Unbiased and biased estimators in coded aperture imaging for far field standoff detection at low count rates.

In general, the reconstructed image in coded aperture imaging is affected by the source configuration. Fenimore's balanced convolution method in conjunction with the uniformly redundant array can remove the interference due to the source configuration. As an extension of Fenimore's balanced convolution method, we present general conditions for designing an unbiased mean estimator for a far-field coded aperture imaging system with a random binary mask.

A high-resolution PET demonstrator using a silicon "magnifying glass".

To assist ongoing investigations of the limits of the tradeoff between spatial resolution and noise in PET imaging, several PET instruments based on silicon-pad detectors have been developed. The latest is a segment of a dual-ring device to demonstrate that excellent reconstructed image resolution can be achieved with a scanner that uses high-resolution detectors placed close to the object of interest or surrounding a small field-of-view in combination with detectors having modest resolution at larger radius. The outer ring of our demonstrator comprises conventional BGO block detectors scavenged from a clinical PET scanner and located at a 500mm radius around a 50mm diameter field-of-view.

Statistical performance evaluation and comparison of a Compton medical imaging system and a collimated Anger camera for higher energy photon imaging.

In radionuclide treatment, tumor cells are primarily destroyed by charged particles emitted by the compound while associated higher energy photons are used to image the tumor in order to determine radiation dose and monitor shrinkage. However, the higher energy photons are difficult to image with conventional collimated Anger cameras, since a tradeoff exists between resolution and sensitivity, and the collimator septal penetration and scattering is increased due to the high energy photons. This research compares imaging performance of the conventional Anger camera to a Compton imaging system that can have improved spatial resolution and sensitivity for high energy photons because this tradeoff is decoupled, and the effect of Doppler broadening at higher gamma energies is decreased.

A prototype of very high resolution small animal PET scanner using silicon pad detectors.

A very high resolution small animal positron emission tomograph (PET) which can achieve sub-millimeter spatial resolution is being developed using silicon pad detectors. The prototype PET for a single slice instrument consists of two 1 mm thick silicon pad detectors, each containing a 32 x 16 array of 1.4 mm x 1.

Performance evaluation of a very high resolution small animal PET imager using silicon scatter detectors.

A very high resolution positron emission tomography (PET) scanner for small animal imaging based on the idea of inserting a ring of high-granularity solid-state detectors into a conventional PET scanner is under investigation. A particularly interesting configuration of this concept, which takes the form of a degenerate Compton camera, is shown capable of providing sub-millimeter resolution with good sensitivity. We present a Compton PET system and estimate its performance using a proof-of-concept prototype.