1.
Ljungberg, Michael, et al.
(författare)
Introduction to the Monte Carlo Method
1998
Ingår i: Monte Carlo Calculations in Nuclear Medicine: Applications in Diagnostic Imaging. - 750304790 ; , s. 37-37
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
2.
de Jong, H W, et al.
(författare)
The influence of backscatter material on 99mTc and 201Tl line source responses
1999
Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - 1361-6560. ; 44:3, s. 665-679
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
SPECT projections are contaminated by scatter, resulting in reduced image contrast and quantitative errors. When tissue is present behind the source, some of the detected photons backscatter via this tissue. Particularly in dual-isotope SPECT and in combined emission-transmission SPECT, backscatter constitutes a major part of the down-scatter contamination in lower-energy windows. In this paper, the effects of backscatter material were investigated. Planar images of 99mTc and 201Tl line sources between varying numbers of Perspex slabs were analysed using the photopeak windows and various scatter windows. In the 99mTc photopeak window no significant change in total counts due to backscatter material was measured. In the 201Tl photopeak window an increase of about 10% in total counts was observed. In the scatter windows an even more explicit influence of backscatter material was measured. For instance, at a forward depth of 10 cm, total counts of a 99mTc source detected in the 72 keV window eventually doubled with increasing backscatter material, compared with the situation without backscatter material. The backscatter contribution plateaued when more than 5-10 cm of scatter material was placed behind the source. In conclusion, backscatter should be taken into account, particularly in model-based down-scatter correction methods in dual-isotope SPECT and combined emission-transmission SPECT.
3.
Floreby, L, et al.
(författare)
Deformable Fourier surfaces for volume segmentation in SPECT
1998
Ingår i: Proceeedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Pattern Recognition. - 1051-4651. - 0818685123 ; 1, s. 358-360
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
Three-dimensional boundary finding based on Fourier surface optimization is presented as a method for segmentation of SPECT images. Being robust against noise and adjustable with respect to its detail resolution, it forms an interesting alternative in this application area. A three-dimensional approach can also be assumed to increase the possibility of delineating low contrast regions, as compared to a two-dimensional slice-by-slice approach. We apply boundary finding to Monte Carlo simulated SPECT images of the computer-based anthropomorphic Zubal phantom in order to evaluate the influence of object contrast and noise on the segmentation accuracy. Segmentation is also performed in real patient images
4.
Gustafsson, Agnetha, et al.
(författare)
Evaluation of attenuation corrections using Monte Carlo simulated lung SPECT
1998
Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6560 .- 0031-9155. ; 43:8, s. 2325-2336
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) images are distorted by photon attenuation. The effect is complex in the thoracic region due to different tissue densities. This study compares the effect on the image homogeneity of two different methods of attenuation correction in lung SPECT; one pre-processing and one post-processing method. This study also investigates the impact of attenuation correction parameters such as lung contour, body contour, density of the lung tissue and effective attenuation coefficient. The Monte Carlo technique was used to simulate SPECT studies of a digital thorax phantom containing a homogeneous activity distribution in the lung. Homogeneity in reconstructed images was calculated as the coefficient of variation (CV). The isolated effect of the attenuation correction was assessed by normalizing pixel values from the attenuation corrected lung by pixel values from the lung with no attenuation effects. Results show that the CV decreased from 12.8% with no attenuation correction to 4.4% using the post-processing method and true densities in the thoracic region. The impact of variations in the definition of the body contour was found to be marginal while the corresponding effect of variations in the lung contour was substantial
5.
Kimiaei, Shahrok, et al.
(författare)
Evaluation of optimally designed planar-concave collimators in single-photon emission tomography
1997
Ingår i: European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-105X .- 1619-7070 .- 1619-7089. ; 24:11, s. 1398-1404
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
The imaging properties of optimally designed planar-concave (PC) collimators were evaluated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The evaluation was done with respect to total system spatial resolution and the overall image noise distribution in single-photon emission tomography. The results showed that the non-isotropy with PC collimators, assessed by the ratio of the full-width at half-maximum in the radial and tangential directions, was reduced by about 60% as compared with a conventional parallel-hole collimator for sources located 200 mm away from the centre of rotation. Furthermore, the image noise distribution along the object radius became more uniform when the curved collimator was used. The maximum increase in noise due to use of the curved collimator was about 45% close to the edge of the phantom, where the hole length was about 3 times longer. We also showed with Monte Carlo simulations that the spatial resolution of the lateral cortex when using the curved collimator was significantly improved due to improved radial resolution.
