Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a widely used clinical imaging modality with multiple applications such as diagnosis of coronary artery disease, management of Parkinson’s disease, and SPECT-based dosimetry. However, SPECT systems have low resolution and have low photon-sensitivity. Thus, there is an important need for computational methods to extract information from measurements measured by SPECT systems. We are making multiple advances in this area.

Conventional imaging systems typically bin the data into images and thus suffer from binning-related losses. However, recent advances in technology are enabling a new class of imaging systems that using optimal statistical techniques, compute and store the measured attributes of each detected photon, such as position of interaction of the photon with the detector and the energy of the detected photon. These systems can extract the maximum possible information from image data, and could potentially redefine the fundamental limits on task performance. We have also shown that list-mode processing can provide improved quantification performance compared to conventional systems.

References:

  • Z. Yu, M. A. Rahman, R. Laforest, T. H. Schindler, A.  K. Jha. “A physics and learning-based transmission-less attenuation compensation method for SPECT” (link to proceedings and presentation)
  • M. A. Rahman, A. K. Jha, “Task-based assessment of binned and list-mode SPECT systems” (link to proceedings and presentation)
  • M. A. Rahman, Y. Zhu, E. Clarkson, M. Kupinski, E. Frey, A. K. Jha, “Fisher information analysis of list-mode SPECT emission data for joint estimation of activity and attenuation distribution”, Inverse Problems 2020 (special issue on Modern Challenges in Imaging) (link)
  • M. A. Rahman, R. Laforest, A. K. Jha, “A list-mode OSEM-based attenuation and scatter compensation method for SPECT”, IEEE Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2020 (link)
  • Z. Yu, M. A. Rahman, A. K. Jha, “A Transmission-less Attenuation Compensation Method for Brain SPECT Imaging”, IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2020
  • A. K. Jha, H. H. Barrett, E. Frey, E. Clarkson, L. Caucci, M. A. Kupinski, “Singular value decomposition for photon-processing nuclear imaging systems and applications for reconstruction and computing null functions”, Phys. Med. Biol., 60, 7359-7385, 2015 (link)
  • A. K. Jha, E. Frey, “Estimating ROI activity concentration with photon-processing and photon-counting SPECT systems”, SPIE Med. Imag. Conf. 2015 (link)
  • A. K. Jha, E. Clarkson, M. A. Kupinski, H. H. Barrett. “Joint reconstruction of activity and attenuation map using LM SPECT emission data”, Proc. SPIE 8668 Med. Imag., 86681W, 2013 (link)
  • V. Bora, H. H. Barrett, A. K. Jha, E. Clarkson, “Impact of Fano factor on position and energy estimation in scintillation detectors”, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 99, pp. 11-15, 2015 link)