High sensitivity, total body PET scanning using 3D data acquisition and reconstruction

Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) gains of a factor of 2.4 have been demonstrated in phantom studies using a quasi-continuous 3-D data acquisition scheme and typical total body activity concentrations. The uniformity of S/N axially was also improved from 15% to 3%. The increase in sensitivity from 3-D data collection can potentially be used to reduce total body imaging time while maintaining S/N levels, and for obtaining good quality biodistribution images in animals using tracers with low specific activities. The major challenge is to find fast and efficient ways of handling the large volumes of data produced by these studies, so that the technique may become a practical part of positron emission tomography (PET) methodology.<>