Wireless Synchronization of a Multi-Pinhole Small Animal SPECT Collimation Device With a Clinical Scanner

A multi-pinhole collimation device for small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) uses the gamma camera detectors of a standard clinical SPECT scanner. The collimator and animal bed move independently of the detectors, and therefore their motions must be synchronized. One approa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on nuclear science 2009-06, Vol.56 (3), p.640-645
Main Authors: DiFilippo, F.P., Patel, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cameras
Collimation
Counting
Devices
Gamma ray detection
Gamma ray detectors
Gyroscopes
Image quality
Motion detection
Optical collimators
Scanners
Sensors
Single photon emission computed tomography
small animal
Synchronism
Synchronization
Tomography
wireless
Wireless sensor networks
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Summary:A multi-pinhole collimation device for small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) uses the gamma camera detectors of a standard clinical SPECT scanner. The collimator and animal bed move independently of the detectors, and therefore their motions must be synchronized. One approach is manual triggering of the SPECT acquisition simultaneously with a programmed motion sequence for the device. However, some data blurring and loss of image quality result, and true electronic synchronization is preferred. An off-the-shelf digital gyroscope with integrated Bluetooth interface provides a wireless solution to device synchronization. The sensor attaches to the SPECT gantry and reports its rotational speed to a notebook computer controlling the device. Software processes the rotation data in real-time, averaging the signal and issuing triggers while compensating for baseline drift. Motion commands are sent to the collimation device with minimal delay, within approximately 0.5 second of the start of SPECT gantry rotation. Test scans of a point source demonstrate an increase in true counts and a reduction in background counts compared to manual synchronization. The wireless rotation sensor provides robust synchronization of the collimation device with the clinical SPECT scanner and enhances image quality.
ISSN:0018-9499
1558-1578
DOI:10.1109/TNS.2009.2018843