@article {Karp136, author = {Joel S. Karp and Varsha Viswanath and Michael J. Geagan and Gerd Muehllehner and Austin R. Pantel and Michael J. Parma and Amy E. Perkins and Jeffrey P. Schmall and Matthew E. Werner and Margaret E. Daube-Witherspoon}, title = {PennPET Explorer: Design and Preliminary Performance of a Whole-Body Imager}, volume = {61}, number = {1}, pages = {136--143}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.2967/jnumed.119.229997}, publisher = {Society of Nuclear Medicine}, abstract = {We report on the development of the PennPET Explorer whole-body imager. Methods: The PennPET Explorer is a multiring system designed with a long axial field of view. The imager is scalable and comprises multiple 22.9-cm-long ring segments, each with 18 detector modules based on a commercial digital silicon photomultiplier. A prototype 3-segment imager has been completed and tested with an active 64-cm axial field of view. Results: The instrument design is described, and its physical performance measurements are presented. These include sensitivity of 55 kcps/MBq, spatial resolution of 4.0 mm, energy resolution of 12\%, timing resolution of 256 ps, and a noise-equivalent count rate above 1,000 kcps beyond 30 kBq/mL. After an evaluation of lesion torso phantoms to characterize quantitative accuracy, human studies were performed on healthy volunteers. Conclusion: The physical performance measurements validated the system design and led to high-quality human studies.}, issn = {0161-5505}, URL = {https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/1/136}, eprint = {https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/1/136.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine} }