| Records |
| Author |
Gillam, J.E.; Solevi, P.; Oliver, J.F.; Casella, C.; Heller, M.; Joram, C.; Rafecas, M. |
| Title |
Sensitivity recovery for the AX-PET prototype using inter-crystal scattering events |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Physics in Medicine and Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys. Med. Biol. |
Volume  |
59 |
Issue |
15 |
Pages |
4065-4083 |
| Keywords |
positron emission tomography (PET); inter-crystal scattering; sensitivity |
| Abstract |
The development of novel detection devices and systems such as the AX-positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrator often introduce or increase the measurement of atypical coincidence events such as inter-crystal scattering (ICS). In more standard systems, ICS events often go undetected and the small measured fraction may be ignored. As the measured quantity of such events in the data increases, so too does the importance of considering them during image reconstruction. Generally, treatment of ICS events will attempt to determine which of the possible candidate lines of response (LoRs) correctly determine the annihilation photon trajectory. However, methods of assessment often have low success rates or are computationally demanding. In this investigation alternative approaches are considered. Experimental data was taken using the AX-PET prototype and a NEMA phantom. Three methods of ICS treatment were assessed-each of which considered all possible candidate LoRs during image reconstruction. Maximum likelihood expectation maximization was used in conjunction with both standard (line-like) and novel (V-like in this investigation) detection responses modeled within the system matrix. The investigation assumed that no information other than interaction locations was available to distinguish between candidates, yet the methods assessed all provided means by which such information could be included. In all cases it was shown that the signal to noise ratio is increased using ICS events. However, only one method, which used full modeling of the ICS response in the system matrix-the V-like model-provided enhancement in all figures of merit assessed in this investigation. Finally, the optimal method of ICS incorporation was demonstrated using data from two small animals measured using the AX-PET demonstrator. |
| Address |
[Gillam, John E.; Solevi, Paola; Oliver, Josep F.; Rafecas, Magdalena] Univ Valencia, CSIC, IFIC, Valencia, Spain, Email: john.gillam@sydney.edu.au |
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Thesis |
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| Publisher |
Iop Publishing Ltd |
Place of Publication |
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| Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0031-9155 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
WOS:000340056800006 |
Approved |
no |
| Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
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| Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
1879 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| Author |
Brzezinski, K.; Oliver, J.F.; Gillam, J.; Rafecas, M. |
| Title |
Study of a high-resolution PET system using a Silicon detector probe |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Physics in Medicine and Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys. Med. Biol. |
| Volume |
59 |
Issue |
20 |
Pages |
6117-6140 |
| Keywords |
PET; high-resolution imaging; Si detectors; PET insert |
| 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. |
| Address |
[Brzezinski, K.; Oliver, J. F.; Gillam, J.; Rafecas, M.] Univ Valencia, CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, E-46980 Valencia, Spain, Email: brzezinski@ific.uv.es |
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| Publisher |
Iop Publishing Ltd |
Place of Publication |
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| Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0031-9155 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
WOS:000343092300011 |
Approved |
no |
| Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
| Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
1963 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| Author |
Cabello, J.; Torres-Espallardo, I.; Gillam, J.E.; Rafecas, M. |
| Title |
PET Reconstruction From Truncated Projections Using Total-Variation Regularization for Hadron Therapy Monitoring |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. |
| Volume |
60 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
3364-3372 |
| Keywords |
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| Abstract |
Hadron therapy exploits the properties of ion beams to treat tumors by maximizing the dose released to the target and sparing healthy tissue. With hadron beams, the dose distribution shows a relatively low entrance dose which rises sharply at the end of the range, providing the characteristic Bragg peak that drops quickly thereafter. It is of critical importance in order not to damage surrounding healthy tissues and/or avoid targeting underdosage to know where the delivered dose profile ends-the location of the Bragg peak. During hadron therapy, short-lived beta(+)-emitters are produced along the beam path, their distribution being correlated with the delivered dose. Following positron annihilation, two photons are emitted, which can be detected using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. The low yield of emitters, their short half-life, and the wash out from the target region make the use of PET, even only a few minutes after hadron irradiation, a challenging application. In-beam PET represents a potential candidate to estimate the distribution of beta(+)-emitters during or immediately after irradiation, at the cost of truncation effects and degraded image quality due to the partial rings required of the PET scanner. Time-of-flight (ToF) information can potentially be used to compensate for truncation effects and to enhance image contrast. However, the highly demanding timing performance required in ToF-PET makes this option costly. Alternatively, the use of maximum-a-posteriori-expectation-maximization (MAP-EM), including total variation (TV) in the cost function, produces images with low noise, while preserving spatial resolution. In this paper, we compare data reconstructed with maximum-likelihood-expectation-maximization (ML-EM) and MAP-EM using TV as prior, and the impact of including ToF information, from data acquired with a complete and a partial-ring PET scanner, of simulated hadron beams interacting with a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) target. The results show that MAP-EM, in the absence of ToF information, produces lower noise images and more similar data compared to the simulated beta(+) distributions than ML-EM with ToF information in the order of 200-600 ps. The investigation is extended to the combination of MAP-EM and ToF information to study the limit of performance using both approaches. |
