PETcoil: first results from a second-generation RF-penetrable TOF-PET brain insert for simultaneous PET/MRI.

Simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging provides concurrent information about anatomic, functional, and molecular changes in disease. We are developing a second generation MR-compatible RF-penetrable TOF-PET insert. The insert has a smaller scintillation crystal size and ring diameter compared to clinical whole-body PET scanners, resulting in higher spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Self-normalization for a 1 mmresolution clinical PET system using deep learning.

This work proposes, for the first time, an image-based end-to-end self-normalization framework for positron emission tomography (PET) using conditional generative adversarial networks (cGANs).We evaluated different approaches by exploring each of the following three methodologies. First, we used images that were either unnormalized or corrected for geometric factors, which encompass all time-invariant factors, as input data types.

Advances in Detector Instrumentation for PET.

During the last 3 decades, PET has become a standard-of-care imaging technique used in the management of cancer and in the characterization of neurologic disorders and cardiovascular disease. It has also emerged as a prominent molecular imaging method to study the basic biologic pathways of disease in rodent models. This review describes the basics of PET detectors, including a detailed description of indirect and direct 511-keV photon detection methods.

Application of Artificial Intelligence in PET Instrumentation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used throughout medical imaging, including PET, for data correction, image reconstruction, and image processing tasks. However, there are number of opportunities for the application of AI in photon detector performance or the data collection process, such as to improve detector spatial resolution, time-of-flight information, or other PET system performance characteristics. This review outlines current topics, research highlights, and future directions of AI in PET instrumentation.

Simultaneous Acquisition of Ultrasound and Gamma Signals with a Single-Channel Readout.

We propose an integrated front-end data acquisition circuit for a hybrid ultrasound (US)-gamma probe. The proposed circuit consists of three main parts: (1) a preamplifier for the gamma probe, (2) a preprocessing analog circuit for the US, and (3) a digitally controlled analog switch. By exploiting the long idle time of the US system, an analog switch can be used to acquire data of both systems using a single output channel simultaneously.

Wavelength discrimination (WLD) TOF-PET detector with DOI information.

Depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding can contribute to improving spatial resolution uniformity and sensitivity in positron-emission-tomography (PET) scanners. In addition, time-of-flight (TOF) PET scanners with DOI encoding have received considerable interest because of their potential for improving the spatial resolution, sensitivity, and image quality of the overall system. In this study, a new DOI detector configuration utilizing scintillators' emission wavelength is proposed, and experimental results on the energy, timing, and DOI performance of the detector are provided.

Instrumentation for Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular imaging modality that provides information at the molecular level. This system is composed of radiation detectors to detect incoming coincident annihilation gamma photons emitted from the radiopharmaceutical injected into a patient's body and uses these data to reconstruct images. A major trend in PET instrumentation is the development of time-of-flight positron emission tomography (ToF-PET).