PET System Technology: Theoretical Aspects and Experimental Methodology

Andrea Gonzalez-Montoro; Craig S Levin

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-3499-8_20

PET System Technology: Theoretical Aspects and Experimental Methodology

Methods Mol Biol. 2024:2729:343-369. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3499-8_20.

Authors

Andrea Gonzalez-Montoro¹, Craig S Levin^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
² Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. cslevin@stanford.edu.
³ Departments of Radiology, Bioengineering, Physics, and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. cslevin@stanford.edu.

PMID: 38006506
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3499-8_20

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging provides unique information of the cellular and molecular pathways of disease occurring within the human body, using measurements made from outside the body, which has shown utility in a variety of studies from basic research to clinical applications. This chapter describes some of the most relevant PET system parameters that impact its imaging performance such as 3D spatial, energy, and coincidence timing resolutions and the methodology typically used to evaluate those parameters. In addition, the physical principles underlying PET imaging, PET photon detector technology, and coincidence detection are also described. As a closing remark, the future perspectives of PET imaging and its simultaneous use with anatomical imaging techniques (e.g., computed tomography [CT] and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) are outlined.

Keywords: Coincidence time resolution; Depth of interaction; Energy resolution; Positron emission tomography; Silicon photomultipliers; Spatial resolution.

MeSH terms

Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Photons
Positron-Emission Tomography* / methods
Tomography, X-Ray Computed*