The evaluation and calibration of fan-beam collimators |
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Authors: | Jennifer L Mahowald Peter D Robins Michael K O’Connor |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA, US |
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Abstract: | The aims of this study were (a) to determine the true focal length of a fan-beam collimator and (b) to calibrate image size
(mm/pixel) for each collimator to permit inter-comparison of image data acquired on different gamma camera systems. A total
of six fan-beam collimators on three dual-head gamma camera systems were evaluated using a set of four cobalt-57 point source
markers. The markers were arranged in a line in the transverse plane with a known separation between them. Tomographic images
were obtained at three radii of rotation. From reconstructed transaxial images the distance between markers was measured in
pixels and used to determine pixel size in mm/pixel. The system value for the focal length of the collimator was modified
by up to ±100 mm and transaxial images were again reconstructed. To standardize pixel size between systems, the apparent radius
of rotation during a single-photon emission tomography (SPET) acquisition was modified by changes to the effective collimator
thickness. SPET images of a 3D brain phantom were acquired on each system and reconstructed using both the original and the
modified values of collimator focal length and thickness. Co-registration and subtraction of the reconstructed transaxial
images was used to evaluate the effects of changes in collimator parameters. Pixel size in the reconstructed image was found
to be a function of both the radius of rotation and the focal length. At the correct focal length, pixel size was essentially
independent of the radius of rotation. For all six collimators, true focal length differed from the original focal length
by up to 26 mm. These differences in focal length resulted in up to 6% variation in pixel size between systems. Pixel size
between the three systems was standardized by altering the value for collimator thickness. Subtraction of the co-registered
SPET images of the 3D brain phantom was significantly improved after optimization of collimator parameters, with a 35%–50%
reduction in the standard deviation of residual counts in the subtraction images. In conclusion, we have described a simple
method for measurement of the focal length of a fan-beam collimator. This is an important parameter on multidetector systems
for optimum image quality and where accurate co-registration of SPET to SPET and SPET to MRI studies is required.
Received 17 October and in revised form 12 December 1998 |
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Keywords: | : Fan-beam collimator Single-photon emission tomography Quality control |
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