Low-Dose High-Resolution TOF-PET Using Ionization-activated Multi-State Low-Z Detector Media

We propose PET scanners using low atomic number media that undergo a persistent local change of state along the paths of the Compton recoil electrons. Measurement of the individual scattering locations and angles, deposited energies, and recoil electron directions allows using the kinematical constraints of the 2-body Compton scattering process to perform a statistical time-ordering of the scatterings, with a high probability of precisely identifying where the gamma first interacted in the detector. In these cases the Line-of-Response is measured with high resolution, determined by the underlying physics processes and not the detector segmentation. There are multiple such media that act through different mechanisms. As an example in which the change of state is quantum-mechanical through a change in molecular configuration, rather than thermodynamic, as in a bubble chamber, we present simulations of a two-state photoswitchable organic dye, a 'Switchillator', that is activated to a fluorescent-capable state by the ionization of the recoil electrons. The activated state is persistent, and can be optically excited multiple times to image individual activated molecules. Energy resolution is provided by counting the activated molecules. Location along the LOR is implemented by large-area time-of-flight MCP-PMT photodetectors with single photon time resolution in the tens of ps and sub-mm spatial resolution. Simulations indicate a large reduction of dose.

Improvement of Spatial Resolution with Iterative PET Reconstruction using UltraFast TOF

The impact of Time-of-Flight (TOF) on positron emission tomography (PET) spatial resolution is generally considered negligible. In this work, a two-step approach based on simulations of two-dimensional scanner configurations is taken to show that ultra-fast TOF has the potential to overcome the limitation induced by the physical size of detectors on spatial resolution. An estimation of the lower bound on spatial resolution using point sources is provided, followed by a qualitative assessment of the resolution obtained using a Hot Spot phantom. The impact of detector width, TOF resolution and TOF binning on the achieved spatial resolution is also studied. While gain beyond the expected blur due to detector size is demonstrated, the detector size remains one limiting factor albeit less prominent. The dependence on acquisition statistics to reach the full potential of TOF-induced gain in spatial resolution is demonstrated. A simulated brain phantom acquired with a fictive three-dimensional PET scanner was qualitatively analyzed and structures smaller than the typical limit are clearly made visible by reconstructing the images with a ∼13-ps TOF resolution. A potential application of this feature of ultra-fast TOF would be the design of clinical PET scanners achieving spatial resolution beyond the current state-of-the-art.

2D feasibility study of joint reconstruction of attenuation and activity in limited angle TOF-PET

Several research groups are studying organ-dedicated limited angle positron emission tomography (PET) systems to optimize performance-cost ratio, sensitivity, access to the patient and/or flexibility. Often open systems are considered, typically consisting of two detector panels of various sizes. Such systems provide incomplete sampling due to limited angular coverage and/or truncation, which leads to artefacts in the reconstructed activity images. In addition, these organ-dedicated PET systems are usually stand-alone systems, and as a result, no attenuation information can be obtained from anatomical images acquired in the same imaging session. It has been shown that the use of time-of-flight information reduces incomplete data artefacts and enables the joint estimation of the activity and the attenuation factors. In this work, we explore with simple 2D simulations the performance and stability of a joint reconstruction algorithm, for imaging with a limited angle PET system. The reconstruction is based on the so-called MLACF (Maximum Likelihood Attenuation Correction Factors) algorithm and uses linear attenuation coefficients in a known-tissue-class region to obtain absolute quantification. Different panel sizes and different time-of-flight (TOF) resolutions are considered. The noise propagation is compared to that of MLEM reconstruction with exact attenuation correction (AC) for the same PET system. The results show that with good TOF resolution, images of good visual quality can be obtained. If also a good scatter correction can be implemented, quantitative PET imaging will be possible. Further research, in particular on scatter correction, is required.

