System and method for image reconstruction in positron emission tomography
11686867 · 2023-06-27
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
G01T1/2985
PHYSICS
G16H50/20
PHYSICS
International classification
G01T1/29
PHYSICS
A61B6/00
HUMAN NECESSITIES
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a positron emission tomography (PET) system and an image reconstruction method thereof. The PET system may include a plurality of annular detector units arranged along an axial direction. Each of the detector units may generate a plurality of single event counts. The PET system may further include a plurality of coincidence logic circuits connected to one or more of the detector units. The coincidence logic circuits may be configured to count coincidence events. Single event data generated by each of the detector units may be transmitted to the corresponding coincidence logic circuit. The plurality of coincidence logic circuits may synchronically generate coincidence counts relating to the plurality of detector units.
Claims
1. A positron emission tomography (PET) system, comprising: a plurality of detector units, including a first detector unit and a second detector unit, arranged along an axial direction, wherein each of the plurality of detector units includes at least two slices of detectors arranged along the axial direction, and the first detector unit matches the second detector unit according to a pairing rule, the pairing rule including: an Nth detector unit only matches a detector unit associated with a number that is subsequent to N, wherein the plurality of detector units are numbered in a sequential order and N is less than a total number of the plurality of detector units; and one or more coincidence logic circuits, each of which is operably connected to at least one of the plurality of detector units, wherein at least one of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is configured to detect intra-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit and cross-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit and the second detector unit.
2. The PET system of claim 1, wherein single event data generated by the plurality of detector units is evenly distributed to each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits for coincidence counting.
3. The PET system of claim 1, wherein single event data generated by the plurality of detector units is unevenly distributed to each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits for coincidence counting.
4. The PET system of claim 1, wherein at least part of the one or more coincidence logic circuits perform coincidence counting for single event data from a same detector unit.
5. The PET system of claim 1, wherein at least part of the one or more coincidence logic circuits perform coincidence counting for single event data from different detector units.
6. The PET system of claim 1, wherein the number of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is equal to the number of the plurality of detector units in the PET system.
7. The PET system of claim 6, wherein each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is provided on a corresponding detector unit.
8. The PET system of claim 1, wherein the number of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is smaller than the number of the plurality of detector units in the PET system.
9. The PET system of claim 1, further comprising: one or more first processors, wherein each of the one or more first processors is connected to one or more of the one or more coincidence logic circuits, wherein coincidence counts generated by each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits are transmitted to each of the one or more first processors, and wherein the one or more first processors synchronically perform backward projection of the coincidence counts.
10. The PET system of claim 9, wherein the coincidence counts generated by each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits are transmitted to each of the one or more first processors randomly.
11. The PET system of claim 9, further comprising: a second processor, wherein the second processor is connected to the one or more first processors, wherein a result of backward projection generated by each of the one or more first processors is transmitted to the second processor, wherein the second processor superimposes the results of backward projection, wherein the PET system performs forward projection based on the superimposed result of backward projection.
12. The PET system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detector units are distributed into one or more groups.
13. The PET system of claim 12, wherein one of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is operably coupled to two detector units of a same group, and is configured to detect cross-unit coincidence events acquired by the two detector units.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detector units are configured to implement an axial field of view within a range from 0.5 to 2 meters.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detector units further includes a third detector unit that is not adjacent to the first detector unit, wherein the first detector unit matches the third detector unit, and the at least one of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is further configured to detect cross-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit and the third detector unit.
16. A method for image reconstruction in a PET system, comprising: generating, by each of a plurality of detector units arranged along an axial direction, a plurality of single event counts, wherein the plurality of detector units include a first detector unit and a second detector unit, wherein each of the plurality of detector units includes at least two slices of detectors arranged along the axial direction, and the first detector unit matches the second detector unit according to a pairing rule, the pairing rule including: an Nth detector unit only matches a detector unit associated with a number that is subsequent to N, wherein the plurality of detector units are numbered in a sequential order and N is less than a total number of the plurality of detector units; transmitting single event data generated by each of the detector units to one or more coincidence logic circuits, wherein each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits is operably connected to one or more of the detector units; and synchronically generating coincidence counts relating to the plurality of detector units, wherein the coincidence counts include intra-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit and cross-unit coincidence event acquired by the first detector unit and the second detector unit.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the single event data generated by the plurality of detector units is evenly distributed to each of the one or more coincidence logic circuits for coincidence counting.
