Abstract
Attenuation coefficient maps (μ-maps) are a useful way to compensate for non-uniform attenuation when performing single photon emission tomography (SPET). A new method was developed to record single photon transmission data and aμ-map for the brain was produced using a four-head SPET scanner. Transmission data were acquired by a gamma camera opposite to a flood radioactive source attached to one of four gamma cameras in the four-head SPET scanner. Attenuation correction was performed using the iterative expectation maximization algorithm and theμ-map. Phantom studies demonstrated that this method could reconstruct the distribution of radioactivity more accurately than conventional methods, even for a severely non-uniformμ-map, and could improve the quality of SPET images. Clinical application to technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) brain SPET also demonstrated the usefulness of this method. Thus, this method appears to be promising for improvement in the image quality and quantitative accuracy of brain SPET.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almquist H, Palmer J, Ljungberg M, Wollmer P, Strand SE, Jonson B (1990) Quantitative SPECT by attenuation correction of the projection set using transmission data: evaluation of a method. Eur J Nucl Med 16:587–594
Bailey DL, Hutton BF, Walker PJ (1987) Improved SPECT using simultaneous emission and transmission tomography. J Nucl Med 28:844–851
Bowsher JE, Floyd CE (1991) Treatment of Compton scattering in maximum-likelihood, expectation-maximization reconstructions of SPECT images. J Nucl Med 32:1285–1291
Chang LT (1978) A method for attenuation correction in radionuclide computed tomography. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci NS-25:638–643
Fleming JS (1989) A technique for using CT images in attenuation correction and quantification in SPECT. Nucl Med Commun 10:83–97
Fleming JS (1990) Technique for the use of standard outlines for attenuation correction and quantification in SPECT. Nucl Med Commun 11:685–696
Gilland DR, Jaszczak RJ, Turkington TG, Greer KL, Coleman RE (1992) Transmission data acquisition with a three-headed SPECT system (abstract). J Nucl Med 33:901
Hoffman EJ, Huang SC, Phelps ME (1979) Quantitation in positron emission computed tomography. I. Effect of object size. J Comput Assist Tomogr 3:299–308
Jaszczak RJ, Greer KL, Floyd CE, Harris CC, Coleman RE (1984) Improved SPECT quantification using compensation for scattered photons. J Nucl Med 25:893–900
Kemp BJ, Prato FS, Dean GW, Nicholson RL (1990) Correction for skull attenuation in Tc-99m HM-PAO SPECT brain imaging (abstract). Eur J Nucl Med 16 [Suppl]: S 148
Kimura K, Hashikawa K, Etani H, Uehara A, Kozuka T, Moriwaki H, Isaka Y, Matsumoto M, Kamada T, Moriyama H, Tabuchi H (1990) A new apparatus for brain imaging: four-head rotating gamma camera single-photon emission computed tomograph. J Nucl Med 31:603–609
Koral KIT, Ten Haken RK, McShan DL, Kessler ML, Buchbinder S, Swailem FM, Francis IR, Kaminski MS, Wahl RL (1990) Superimposition of SPECT and CT images and transfer of RoI for quantification (abstract). J Nucl Med 31:872
Lassen NA (1966) The luxury perfusion syndrome and its possible relation to acute metabolic acidosis within the brain. Lancet 11:1113–1115
Levitan E, Herman GT (1987) A maximum a posteriori probability expectation maximization algorithm for image reconstruction in emission tomography. IEEE Trans Med Imag MI-6:185–192
Lewitt RM, Muehllehner G (1986) Accelerated iterative reconstruction for positron emission tomography based on the EM algorithm for maximum likelihood estimation. IEEE Trans Med Imag MI-5:16–22
Ljungberg M, Strand S-E (1990) Attenuation correction in SPECT based on transmission studies and Monte Carlo simulation of build-up functions. J Nucl Med 31:493–500
Malko JA, Van Heertum RL, Gullberg GT, Kowalsky WP (1986) SPECT liver imaging using an iterative attenuation correction algorithm and an external flood source. J Nucl Med 27:701–705
Manglos SH, Bassano DA, Thomas FD, Grossman ZD (1992) Imaging of the human torso using cone-beam transmission CT implemented on a rotating gamma camera. J Nucl Med 33:150–156
Murase K, Itoh H, Mogami H, Ishine M, Kawamura M, Iio A, Hamamoto K (1987) A comparative study of attenuation correction algorithms in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Eur J Nucl Med 13:55–62
Murase K, Tanada S, Ooie Y, Mogami H, Miyagawa M, Yamada M, Kimura Y, Hamamoto K (1991) Improvement of brain SPECT quantitation using simultaneous emission and transmission data acquisition in a 4-head SPECT scanner (abstract). J Nucl Med 32:1066
Shepp LA, Logan BF (1974) Reconstructing interior head tissue from X-ray transmissions. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci 21:228–236
Shepp LA, Vardi Y (1982) Maximum likelihood reconstruction for emission tomography. IEEE Trans Med Imag MI-1:113–132
Snyder DL, Miller MI (1985) The use of sieves to stabilize images produced with the EM algorithm for emission tomography. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci NS-32:3864–3872
Sorenson JA (1974) Quantitative measurement of radioactivity in vivo by whole-body counting. Instrument Nucl Med 2:311–348
Strand S-E, Larsson I (1978) Image artifacts at high photon fluente rates in single-crystal Nal(Tl) scintillation cameras. J Nucl Med 19:407–413
Tanaka E (1987) A fast reconstruction algorithm for stationary positron emission tomography based on a modified EM algorithm. IEEE Trans Med Imag MI-6:98–105
Tanaka E (1992) Improved iterative image reconstruction with automatic noise artifact suppression. IEEE Trans Med Imag 11:21–27
Tsui BMW, Hu HB, Gilland DR, Gullberg GT (1988) Implementation of simultaneous attenuation and detector response correction in SPECT. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci NS-35:778–783
Tsui BMW, Gullberg GT, Edgerton ER, Ballard JG, Perry JR, McCartney WH, Berg J (1989) Correction of nonuniform attenuation in cardiac SPECT imaging. J Nucl Med 30:497–507
Veklerov E, Llacer J (1987) Stopping rule for the MLE algorithm based on statistical hypothesis testing. IEEE Trans Med Imag MI-6:313–319
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was presented in part at the World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, 7–12 July 1991, Kyoto, Japan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Murase, K., Tanada, S., Inoue, T. et al. Improvement of brain single photon emission tomography (SPET) using transmission data acquisition in a four-head SPET scanner. Eur J Nucl Med 20, 32–38 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02261243
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02261243