Deep Learning for Transient Image Reconstruction from ToF Data

In this work, we propose a novel approach for correcting multi-path interference (MPI) in Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras by estimating the direct and global components of the incoming light. MPI is an error source linked to the multiple reflections of light inside a scene; each sensor pixel receives information coming from different light paths which generally leads to an overestimation of the depth. We introduce a novel deep learning approach, which estimates the structure of the time-dependent scene impulse response and from it recovers a depth image with a reduced amount of MPI. The model consists of two main blocks: a predictive model that learns a compact encoded representation of the backscattering vector from the noisy input data and a fixed backscattering model which translates the encoded representation into the high dimensional light response. Experimental results on real data show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, which reaches state-of-the-art performances.

A multi-camera dataset for depth estimation in an indoor scenario

Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors and stereo vision systems are two of the most diffused depth acquisition devices for commercial and industrial applications. They share complementary strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, the combination of data acquired from these devices can improve the final depth estimation accuracy. This paper introduces a dataset acquired with a multi-camera system composed by a Microsoft Kinect v2 ToF sensor, an Intel RealSense R200 active stereo sensor and a Stereolabs ZED passive stereo camera system. The acquired scenes include indoor settings with different external lighting conditions. The depth ground truth has been acquired for each scene of the dataset using a line laser. The data can be used for developing fusion and denoising algorithms for depth estimation and test with different lighting conditions. A subset of the data has already been used for the experimental evaluation of the work "Stereo and ToF Data Fusion by Learning from Synthetic Data".

Exploring the sampling rate effect on digital time of flight response for fast scintillator detectors

A systematic study is conducted to understand the digital time of flight (TOF) response for a pair of fast scintillator detectors; BaF₂-LaBr₃, BaF₂-BC501A, and LaBr₃-BC501A respectively. Coincidence signals from each detector pair, irradiated by ²²Na source, are acquired by LeCroy HDO5000A digital oscilloscope. While operating the oscilloscope at 2.5 giga samples per second (GSPS) and 500 mega samples per second (MSPS) of sampling rates, over 10 k coincidence signals were collected for each pair of detectors. Data at different sampling rates; 1.66 GSPS, 1.25 GSPS, 833 MSPS, 625 MSPS, 333 MSPS, and 250 MSPS were generated by down-sampling method. Using anode signal, the photon arrival time marker is determined by digital constant fraction (DCF) algorithm for each detector pair on event-by-event basis. For a given rate, the algorithm is optimized at various delay and fraction values to get the minimum TOF dispersion. Mentioned pairs reveals the TOF resolution (FWHM) as; 0.58 ns, 0.79 ns, 0.907 ns and 0.53 ns, 0.94 ns, 1.08 ns at 250 MSPS and 2.5 GSPS respectively. While analysing the events, a saturation in the TOF width is observed from 500 MSPS onward. The saturated dispersion values for the aforementioned pairs are found to be 0.53 ns, 0.94 ns, and 1 ns respectively. Effect is being understood by calculating the optimum DCF transition region distribution for BC501A and LaBr₃ detectors, reveals a constant curvature profile at different rates. To further explain the saturation effect on computational ground, a simple pulse fitting approach is adopted using Landau distribution. Event-by-Event processing of fitted pulses followed by TOF resolution calculation reproduces the experimental numbers.

Impact of Time-of-Flight and Point-Spread-Function for Respiratory Artifact Reduction in PET/CT Imaging: Focus on Standardized Uptake Value

BACKGROUND

The most important advantage of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging is its capability of quantitative analysis. The aim of the current study was to choose the proper standardized uptake value (SUV) threshold, when the time-of-flight (TOF) and point spread function (PSF) were used for respiratory artifact reduction in the liver dome in a new-generation PET/CT scanner.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The current study was conducted using a National Electrical Manufacturers Association International Electrotechnical Commission body phantom, with activity ratios of 2:1 and 4:1. A total of 27 patients, with respiratory artifacts in the thorax region, were analyzed. PET images were retrospectively reconstructed using either a high definition (HD) + PSF (i.e., a routine protocol) algorithm or HD+PSF+TOF (PSF+TOF; i.e., to reduce the respiratory artifact) algorithms, with various reconstruction parameters. The SUV_max and SUV_mean, at different thresholds (i.e., at 45%, 50%, and 75%), were also assessed.

