Study Guide I - PET Instrumentation
- Fundamental concept - are we dealing with photons and gamma rays? (link)
- Consider the source
- Relate LORs to counts
- What is a sinogram?
- How does the imaging system coordinate its location, coincident event?
- What is TOF? Does it improve image quality? How? (link)
- Compare the types of crystals used in PET. Don't need to memorize it, but understand how one is better than the other. (link)
- Why is BGO and LSO better than NaI(Tl)?
- How do the different principles of a crystal apply to generating the coincident event?
- How does TOF fit into the crystal design?
- Consider the cuts on a crystal surface. How does it improve the scintillation process?
- Consider the crystal's block design (link)
- Define the different types.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
- Rings (link)
- Relate this to the coincident event and its FOV.
- Compare 2D vs 3D
- What is the role of septa/annular?
- How does this prevent scatter and/or random events?
- Describe the role of the timing PHA windows. (link)
- Define Normalization and Blank scans. What are their roles? (link)
- From the scintillation event to the creation of a sinogram, follow the process. Describe it. (link)
- Identify PET acquisition as it relates to (link)
- Dynamic
- Static
- Whole body
- Gating
- List mode
- Discuss the role of attenuation correction and apply it to the PET image. Regarding CT consider: (link)
- Segmentation
- Mono vs polyenergetic photons
- Scaling
- How does CT correct (or incorrectly correct) a PET image? Consider
- Low density attenuation
- High density attenuation
- Movement and breathing artifacts
- Discuss the effects of deadtime in a PET scan (link)
- Describe the problem
- Consider crystal application and how this should reduces the deadtime issue
- Define radial elongation (link)
- Know TOF, but don't worry about applying the formula associated with this application (link)
- Consider the basics of CT (link)
- Refer to the attenuation portion above.
- Define HU, windowing, and its effect with a gray scale.
- Apply the concept of linear attenuation.
- Consider PET resolution(link)
- Distance the beta particle travels
- Non-collinearity
- Components that effect image contrast
- Patient motion
- Count density
- FWHM
- A lesion: size, counts, cold, hot, BKG
- Effects of scatter
- Consider imaging reconstruction (link)
- Why is iterative reconstruction (IR) preferred over FBP?
- Understand the IR process: OSEM and MLEM.
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