Coded Aperture Gamma Camera for Thyroid Imaging: Monte Carlo Simulation.
- Author:
Cheol Ha BEAK
1
;
Seung Jae LEE
;
Yong Hyun CHUNG
Author Information
1. Department of Radiological Science, Yonsei University College of Health Science, Institute of Health Science, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea. ychung@yonsei.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Coded-aperture;
Pinhole;
Gamma camera;
GATE simulation
- MeSH:
Gamma Cameras;
Masks;
Signal-To-Noise Ratio;
Thyroid Gland
- From:Korean Journal of Medical Physics
2008;19(4):247-255
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
A coded aperture camera has been developed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) while keeping the spatial resolution of a pinhole gamma camera. The purpose of this study was to optimize a coded aperture camera and to evaluate its possibility for thyroid imaging by Monte Carlo simulation. A clinical gamma camera, a pinhole collimator with 1.0 mm hole diameter, and a 79x79 modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) mask were designed using GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission). The penetration ratio, spatial resolution, integral uniformity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were simulated and evaluated as a function of the mask thickness. The spatial resolution of the coded aperture camera was consistent with the various mask thickness, SNR showed a maximum value at 1.2 mm mask thickness and integral uniformity was improved by increasing mask thickness. Compare to the pinhole gamma camera, the coded aperture camera showed improved SNR by a factor of 30 while keeping almost the same spatial resolution. In this simulation study, the results indicated that high spatial resolution and ultra-high SNR of the thyroid imaging are feasible using a coded aperture camera.