RESULTS

Although in comparison to the routine protocol a higher SUV was observed when using the PSF+TOF method, this approach was used to reduce the respiratory artifact. The appropriate threshold for SUV was strongly related to the lesion size, reconstruction parameters, and activity ratio. The mean of the relative difference between PSF+TOF algorithm and routine protocol for SUV_max varied from 10.58±14.99% up to 35.49±32.60% (which was dependent on reconstruction parameters).

CONCLUSION

In comparison with other types of SUVs, the SUV_max value illustrated its significant overestimation, especially at the 4:1 activity ratio. The poor agreement between SUV_max and SUV_50% was also observed. When the TOF and PSF are utilized to reduce respiratory artifacts, the SUV_50% can be an accurate semi-quantitative parameter for PET/CT images, for all lesion sizes. For smaller lesions, however, a smaller filter size was required to observe an accurate SUV.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Zoom-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

A zoom-time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been coupled to an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) ionization source. Zoom-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (zoom-TOFMS) combines two complementary types of velocity-based mass separation. Specifically, zoom-TOFMS alternates between conventional, constant-energy acceleration (CEA) TOFMS and energy-focused, constant-momentum acceleration (CMA) (zoom) TOFMS. The CMA mode provides a mass-resolution enhancement of 1.5-1.7× over CEA-TOFMS in the current, 35-cm ICP-zoom-TOFMS instrument geometry. The maximum resolving power (full-width at half-maximum) for the ICP-zoom-TOFMS instrument is 1200 for CEA-TOFMS and 1900 for CMA-TOFMS. The CMA mode yields detection limits of between 0.02 and 0.8 ppt, depending upon the repetition rate and integration time-compared with single ppt detection limits for CEA-TOFMS. Isotope-ratio precision is shot-noise limited at approximately 0.2% relative-standard deviation (RSD) for both CEA- and CMA-TOFMS at a 10 kHz repetition rate and an integration time of 3-5 min. When the repetition rate is increased to 43.5 kHz for CMA, the shot-noise limited, zoom-mode isotope-ratio precision is improved to 0.09% RSD for the same integration time.

Analytical approaches for size and mass analysis of large protein assemblies

Analysis of the size and mass of nanoparticles, whether they are natural biomacromolecular or synthetic supramolecular assemblies, is an important step in the characterization of such molecular species. In recent years, electrospray ionization (ESI) has emerged as a technology through which particles with masses up to 100 MDa can be ionized and transferred into the gas phase, preparing them for accurate mass analysis. Here we review currently used methodologies, with a clear focus on native mass spectrometry (MS). Additional complementary methodologies are also covered, including ion-mobility analysis, nanomechanical mass sensors, and charge-detection MS. The literature discussed clearly demonstrates the great potential of ESI-based methodologies for the size and mass analysis of nanoparticles, including very large naturally occurring protein assemblies. The analytical approaches discussed are powerful tools in not only structural biology, but also nanotechnology.

Sports doping: emerging designer and therapeutic β2-agonists

Beta2-adrenergic agonists, or β2-agonists, are considered essential bronchodilator drugs in the treatment of bronchial asthma, both as symptom-relievers and, in combination with inhaled corticosteroids, as disease-controllers. The use of β2-agonists is prohibited in sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) due to claimed anabolic effects, and also, is prohibited as growth promoters in cattle fattening in the European Union. This paper reviews the last seven-year (2006-2012) literature concerning the development of novel β2-agonists molecules either by modifying the molecule of known β2-agonists or by introducing moieties producing indole-, adamantyl- or phenyl urea derivatives. New emerging β2-agonists molecules for future therapeutic use are also presented, intending to emphasize their potential use for doping purposes or as growth promoters in the near future.