18. A positron emission tomography (PET) system, comprising: a plurality of detector units arranged along an axial direction, wherein the detector units are configured to count single events, wherein each of the plurality of detector units includes at least two slices of detectors arranged along the axial direction, and the plurality of detector units include a first detector unit and a second detector unit, the first detector unit matching the second detector unit according to a pairing rule, the pairing rule including: an Nth detector unit only matches a detector unit associated with a number that is subsequent to N, wherein the plurality of detector units are numbered in a sequential order and N is less than a total number of the plurality of detector units; one or more coincidence logic circuits each of which is operably connected to one or more of the detector units, wherein the one or more coincidence logic circuits are configured to count coincidence events, the coincidence events including intra-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit, and cross-unit coincidence events acquired by the first detector unit and the second detector unit; and a computing device, the computing device comprising one or more computing nodes, wherein the computing device is configured to receive coincidence event counts randomly and reconstruct an image.
19. The PET system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of detector units include K annular detector units, wherein the K annular detector units comprise a plurality of detector pairs, each detector pair including one or two detector units, wherein the one or more coincidence logic circuits are configured to count coincidence events acquired by the detector pairs, wherein K is the total number of the plurality of detector units and K is a natural number.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein K(K+1)/2 detector pairs or fewer than K(K+1)/2 detector pairs are selected from the plurality of detector pairs, and the one or more coincidence logic circuits are configured to count coincidence events acquired by the selected detector pairs.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Features and performance of the present disclosure are described in accordance with the embodiments below and with reference to the drawings.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(14) In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of example in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways different from the way described herein, and is not limited to specific embodiments described below.
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(16) Referring
(17) In some embodiments, the PET system may include a plurality of detector units 25 arranged along the axial direction. Each of the detector units may generate a plurality of single event counts. The detector unit 25 may include a detecting component 26 and a signal processing circuit (not shown in the figures). In the detector unit 25, a plurality of detecting elements 26 may be arranged in the following way: the detecting component 26 is arranged along a circumferential direction and an axial direction of the detector unit 25.
(18) The detecting component 26 may include, for example, a scintillation crystal and a photomultiplier. The scintillation crystal may receive a pair of annihilation γ rays of a radioactive isotope in the target body to produce visible light. Each of the scintillation crystals may be arranged so that a direction along a long axis of the scintillation crystal may be approximately consistent with a radial direction of the detector unit. The photomultiplier may be arranged on one end of the scintillation crystal that is related to the radial direction. The radial direction is orthogonal to a central axis. Typically, a plurality of scintillation crystals and a plurality of photomultipliers of the detector unit may be arranged in two concentric cylinders. The light produced by the scintillation crystal may travel toward the photomultiplier in the scintillation crystal. The photomultiplier may generate a pulse electrical signal corresponding to the amount of the light. The generated electrical signal may be provided to one or more signal processing circuits 28 shown in
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(20) The coincidence logic circuit 29 may repeatedly determine single event data that is related to two single events in a pair in a predetermined time period from repeated supply of single event data. In some embodiments, the predetermined time period may be from 6 nanoseconds to 18 nanoseconds. The pair of single events may be determined to be a pair of annihilation γ rays generated from the same annihilation point. The pair of single events may generally be referred to as a coincidence event. A line connecting a pair of detecting components which may detect the pair of annihilation γ rays is called as a line of response (LOR). In this way, the coincidence logic circuit may count coincidence events for each LOR.
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(22) Each detector unit 61 may generate a plurality of single event counts. In the present disclosure, the PET system with 8 detector units is illustrated as an example. Each detector unit is represented by p.sub.k, wherein k=1, 2 . . . 8. The PET system is represented by P. A single event count (or signal) acquired by p.sub.k is represented by S.sub.k. The PET system may also include a plurality of coincidence logic circuits 62. Assume that there are 8 coincidence logic circuits and each of the coincidence logic circuits is represented by C.sub.i, wherein i=1, 2, . . . , 8. Each of the coincidence logic circuits 62 may be independently arranged on one detector unit 61. Each of the coincidence logic circuits 62 may connect to one or more corresponding detector units 61. The single event data generated by each of the detector units 61 may be transmitted to the corresponding coincidence logic circuit 62. The plurality of coincidence logical circuits 62 may be configured to perform coincidence counting for the single event data generated by the detector unit(s) 61. For example, when the coincidence logic circuit C.sub.1 requires to use the single event data of detector unit p.sub.1, p.sub.2, p.sub.3, and/or p.sub.4, C.sub.1 may connect these detector units. Similarly, the coincidence logic circuits C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . , or C.sub.8 may connect to any one or more of the detector units p.sub.1, p.sub.2, p.sub.3, . . . , or p.sub.8. In this way, the single event signal S.sub.k acquired by each detector unit p.sub.K may be transmitted to all of the coincidence logic circuits that may be related to p.sub.K through a data bus. The plurality of coincidence logic circuits may synchronically generate the coincidence counts of the plurality of detector units.
