MRC-SPECT: A sub-500 μm resolution MR-compatible SPECT system for simultaneous dual-modality study of small animals

Liang Cai; Xiaochun Lai; Zengming Shen; Chin-Tu Chen; Ling-Jian Meng

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2013.08.080

MRC-SPECT: A sub-500 μm resolution MR-compatible SPECT system for simultaneous dual-modality study of small animals

Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2014 Jan 11;734(B):147-151. doi: 10.1016/j.nima.2013.08.080.

Authors

Liang Cai¹, Xiaochun Lai¹, Zengming Shen¹, Chin-Tu Chen², Ling-Jian Meng¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, USA.
² Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.

Abstract

In this paper, we will report the development of an ultrahigh resolution MR-compatible SPECT system that can be operated inside a pre-existing clinical MR scanner for simultaneous dual-modality imaging of small animals. This system is constructed with 40 small-pixel CdTe detector modules assembled in a fully stationary ring SPECT geometry. We have experimentally demonstrated that this system is capable of providing an imaging resolution of <500 μm when operating inside MR scanners. We will report the design, construction of the MRI-compatible SPECT system, including the detector technology, collimator, system development and so on. The first imaging results obtained with this newly constructed SPECT system will also be reported.

Keywords: CdTe/CZT; Hybrid pixel-waveform readout; MR compatible SPECT; System development.

Abstract

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