Parameterizing the Angular Distribution of Emission: A model for TOF-PET low counts reconstruction

Low counts reconstruction remains a challenge for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) even with the recent progresses in time-of-flight (TOF) resolution. In that setting, the bias between the acquired histogram, composed of low values or zeros, and the expected histogram, obtained from the forward projector, is propagated to the image, resulting in a biased reconstruction. This could be exacerbated with finer resolution of the TOF information, which further sparsify the acquired histogram. We propose a new approach to circumvent this limitation of the classical reconstruction model. It consists of extending the parametrization of the reconstruction scheme to also explicitly include the projection domain. This parametrization has greater degrees of freedom than the log-likelihood model, which can not be harnessed in classical circumstances. We hypothesize that with ultra-fast TOF this new approach would not only be viable for low counts reconstruction but also more adequate than the classical reconstruction model. An implementation of this approach is compared to the log-likelihood model by using two-dimensional simulations of a hot spots phantom. The proposed model achieves similar contrast recovery coefficients as MLEM except for the smallest structures where the low counts nature of the simulations makes it difficult to draw conclusions. Also, this new model seems to converge toward a less noisy solution than the MLEM. These results suggest that this new approach has potential for low counts reconstruction with ultra-fast TOF.

Automatic Channel Fault Detection and Diagnosis System for a Small Animal APD-Based Digital PET Scanner

Fault detection and diagnosis is critical to many applications in order to ensure proper operation and performance over time. Positron emission tomography (PET) systems that require regular calibrations by qualified scanner operators are good candidates for such continuous improvements. Furthermore, for scanners employing one-to-one coupling of crystals to photodetectors to achieve enhanced spatial resolution and contrast, the calibration task is even more daunting because of the large number of independent channels involved. To cope with the additional complexity of the calibration and quality control procedures of these scanners, an intelligent system (IS) was designed to perform fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) of malfunctioning channels. The IS can be broken down into four hierarchical modules: parameter extraction, channel fault detection, fault prioritization and diagnosis. Of these modules, the first two have previously been reported and this paper focuses on fault prioritization and diagnosis. The purpose of the fault prioritization module is to help the operator to zero in on the faults that need immediate attention. The fault diagnosis module will then identify the causes of the malfunction and propose an explanation of the reasons that lead to the diagnosis. The FDD system was implemented on a LabPET avalanche photodiode (APD)-based digital PET scanner. Experiments demonstrated a FDD Sensitivity of 99.3 % (with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of: [98.7, 99.9]) for major faults. Globally, the Balanced Accuracy of the diagnosis for varying fault severities is 92 %. This suggests the IS can greatly benefit the operators in their maintenance task.