Ultra low dose CT for attenuation correction in PET/CT

James G. Colsher, Jiang Hsieh, Jean Baptiste Thibault, Albert Lonn, Tinsu Pan, Stephen J. Lokitz, Timothy G. Turkington

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we present an ultra low-dose CT acquisition and reconstruction technique that provides sufficient image quality for PET attenuation correction while keeping the CT dose to a minimum. With PET/CT, CT is used instead of radioactive transmission sources to acquire data for attenuation correction. While this results in higher radiation dose to the patient, the CT images are also viewed with the PET images and provide an anatomical reference to aid the physician in localizing tumors. We found that using low tube voltage and current results in severe shading and CT number shifts and causes artifacts and quantitative errors in PET images. By adding a simple low pass filter to CT reconstruction prior to the logarithmic step, shading and CT number shifts are reduced substantially. The resulting CT number accuracy and uniformity of the images with the proposed approach makes them acceptable for PET attenuation correction.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, NSS/MIC 2008
Pages5506-5511
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008
Event2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, NSS/MIC 2008 - Dresden, Germany
Duration: Oct 19 2008Oct 25 2008

Publication series

NameIEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record
ISSN (Print)1095-7863

Other

Other2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, NSS/MIC 2008
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityDresden
Period10/19/0810/25/08

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiation
  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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