Development of a multi-pinhole detector for high-sensitivity SPECT imaging

We report on the development of a multi-pinhole detector for high-sensitivity SPECT imaging. The work is based on a high resolution SPECT system which already is in successful operation since a couple of months. The goal of the present work is to increase the sensitivity of the current detector by a factor of 30 to 40 and to optimize it for I-123 tracer development and evaluation. Besides improvements in the detector and aperture physics a multi-pinhole arrangement is envisaged. A series of Monte-Carlo simulations and preliminary phantom studies have shown the feasibility of this approach although a number of careful optimizations concerning the layout of the aperture geometry and the iterative reconstruction algorithm are still required. Results of the simulations and tests with simulated phantom data will be presented and the quality assessment procedures will be discussed.