Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect in dependence of the attenuation correction of a state-of-the-art small animal PET scanner.
Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect (PVE) of the Siemens Inveon PET scanner were evaluated. The influence of transmission source activities (40 and 160 MBq) on the quantification accuracy and the PVE were determined. Dynamic range, object size and PVE for different sphere sizes, contrast ratios and positions in the field of view (FOV) were evaluated. The acquired data were reconstructed using different algorithms and correction methods. The activity level of the transmission source and the total emission activity in the FOV strongly influenced the attenuation maps. Reconstruction algorithms, correction methods, object size and location within the FOV had a strong influence on the PVE in all configurations. All evaluated parameters potentially influence the quantification accuracy. Hence, all protocols should be kept constant during a study to allow a comparison between different scans.
Department of Preclinical Imaging and Radiopharmacy, Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens-Foundation, Eberhard-Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. julia.mannheim@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Julia G
JG
Mannheim
Martin S
MS
Judenhofer
Andreas
A
Schmid
Julia
J
Tillmanns
Detlef
D
Stiller
Vesna
V
Sossi
Bernd J
BJ
Pichler
D000818:Animals; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging / Q000662:veterinary; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*