6.
King, Michael A., et al.
(författare)
A Monte Carlo investigation of artifacts caused by liver uptake in single-photon emission computed tomography perfusion imaging with technetium 99m-labeled agents
1996
Ingår i: Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. - 1532-6551. ; 3:1, s. 18-29
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
BACKGROUND: Significant hepatobiliary accumulation of technetium 99m-labeled cardiac perfusion agents has been shown to cause alterations in the apparent localization of the agents in the cardiac walls. A Monte Carlo study was conducted to investigate the hypothesis that the cardiac count changes are due to the inconsistencies in the projection data input to reconstruction, and that correction of the causes of these inconsistencies before reconstruction, or including knowledge of the physics underlying them in the reconstruction algorithm, would virtually eliminate these artifacts. METHODS AND RESULTS: The SIMIND Monte Carlo package was used to simulate 64 x 64 pixel projection images at 128 angles of the three-dimensional mathematical cardiac-torso (MCAT) phantom. Simulations were made of (1) a point source in the liver, (2) cardiac activity only, and (3) hepatic activity only. The planar projections and reconstructed point spread functions (PSFs) of the point source in the liver were investigated to study the nature of the inconsistencies introduced into the projections by imaging, and how these affect the distribution of counts in the reconstructed slices. Bull's eye polar maps of the counts at the center of the left ventricular wall of filtered back-projection (FBP) and maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization (MLEM) reconstructions of projections with solely cardiac activity, and with cardiac activity plus hepatic activity scaled to have twice the cardiac concentration, were compared to determine the magnitude and location of apparent changes in cardiac activity when hepatic activity is present. Separate simulations were made to allow the investigation of stationary spatial resolution, distance-dependent spatial resolution, attenuation, and scatter. The point source projections showed significant inconsistencies as a function of projection angle with the largest effect being caused by attenuation. When consistent projections were simulated, no significant impact of hepatic activity on cardiac counts was noted with FBP, or 100 iterations of MLEM. With inconsistent projections, reconstruction of 180 degrees resulted in greater apparent cardiac count losses than did 360 degrees reconstruction for both FBP and MLEM. The incorporation of attenuation correction in MLEM reconstruction reduced the changes in cardiac counts to that seen in simulations in which attenuation was not included, but resulted in increased apparent localization of activity in the posterior wall of the left ventricle when scatter was present in the simulated images. CONCLUSIONS: The apparent alterations in cardiac counts when significant hepatic localization is present is due to the inconsistency of the projections inherent in imaging. Prior correction of these, or accounting for them in the reconstruction algorithm, will virtually eliminate them as causes of artifactual changes in localization. Attenuation correction and scatter correction are both required to overcome the major sources of apparent count changes in the heart associated with hepatic uptake.
7.
8.
Mardirossian, G, et al.
(författare)
A new rectal model for dosimetry applications
1999
Ingår i: Journal of Nuclear Medicine. - 0161-5505. ; 40:9, s. 1524-1531
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
A revised geometric representative model of the lower part of the colon, including the rectum, the urinary bladder and prostate, is proposed for use in the calculation of absorbed dose from injected radiopharmaceuticals. The lower segment of the sigmoid colon as described in the 1987 Oak Ridge National Laboratory mathematical phantoms does not accurately represent the combined urinary bladder/rectal/prostate geometry. In the revised model in this study, the lower part of the abdomen includes an explicitly defined rectum. The shape of sigmoid colon is more anatomically structured, and the diameters of the descending colon are modified to better approximate their true anatomic dimensions. To avoid organ overlap and for more accurate representation of the urinary bladder and the prostate gland (in the male), these organs are shifted from their originally defined positions. The insertion of the rectum and the shifting of the urinary bladder will not overlap with or displace the female phantom's ovaries or the uterus. In the adult male phantom, the prostatic urethra and seminal duct are also included explicitly in the model. The relevant structures are defined for the newborn and 1-, 5-, 10- and 15-y-old (adult female) and adult male phantoms. METHODS: Values of the specific absorbed fractions and radionuclide S values were calculated with the SIMDOS dosimetry package. Results for 99mTc and other radionuclides are compared with previously reported values. RESULTS: The new model was used to calculate S values that may be crucial to calculations of the effective dose equivalent. For 131I, the S (prostate<--urinary bladder contents) and S (lower large intestine [LLI] wall<--urinary bladder contents) are 6.7 x 10(-6) and 3.41 x 10(-6) mGy/MBq x s, respectively. Corresponding values given by the MIRDOSE3 computer program are 6.23 x 10(-6) and 1.53 x 10(-6) mGy/MBq x s, respectively. The value of S (rectum wall<--urinary bladder contents) is 4.84 x 10(-5) mGy/MBq x s. For 99mTc, we report S (testes<--prostate) and S (LLI wall<--prostate) of 9.41 x 10(-7) and 1.53 x 10(-7) mGy/MBq x s versus 1.33 x 10(-6) and 7.57 x 10(-6) mGy/MBq x s given by MIRDOSE3, respectively. The value of S (rectum wall<--prostate) for 99mTc is given as 4.05 x 10(-6) mGy/MBq x s in the present model. CONCLUSION: The new revised rectal model describes an anatomically realistic lower abdomen region, thus giving improved estimates of absorbed dose. Due to shifting the prostate gland, a 30%-45% reduction in the testes dose and the insertion of the rectum leads to 48%-55% increase in the LLI wall dose when the prostate is the source organ.
