22, 81675 Muenchen, Germany. m.j.martinez@lrz.tum.de
authors.forename: M-J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bercier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwaiger
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Ziegler
mesh_terms: D004581:Electronics; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon