HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mueller, B. Articles by Phillips, S. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mueller, B. Articles by Phillips, S. W.

Evaluation of a Small Cadmium Zinc Telluride Detector for Scintimammography

¹ Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
² Functional Imaging, General Electric Medical Systems, Haifa, Israel
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a small semiconductor-based gamma camera that may have applications in scintimammography. Methods: A small cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector was evaluated. The detector had a field of view of 20 x 20 cm with detector elements of 2.5 x 2.5 mm in size. Both short-bore (35 mm) and long-bore (50 mm) collimators, matched to the geometry of the detector elements, were evaluated. The imaging performance of the CZT detector was compared with that of a conventional gamma camera equipped with all-purpose and ultra-high-resolution collimators. The performance of both systems with respect to breast imaging was evaluated using a water tank containing small glass spheres, 1.8–9.8 mm in diameter. The effects of variations in breast thickness, tumor depth, and tumor-to-background ratio were all simulated in this phantom model. Total counts per image were adjusted to approximate the count density observed in clinical scintimammographic studies. Results: Sensitivity of the CZT detector was 76% that of the equivalent NaI system. The system demonstrated excellent integral uniformity. The energy resolution of the CZT system was 6.5% for ^99mTc. Spatial resolution with the long-bore collimator was superior to that of a conventional large field-of -view gamma camera equipped with an ultra-high- resolution collimator, over the range 0–6 cm from the collimator face. A blinded review of breast phantom images showed that small spheres (7 mm in diameter) were better seen and had a better tumor-to-background ratio with the CZT system than with the conventional gamma camera. Conclusion: A small CZT detector offers superior performance to a conventional gamma camera and should permit reliable detection of breast tumors <1 cm in size.

Key Words: cadmium zinc telluride detector • scintimammography • breast

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. B. Hruska, S. W. Phillips, D. H. Whaley, D. J. Rhodes, and M. K. O'Connor Molecular Breast Imaging: Use of a Dual-Head Dedicated Gamma Camera to Detect Small Breast Tumors Am. J. Roentgenol., December 1, 2008; 191(6): 1805 - 1815. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Tsuchimochi, K. Hayama, T. Oda, M. Togashi, and H. Sakahara Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Small CdTe {gamma}-Camera for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy J. Nucl. Med., June 1, 2008; 49(6): 956 - 962. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]