R. J. Ott

Fast accurate iterative reconstruction for low-statistics positron volume imaging

A fast accurate iterative reconstruction (FAIR) method suitable for low-statistics positron volume imaging has been developed. The method, based on the expectation maximization-maximum likelihood (EM-ML) technique, operates on list-mode data rather than histogrammed projection data and can, in just one pass through the data, generate images with the same characteristics as several ML iterations. Use of list-mode data preserves maximum sampling accuracy and implicitly ignores lines of response (LORs) in which no counts were recorded. The method is particularly suited to systems where sampling accuracy can be lost by histogramming events into coarse LOR bins, and also to sparse data situations such as fast whole-body and dynamic imaging where sampling accuracy may be compromised by storage requirements and where reconstruction time can be wasted by including LORs with no counts. The technique can be accelerated by operating on subsets of list-mode data which also allows scope for simultaneous data acquisition and iterative reconstruction. The method is compared with a standard implementation of the EM-ML technique and is shown to offer improved resolution, contrast and noise properties as a direct result of using improved spatial sampling, limited only by hardware specifications.

Measurements of blood-brain barrier permeability in patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy for primary cerebral lymphoma.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to measure changes in regional blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in patients with primary cerebral lymphoma undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The method employed is to measure the rate of wash-out of a radioactive tracer (68Ga-EDTA) from blood into brain tissue using time-sequence PET imaging. Preliminary studies carried out on patients with more common primary cerebral tumours show that time-activity data are reproducible to approximately 10%. Measurements made in 2 patients with primary cerebral lymphoma treated with initial chemotherapy showed significant changes in permeability in the region of the tumour. Within 5 weeks of the start of treatment, permeability values reached the levels of normal brain. No changes in BBB permeability in normal brain were seen immediately after radiotherapy.

The performance of a multiwire proportional chamber positron camera for clinical use

The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory clinical positron camera consists of two opposed multiwire proportional chambers (MWPCS) mounted on a rotating gantry capable of performing routine nuclear medicine studies. The system has operated since the end of 1986 with complete reliability. It has a sensitivity of 37 kcps MBq-1 cm3 per axial cm for a 20 cm diameter uniformly filled cylinder of activity. The best spatial resolution obtainable is about 6 mm, although in practice images are smoothed in order to reduce statistical noise with a corresponding decrease in resolution. Cross-plane rays are utilised during image reconstruction and the resulting three-dimensional images exhibit the same spatial resolution in three orthogonal directions over a large cylindrical field of view 15 cm high by 30 cm in diameter. The maximum data-taking rate is limited to 1.5 to 2 kcps at present due to deadtime in the read-out system. The performance of the system is described with particular reference to the problems of imaging with the large fractions of random and scattered events which are a consequence of using large-area detectors. Images of phantoms and patients are presented and proposed modifications to the camera are described.

Measurement of radiation dose to the thyroid using positron emission tomography.

Measurements of the functioning volume of thyroid tissue have been made in 22 patients undergoing radioiodine therapy for thyrotoxicosis, using a prototype multiwire proportional counter positron camera. Tomographic images were produced of the distribution of 124I in the thyroid. Functioning volumes were found to be in the range 21-79 cm3 with volume errors of the order of +/- 4% to +/- 14%. Radioiodine uptake varied from 28% to 98%. Using a value of 6 days for the effective half-life of radioiodine in hyperactive thyroids, radiation doses from a standard therapy administration of 75 MBq of 131I varied from 11 to 48 Gy (compared with a recommended 50-70 Gy). In five cases PET imaging showed a non-uniform distribution of radioiodine in thyroids thought to have uniform uptake from conventional pinhole scintigraphy.