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Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0018-9499 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
WOS:000325827200023 |
Approved |
no |
| Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
| Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
1610 |
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| Author |
Oliver, J.F.; Fuster-Garcia, E.; Cabello, J.; Tortajada, S.; Rafecas, M. |
| Title |
Application of Artificial Neural Network for Reducing Random Coincidences in PET |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. |
| Volume |
60 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
3399-3409 |
| Keywords |
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| Abstract |
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is based on the detection in coincidence of the two photons created in a positron annihilation. In conventional PET, this coincidence identification is usually carried out through a coincidence electronic unit. An accidental coincidence occurs when two photons arising from different annihilations are classified as a coincidence. Accidental coincidences are one of the main sources of image degradation in PET. Some novel systems allow coincidences to be selected post-acquisition in software, or in real time through a digital coincidence engine in an FPGA. These approaches provide the user with extra flexibility in the sorting process and allow the application of alternative coincidence sorting procedures. In this work a novel sorting procedure based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques has been developed. It has been compared to a conventional coincidence sorting algorithm based on a time coincidence window. The data have been obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations. A small animal PET scanner has been implemented to this end. The efficiency (the ratio of correct identifications) can be selected for both methods. In one case by changing the actual value of the coincidence window used, and in the other by changing a threshold at the output of the neural network. At matched efficiencies, the ANN-based method always produces a sorted output with a smaller random fraction. In addition, two differential trends are found: the conventional method presents a maximum achievable efficiency, while the ANN-based method is able to increase the efficiency up to unity, the ideal value, at the cost of increasing the random fraction. Images reconstructed using ANN sorted data (no compensation for randoms) present better contrast, and those image features which are more affected by randoms are enhanced. For the image quality phantom used in the paper, the ANN method decreases the spill-over ratio by a factor of 18%. |
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Edition |
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0018-9499 |
ISBN |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
WOS:000325827200027 |
Approved |
no |
| Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
| Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
1611 |
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| Author |
Ortega, P.G.; Torres-Espallardo, I.; Cerutti, F.; Ferrari, A.; Gillam, J.E.; Lacasta, C.; Llosa, G.; Oliver, J.F.; Sala, P.R.; Solevi, P.; Rafecas, M. |
| Title |
Noise evaluation of Compton camera imaging for proton therapy |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2015 |
Publication |
Physics in Medicine and Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys. Med. Biol. |
| Volume |
60 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1845-1863 |
| Keywords |
proton therapy; Compton camera; Monte Carlo methods; FLUKA; prompt gamma; range verification; MLEM |
| Abstract |
Compton Cameras emerged as an alternative for real-time dose monitoring techniques for Particle Therapy (PT), based on the detection of prompt-gammas. As a consequence of the Compton scattering process, the gamma origin point can be restricted onto the surface of a cone (Compton cone). Through image reconstruction techniques, the distribution of the gamma emitters can be estimated, using cone-surfaces backprojections of the Compton cones through the image space, along with more sophisticated statistical methods to improve the image quality. To calculate the Compton cone required for image reconstruction, either two interactions, the last being photoelectric absorption, or three scatter interactions are needed. Because of the high energy of the photons in PT the first option might not be adequate, as the photon is not absorbed in general. However, the second option is less efficient. That is the reason to resort to spectral reconstructions, where the incoming. energy is considered as a variable in the reconstruction inverse problem. Jointly with prompt gamma, secondary neutrons and scattered photons, not strongly correlated with the dose map, can also reach the imaging detector and produce false events. These events deteriorate the image quality. Also, high intensity beams can produce particle accumulation in the camera, which lead to an increase of random coincidences, meaning events which gather measurements from different incoming particles. The noise scenario is expected to be different if double or triple events are used, and consequently, the reconstructed images can be affected differently by spurious data. The aim of the present work is to study the effect of false events in the reconstructed image, evaluating their impact in the determination of the beam particle ranges. A simulation study that includes misidentified events (neutrons and random coincidences) in the final image of a Compton Telescope for PT monitoring is presented. The complete chain of detection, from the beam particle entering a phantom to the event classification, is simulated using FLUKA. The range determination is later estimated from the reconstructed image obtained from a two and three-event algorithm based on Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization. The neutron background and random coincidences due to a therapeutic-like time structure are analyzed for mono-energetic proton beams. The time structure of the beam is included in the simulations, which will affect the rate of particles entering the detector. |
| Address |
[Ortega, P. G.; Cerutti, F.; Ferrari, A.] CERN European Org Nucl Res, CH-1217 Meyrin, Switzerland, Email: pgarciao@cern.ch |
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Thesis |
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| Publisher |
Iop Publishing Ltd |
Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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| Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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| Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0031-9155 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
WOS:000349530700009 |
Approved |
no |
| Is ISI |
yes |
International Collaboration |
yes |
| Call Number |
IFIC @ pastor @ |
Serial |
2115 |
| Permanent link to this record |
