A scheme for assessing the performance characteristics of small field-of-view gamma cameras.pdfVIP

Physica Medica 31 (2015) 98e103 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Physica Medica journal homepage: Technical notes A scheme for assessing the performance characteristics of small ?eldof-view gamma cameras B.S. Bhatia a, b, *, S.L. Bugby a, J.E. Lees a, A.C. Perkins c a Space Research Centre, Physics Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK b Imaging Clinical Group, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Hospital Trust, West Bromwich B71 4HJ, UK c Medical Physics and Medical Imaging Unit, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK article info Article history: Received 16 January 2014 Received in revised form 13 August 2014 Accepted 20 August 2014 Available online 13 November 2014 Keywords: Small ?eld-of-view gamma camera Performance testing Performance characteristics abstract Existing protocols for assessing the performance characteristics of large ?eld-of-view (LFOV) gamma cameras can be inappropriate and require modi?cation for use with small ?eld-of-view (SFOV) gamma camera systems. This communication proposes a generic scheme suitable for evaluating the performance characteristics of SFOV gamma cameras, based on modi?cations to the standard procedures of NEMA NU1-2007. Key differences in methodology between tests for LFOV and SFOV gamma cameras are highlighted along with the rationale for these changes. It is envisaged that this scheme will provide more appropriate methods for equipment characterisation, ensuring quality and consistency for all SFOV cameras. ? 2014 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (/licenses/by/3.0/). Introduction Gamma cameras have traditionally been large devices comprising of inorganic scintillators, photomultiplier tubes, lead collimators and bulky lead shielding. These devices are generally not portable and so cannot be used for intraoperative procedures. The development of smaller portable gamma cameras h