9.
Pan, Tin-Su, et al.
(författare)
Segmentation of the Body and Lungs from Compton Scatter and Photopeak Window Images in SPECT: A Monte Carlo Investigation
1996
Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. - 1558-254X. ; 15:1, s. 13-24
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
In SPECT imaging of the chest, nonuniform attenuation correction requires use of a patient specific attenuation (p)map. Such a map can be obtained by estimating the regions of 1)the lungs and 2) the soft tissues and bones, and then assigning an appropriate value of attenuation coefficient (p) to each region. We proposed a method to segment such regions from the Compton scatter and photopeak window SPECT slices of Tc-99m Sestamibi studies. The Compton scatter slices are used to segment the body outline and to estimate the regions of the lungs. Locations of the back bone and sternum are estimated from the photopeak window slices to assist in the segmentation. To investigate the accuracy of using Compton scatter slices in estimating the regions of the body and the lungs, a Monte-Carlo SPECT simulation of an anthropomorphic phantom with an activity distribution and noise characteristics similar to patient data was conducted. Energy windows of various widths were simulated for use in locating a suitable Compton scatter window for imaging. The effects of attenuation correction using a p map based on segmentation were also studied. The results demonstrated for the activity and p maps studied herein that: 1) reasonable contrast could be obtained from Compton scatter data for the segmentation of the lung regions, 2) true positive rates of 99% and 89% for determining the body and lung regions, respectively, with total error rates of 4% and 29%, could be achieved, 3) usage of a p map based on segmentation for attenuation correction improved relative quantification over filtered backprojection, 4) variations in the assigned p value of 40% smaller or 40% larger in the lung regions had an insignificant impact on the results of relative quantification, 5) a wide energy window away from the photopeak window for recording scattered events could benefit both the segmentation of the lung regions and the attenuation correction of the activity in the myocardium region, and 6) usage of a smaller than true p value in the lung regions of an assigned p map might benefit attenuation correction for absolute quantification.
10.
Sjögreen Gleisner, Katarina, et al.
(författare)
Registration of abdominal CT and SPECT images using Compton scatter data
1997
Ingår i: Information Processing in Medical Imaging. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 1611-3349 .- 0302-9743. - 9783540630463 ; 1230, s. 232-244
Bokkapitel (refereegranskat) abstract
The present study investigates the possibility to utilize Compton scatter data for registration of abdominal SPECT images. A method for registration to CT is presented, based on principal component analysis and cross-correlation of binary images representing the interior of the patient. Segmentation of scatter images is performed with two methods, thresholding and a deformable contour method. To achieve similarity of organ positions between scans, a positioning device is applied to the patient. Evaluation of the registration accuracy is performed with a) a 131I phantom study, b) a Monte Carlo simulation study of an anthropomorphic phantom, and c) a 123I patient trial. For a) r.m.s. distances between positions that should be equal in CT and SPECT are obtained to 1.0±0.7 mm, which thus for a rigid object is at sub pixel level. From b) results show that r.m.s. distances depend on the slice activity distribution. With a symmetrical distribution deviations are in the order of 5 mm. In c) distances between markers on the patient boundary are at the maximum 16 mm and on an average 10 mm. It is concluded that by utilizing the available Compton scatter data, valuable positioning information is achieved, that can be used for registration of SPECT images.
