Improving Sensitivity of a DOI-PET using Dual Energy Window: a Simulation Study

In this article, we proposed a novel idea to improve sensitivity of positron emission tomography (PET), by using dual energy windows for events in different interaction depths based on depth of interaction (DOI) information. The proposed idea was studied on a dual-layer brain PET using Monte Carlo simulation via GATE software. We simulated cylinder water phantoms (Φ200 mm×200 mm) with different radioactive sources, a point source in the center field of view (CFOV), a line source in the center axis, and a center slice cylinder source. Then we compared two kinds of energy windows: 1) traditional energy window: [450-750] keV for both inner and outer layers; 2) proposed energy window: [450-750] keV for the inner layer and [30-250] U [450-750] keV for the outer layer. The experimental results present that dual energy window technology effectively enhances the sensitivity of the dual-layer crystal brain PET system. It is a promising technique for DOI-PET systems.