Axial Resolution and the Value of Interpolating Scan in Multislice Positron Computed Tomography

We have calculated the aperture function of a positron computed tomograph (PCT) with computer simulation, and evaluated the axial resolution of a multislice PCT, Positologica III, both theoretically and experimentally. The axial point spread function (PSF) was approximately a triangle at or near the center of the field, and the sensitivity for the slice decreased significantly as the source moved away off the image plane. Accordingly, there were low sensitivity areas between an in-plane and the adjacent cross-plane. This invisible region was clinically significant if the object was thin enough in the z-axis. In order to fill up the gaps between adjacent slices, it is valuable to move the patient half the slice interval in the z-axis and perform an " interpolating scan."