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Brzezinski, K., Oliver, J. F., Gillam, J., & Rafecas, M. (2014). Study of a high-resolution PET system using a Silicon detector probe. Phys. Med. Biol., 59(20), 6117–6140.
Abstract: A high-resolution silicon detector probe, in coincidence with a conventional PET scanner, is expected to provide images of higher quality than those achievable using the scanner alone. Spatial resolution should improve due to the finer pixelization of the probe detector, while increased sensitivity in the probe vicinity is expected to decrease noise. A PET-probe prototype is being developed utilizing this principle. The system includes a probe consisting of ten layers of silicon detectors, each a 80 x 52 array of 1 x 1 x 1 mm(3) pixels, to be operated in coincidence with a modern clinical PET scanner. Detailed simulation studies of this system have been performed to assess the effect of the additional probe information on the quality of the reconstructed images. A grid of point sources was simulated to study the contribution of the probe to the system resolution at different locations over the field of view (FOV). A resolution phantom was used to demonstrate the effect on image resolution for two probe positions. A homogeneous source distribution with hot and cold regions was used to demonstrate that the localized improvement in resolution does not come at the expense of the overall quality of the image. Since the improvement is constrained to an area close to the probe, breast imaging is proposed as a potential application for the novel geometry. In this sense, a simplified breast phantom, adjacent to heart and torso compartments, was simulated and the effect of the probe on lesion detectability, through measurements of the local contrast recovery coefficient-to-noise ratio (CNR), was observed. The list-mode ML-EM algorithm was used for image reconstruction in all cases. As expected, the point spread function of the PET-probe system was found to be non-isotropic and vary with position, offering improvement in specific regions. Increase in resolution, of factors of up to 2, was observed in the region close to the probe. Images of the resolution phantom showed visible improvement in resolution when including the probe in the simulations. The image quality study demonstrated that contrast and spill-over ratio in other areas of the FOV were not sacrificed for this enhancement. The CNR study performed on the breast phantom indicates increased lesion detectability provided by the probe.
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Borys, D. et al, & Brzezinski, K. (2022). ProTheRaMon-a GATE simulation framework for proton therapy range monitoring using PET imaging. Phys. Med. Biol., 67(22), 224002–15pp.
Abstract: Objective. This paper reports on the implementation and shows examples of the use of the ProTheRaMon framework for simulating the delivery of proton therapy treatment plans and range monitoring using positron emission tomography (PET). ProTheRaMon offers complete processing of proton therapy treatment plans, patient CT geometries, and intra-treatment PET imaging, taking into account therapy and imaging coordinate systems and activity decay during the PET imaging protocol specific to a given proton therapy facility. We present the ProTheRaMon framework and illustrate its potential use case and data processing steps for a patient treated at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) proton therapy center in Krakow, Poland. Approach. The ProTheRaMon framework is based on GATE Monte Carlo software, the CASToR reconstruction package and in-house developed Python and bash scripts. The framework consists of five separated simulation and data processing steps, that can be further optimized according to the user's needs and specific settings of a given proton therapy facility and PET scanner design. Main results. ProTheRaMon is presented using example data from a patient treated at CCB and the J-PET scanner to demonstrate the application of the framework for proton therapy range monitoring. The output of each simulation and data processing stage is described and visualized. Significance. We demonstrate that the ProTheRaMon simulation platform is a high-performance tool, capable of running on a computational cluster and suitable for multi-parameter studies, with databases consisting of large number of patients, as well as different PET scanner geometries and settings for range monitoring in a clinical environment. Due to its modular structure, the ProTheRaMon framework can be adjusted for different proton therapy centers and/or different PET detector geometries. It is available to the community via github (Borys et al 2022).
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Borja-Lloret, M., Barrientos, L., Bernabeu, J., Lacasta, C., Muñoz, E., Ros, A., et al. (2023). Influence of the background in Compton camera images for proton therapy treatment monitoring. Phys. Med. Biol., 68(14), 144001–16pp.
Abstract: Objective. Background events are one of the most relevant contributions to image degradation in Compton camera imaging for hadron therapy treatment monitoring. A study of the background and its contribution to image degradation is important to define future strategies to reduce the background in the system. Approach. In this simulation study, the percentage of different kinds of events and their contribution to the reconstructed image in a two-layer Compton camera have been evaluated. To this end, GATE v8.2 simulations of a proton beam impinging on a PMMA phantom have been carried out, for different proton beam energies and at different beam intensities. Main results. For a simulated Compton camera made of Lanthanum (III) Bromide monolithic crystals, coincidences caused by neutrons arriving from the phantom are the most common type of background produced by secondary radiations in the Compton camera, causing between 13% and 33% of the detected coincidences, depending on the beam energy. Results also show that random coincidences are a significant cause of image degradation at high beam intensities, and their influence in the reconstructed images is studied for values of the time coincidence windows from 500 ps to 100 ns. Significance. Results indicate the timing capabilities required to retrieve the fall-off position with good precision. Still, the noise observed in the image when no randoms are considered make us consider further background rejection methods.
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Balibrea-Correa, J., Lerendegui-Marco, J., Babiano-Suarez, V., Caballero, L., Calvo, D., Ladarescu, I., et al. (2021). Machine Learning aided 3D-position reconstruction in large LaCl3 crystals. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1001, 165249–17pp.
Abstract: We investigate five different models to reconstruct the 3D gamma-ray hit coordinates in five large LaCl3(Ce) monolithic crystals optically coupled to pixelated silicon photomultipliers. These scintillators have a base surface of 50 x 50 mm(2) and five different thicknesses, from 10 mm to 30 mm. Four of these models are analytical prescriptions and one is based on a Convolutional Neural Network. Average resolutions close to 1-2 mm fwhm are obtained in the transverse crystal plane for crystal thicknesses between 10 mm and 20 mm using analytical models. For thicker crystals average resolutions of about 3-5 mm fwhm are obtained. Depth of interaction resolutions between 1 mm and 4 mm are achieved depending on the distance of the interaction point to the photosensor surface. We propose a Machine Learning algorithm to correct for linearity distortions and pin-cushion effects. The latter allows one to keep a large field of view of about 70%-80% of the crystal surface, regardless of crystal thickness. This work is aimed at optimizing the performance of the so-called Total Energy Detector with Compton imaging capability (i-TED) for time-of-flight neutron capture cross-section measurements.
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Babiano, V., Balibrea, J., Caballero, L., Calvo, D., Ladarescu, I., Mira Prats, S., et al. (2020). First i-TED demonstrator: A Compton imager with Dynamic Electronic Collimation. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 953, 163228–9pp.
Abstract: i-TED consists of both a total energy detector and a Compton camera primarily intended for the measurement of neutron capture cross sections by means of the simultaneous combination of neutron time-of-flight (TOF) and gamma-ray imaging techniques. TOF allows one to obtain a neutron-energy differential capture yield, whereas the imaging capability is intended for the discrimination of radiative background sources, that have a spatial origin different from that of the capture sample under investigation. A distinctive feature of i-TED is the embedded Dynamic Electronic Collimation (DEC) concept, which allows for a trade-off between efficiency and image resolution. Here we report on some general design considerations and first performance characterization measurements made with an i-TED demonstrator in order to explore its gamma-ray detection and imaging capabilities.
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