title: A new design for a SPECT small-animal imager.
abstract: We demonstrate, using computer models, the feasibility of a new SPECT system for imaging small animals such as mice. This system consists of four modular scintillation cameras, four multiple-pinhole apertures, electronics, and tomographic reconstruction software. All of these constituents have been designed in our laboratory. The cameras are 120mm×120mm with a resolution of approximately 2mm, the apertures can have either single or multiple pinholes, and reconstruction is performed using the OS-EM algorithm. One major advantage of this system is the design flexibility it offers, as the cameras are easy to move and the aperture s are simple to modify. We explored a number of possible configurations. One promising configuration had the four camera faces forming four sides of a cube with multiple-pinhole apertures employed to focus the incoming high-energy photons. This system is rotated three times, so that data are collected from a total of sixteen camera angles. It is shown that this hybrid system has some superior properties to single-aperture-type systems. We conclude that this proposed system offers advantages over current imaging systems in terms of flexibility, simplicity, and performance.
authors.affiliation: Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging and the Department of Radiology at the University of Arizona, 85703, USA. (telephone 520-626-4255).
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging and the Department of Radiology at the University of Arizona, 85703, USA.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging and the Department of Radiology at the University of Arizona, 85703, USA.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Furenlid