PeneloPET, a Monte Carlo PET simulation toolkit based on PENELOPE: Features and Validation

PENELOPE is a Monte Carlo code that simulates the transport in matter of electrons, positrons and photons with energies from a few hundred of eV to 1 GeV. It is robust, fast and very accurate, but it may be unfriendly for people not acquainted with the FORTRAN programming language. We have developed a tookit (`PeneloPET´) to prepare simulations of PET and SPECT within PENELOPE. Sophisticated simulations can be setup by modifying just a few simple input files. The output data can be generated at different levels of detail and can be analyzed afterwards with the preferred programming language or tools. In this work, we present the features of PeneloPET as well as validations against other dedicated PET simulation programs and two real scanners.