(23) The plurality of coincidence logic circuits 62, connected to one or more corresponding detector units 61, may be configured to count the coincidence events. The coincidence events may include coincidence events acquired by a single detector unit 61 or two detector units 61 in accordance with a pairing rule. For example, in
(24) For the PET system which has been expanded along the axial direction, whether the PET system has high sensitivity performance may mainly depend on whether the PET system may effectively acquire coincidence counts c.sub.(k1, k2), wherein k1≠k2. The existing electronic logic may not transmit all of the S.sub.k to a coincidence logic circuit to generate a coincidence count c.sub.(k1, k2), because the front-end electronics may get a dead-time effect and be palsied because of a high single event counting rate. Therefore, the general PET system may not work in normal clinical scanning. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a plurality of coincidence logic circuits 62 may synchronically receive single event data of the detector units 61 and synchronically generate a plurality of coincidence counts of the detector units 61. Therefore, the problem of receiving and measuring massive coincidence signals may be solved.
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(26) In accordance with the pairing rule, the coincidence logic circuit C1 may be configured to: perform a coincidence count for two single events from the same detector unit p1; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p2, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p3, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p4, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p5, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p6, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p7, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p1 and the detector unit p8, respectively; and generate coincidence counts c.sub.(1, 1), c.sub.(1, 2), c.sub.(1, 3), c.sub.(1, 4), c.sub.(1, 5), c.sub.(1, 6), c.sub.(1, 7), and c.sub.(1, 8). The coincidence logic circuit C2 may be configured to: perform a coincidence count for two single events from the same detector unit p2; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p3, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p4, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p5, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p6, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p7, respectively; perform a coincidence count for two single events that are from the detector unit p2 and the detector unit p8, respectively; and generate coincidence counts c.sub.(2, 2), c.sub.(2, 3), c.sub.(2, 4), c.sub.(2, 5), c.sub.(2, 6), c.sub.(2, 7), and c.sub.(2, 8). Similarly, the coincidence logic circuit C3 may be configured to generate coincidence counts c.sub.(3, 3), c.sub.(3, 4), . . . , c.sub.(3, 8); . . . , the coincidence logic circuit C8 may be configured to generate a coincidence count c.sub.(8, 8). In other words, according to a tag of the single event signal S.sub.k, each S.sub.k may only do coincidence with S.sub.k that is generated by p.sub.k or S.sub.k+1 that is generated by p.sub.k+1. Therefore, the coincidence counts of the system P may be classified according to the two p.sub.k from which the single events are derived. c.sub.(1, 1), c.sub.(2, 2), . . . , c.sub.(8, 8) are the coincidence counts detected by the single PET detector unit p.sub.k, while other c.sub.(k1, k2), wherein k1/k2, are the coincidence counts between the single event signal S.sub.k1 generated by the detector unit p.sub.k1 and the single event signal S.sub.k2 generated by the detector unit p.sub.k2. For the system P with K=8 detector units, as assignments of the coincidence logic task shown in
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(28) In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for image reconstruction in the PET system is provided. The method may include: generating, by each of a plurality of detector units arranged along an axial direction, a plurality of single event counts; transmitting single event data generated by each of the detector units to one or more coincidence logic circuits, wherein the plurality of coincidence logic circuits are connected to one or more detector units; and synchronically generating coincidence counts relating to the one or more detector units.
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(31) In the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, the problems of expanding the axial scanning FOV, the high counting rate of the PET detector unit, and the receiving of massive coincidence signals may be solved by using one or more distributed coincidence logic circuits. The PET system with expanded axial scanning FOV may achieve high sensitivity performance. In addition, in the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, the system solves the problem of the rapid reconstruction of the massive coincidence signals, so that the PET system with the expanded axial scanning FOV may have the capability of instant and high-definition imaging for a full body.
(32) Though the present disclosure includes some embodiments, it may be rather apparent to those skilled in the art that the above embodiments is intended to be presented by way of example only, and various alterations and modifications may occur without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. These alterations and modifications to the embodiments within the spirit are intended to be suggested by the claims of the present disclosure.