Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique

We introduce and demonstrate the utility of coded aperture (CA) nuclear scintigraphy for imaging small animals. CA imaging uses multiple pinholes in a carefully designed mask pattern, mounted on a conventional gamma camera. System performance was assessed using point sources and phantoms, while seve...

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Main Authors: Dawid Schellingerhout, Roberto Accorsi, Umar Mahmood, John Idoine, Richard C. Lanza, Ralph Weissleder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2002-10-01
Series:Molecular Imaging
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1162/15353500200221362
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author Dawid Schellingerhout
Roberto Accorsi
Umar Mahmood
John Idoine
Richard C. Lanza
Ralph Weissleder
author_facet Dawid Schellingerhout
Roberto Accorsi
Umar Mahmood
John Idoine
Richard C. Lanza
Ralph Weissleder
author_sort Dawid Schellingerhout
collection DOAJ
description We introduce and demonstrate the utility of coded aperture (CA) nuclear scintigraphy for imaging small animals. CA imaging uses multiple pinholes in a carefully designed mask pattern, mounted on a conventional gamma camera. System performance was assessed using point sources and phantoms, while several animal experiments were performed to test the usefulness of the imaging system in vivo, with commonly used radiopharmaceuticals. The sensitivity of the CA system for 99m Tc was 4.2 × 10 3 cps/Bq (9400 cpm/μCi), compared to 4.4 × 10 4 cps/Bq (990 cpm/μCi) for a conventional collimator system. The system resolution was 1.7 mm, as compared to 4–6 mm for the conventional imaging system (using a high-sensitivity low-energy collimator). Animal imaging demonstrated artifact-free imaging with superior resolution and image quality compared to conventional collimator images in several mouse and rat models. We conclude that: (a) CA imaging is a useful nuclear imaging technique for small animal imaging. The advantage in signal-to-noise can be traded to achieve higher resolution, decreased dose or reduced imaging time. (b) CA imaging works best for images where activity is concentrated in small volumes; a low count outline may be better demonstrated using conventional collimator imaging. Thus, CA imaging should be viewed as a technique to complement rather than replace traditional nuclear imaging methods. (c) CA hardware and software can be readily adapted to existing gamma cameras, making their implementation a relatively inexpensive retrofit to most systems.
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issn 1536-0121
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spelling doaj-art-a39f715f1db24b64beed82be95c3decf2025-01-02T02:58:22ZengSAGE PublishingMolecular Imaging1536-01212002-10-01110.1162/1535350020022136210.1162_15353500200221362Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging TechniqueDawid Schellingerhout0Roberto Accorsi1Umar Mahmood2John Idoine3Richard C. Lanza4Ralph Weissleder5Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts General HospitalKenyon College, Gambier, OHMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts General HospitalWe introduce and demonstrate the utility of coded aperture (CA) nuclear scintigraphy for imaging small animals. CA imaging uses multiple pinholes in a carefully designed mask pattern, mounted on a conventional gamma camera. System performance was assessed using point sources and phantoms, while several animal experiments were performed to test the usefulness of the imaging system in vivo, with commonly used radiopharmaceuticals. The sensitivity of the CA system for 99m Tc was 4.2 × 10 3 cps/Bq (9400 cpm/μCi), compared to 4.4 × 10 4 cps/Bq (990 cpm/μCi) for a conventional collimator system. The system resolution was 1.7 mm, as compared to 4–6 mm for the conventional imaging system (using a high-sensitivity low-energy collimator). Animal imaging demonstrated artifact-free imaging with superior resolution and image quality compared to conventional collimator images in several mouse and rat models. We conclude that: (a) CA imaging is a useful nuclear imaging technique for small animal imaging. The advantage in signal-to-noise can be traded to achieve higher resolution, decreased dose or reduced imaging time. (b) CA imaging works best for images where activity is concentrated in small volumes; a low count outline may be better demonstrated using conventional collimator imaging. Thus, CA imaging should be viewed as a technique to complement rather than replace traditional nuclear imaging methods. (c) CA hardware and software can be readily adapted to existing gamma cameras, making their implementation a relatively inexpensive retrofit to most systems.https://doi.org/10.1162/15353500200221362
spellingShingle Dawid Schellingerhout
Roberto Accorsi
Umar Mahmood
John Idoine
Richard C. Lanza
Ralph Weissleder
Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
Molecular Imaging
title Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
title_full Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
title_fullStr Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
title_full_unstemmed Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
title_short Coded Aperture Nuclear Scintigraphy: A Novel Small Animal Imaging Technique
title_sort coded aperture nuclear scintigraphy a novel small animal imaging technique
url https://doi.org/10.1162/15353500200221362
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