Treatment planning for 131I-mIBG radiotherapy of neural crest tumours using 124I-mIBG positron emission tomography

Patients designated to receive 131I-meta-iodobenzylguanadine (mIBG) for the treatment of neural crest tumours have been scanned with 124I-mIBG using the MUP-PET positron camera. Uptake was detected in tumour sites in lung, liver and abdomen. The tomographic images produced have allowed estimates to be made of the concentration of mIBG in both tumour and normal tissue. From these data it is possible to predict the radiation doses that would be achieved using therapy levels (up to 11 GBq) of 131I-mIBG. The levels of tumour uptake are between 0.5 and 2.0 kBq/g indicating that the radiation doses to tumour would be in the range 3 Gy to 7.5 Gy.

Constrained deconvolution of SPECT liver tomograms by direct digital image restoration

Several techniques for performing digital image restoration are reviewed and the problems associated with evaluating image processing are discussed. An application of constrained deconvulution to images of the liver produced by single-photon emission computed tomography is presented. Specific evaluation criteria are suggested and based on these, the choice of conditions best suited for processing liver images is proposed. Typically cold tumor contrast can be improved by a factor of greater than 2 whilst image mottle increases negligibly.

Intercomparison of four reconstruction techniques for positron volume imaging with rotating planar detectors.

Four reconstruction techniques for positron volume imaging have been evaluated for scanners based on rotating planar detectors using measured and simulated data. The four techniques compared are backproject then filter (BPF), the 3D reprojection (3D RP) method for 3D filtered backprojection (FBP), Fourier rebinning (FORE) in conjunction with 2D FBP (FORE + 2D FBP) and 3D ordered subsets expectation maximization (3D OSEM). The comparison was based on image resolution and on the trade-off between contrast and noise. In general FORE + 2D FBP offered a better contrast-noise trade-off than 3D RP, whilst 3D RP offered a better trade-off than BPF. Unlike 3D RP, FORE + 2D FBP did not suffer any contrast degradation effect at the edges of the axial field of view, but was unable to take as much advantage from high-accuracy data as the other methods. 3D OSEM gave the best contrast at the expense of greater image noise. BPF, which demonstrated generally inferior contrast-noise behaviour due to use of only a subset of the data, gave more consistent spatial resolution over the field of view than the projection-data based methods, and was best at taking full advantage of high-accuracy data.

Monte Carlo modelling of the performance of a rotating slit-collimator for improved planar gamma-camera imaging

Planar imaging with a gamma camera is currently limited by the performance of the collimator. Spatial resolution and sensitivity trade off against each other; it is not possible with conventional parallel-hole collimation to have high geometric sensitivity and at the same time excellent spatial resolution unless field-of-view is sacrificed by using fan- or cone-beam collimators. We propose a rotating slit-collimator which collects one-dimensional projections from which the planar image may be reconstructed by the theory of computed tomography. The performance of such a collimator is modelled by Monte Carlo methods and images are reconstructed by a convolution and backprojection technique. The performance is compared with that of a conventional parallel-hole collimator and it is shown that higher spatial resolution with increased sensitivity is possible with the slit-collimator. For a point source a spatial resolution of some 6 mm at a distance of 100 mm from the collimator with a x7 sensitivity compared with a parallel-hole collimator was achieved. Applications to bone scintigraphy are modelled and an improved performance in hot-spot imaging is demonstrated. The expected performance in cold-spot imaging is analytically investigated. The slit-collimator is not expected to improve cold-spot imaging. Practical design considerations are discussed.

Geometric efficiency of a rotating slit-collimator for improved planar gamma-camera imaging

Derives several expressions for the geometric efficiency of a rotating collimator, comprising a set of parallel slits, for a gamma camera. These expressions represent approximate analytic formulae under specific geometric conditions for which an algebraic analysis can be made. The expressions are limiting cases and have been validated by numerical computation for some specific cases.

The biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of meta-iodobenzylguanidine in childhood neuroblastoma

MIBG is generating considerable interest for the treatment of neuroblastoma. This study has investigated the biological variation in handling of the compound in children with neuroblastoma. The biodistribution of the compound has been characterised in children undergoing tracer administrations of123I and131I-mIBG. Estimates of hepatic and whole body radiation dose delivery have been made. The results indicate substantial interpatient variation in hepatic dose delivery. This organ may be critical in some patients undergoing targeted radiotherapy with mIBG.