Study Guide II
Pulses and Pixels in a Planar Mode

Here's the study guide for your next test. Clicking the Go button takes you to the web page that has the answer. Remember our emphasis is always ... Image quality. What can you do as a technologist to get the best image possible?

1. Complete a decay problem and determine the mL to be used based on decay. Go
2. Understand and define the different components a pulse height. Go
   1. Define scatter, determine its effect on spectrum (pulses)?
   2. Identify coincidence summing. Go
   3. Discuss crystal thickness
   4. Effects of attenuation (plastic)
   5. Effects of efficiency with crystal thickness and variation in the energy gamma
3. Details of a pixel. Go
   1. Define a LUT and discuss its applications
   2. Calculate the correct gray scale based on pixel counts
   3. Calculate the size of a pixel
   4. Determine the type of matrix size based on the procedure
   5. Compare pixel depth based on bytes and word mode
   6. Discuss the effects of PVE
   7. Determine image resolution based on matrix, pixel size, and the size of the lesion
   8. Consider the modes of image acquisition. Go
4. Define the different components of non-uniformity in a gamma camera - Go
   1. Identify the discordances with XYZ pulses
   2. Discuss the components of energy and linearity corrections
   3. Compare and identify different forms of auto-tuning
   4. Brief discuss digital detectors
5. Review the concepts of collimation Go
   1. Identify septa design: cast, foil, micocast, and microlinear
   2. Apply the concepts: GF, AF, PF, and SF with collimation
   3. Compare septa length, diameter, and thickness to sensitivity and resolution with associated photon energy
   4. Apply the terms umbra and preumbra to collimator design
   5. Understand and apply different types of collimators to an imaging procedure: parallel, converging, diverging, pinhole, fan beam, and slate hole
6. Identify deadtime and its effect on a pulse height. Go
   1. Pulse clipping
   2. Pulse-tail extrapolation
   3. How does these adjustments effect image quality? Contrast
7. Apply the different elements of an image: background, scatter, attenuation, and noise
8. Determine the issues in imaging in a planar dimension (as compared to 3D)
9. Camera sensitivity. How are quality control procedure used to evaluate image performance? Go
10. Consider spatial resolution and the following components - Go
    1. Intrinsic vs. extrinsic resolution
    2. Misalignment of PMTs
    3. Crystal thickness and energy gamma
    4. Distance from the acquired source
    5. Not enough counts
    6. LSF - FWHM and FWTM (calculate the values)
    7. MTF and its relationship to the frequency domain
    8. Variation in image matrix
    9. Variation with the energy window
11. Determine %SD within a pixel and how it might effect image quality. Go
12. Application of Quality Control in planar imaging - Go
    1. Setup and usage of flood field uniformity and Bar
    2. Integral and differential uniformity
    3. Moire pattern
    4. Pixel size calculation
    5. Collimator integrity
    6. Multi-window spatial registration
13. Understanding the following fields of view: FOV, FFOV, and CFOV - Go
14. Look over the images that show problems with the acquired date. Specific links starts here

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