An OpenPET scanner with bridged detectors to compensate for incomplete data

We are developing an open-type PET ‘OpenPET’ geometry. One possible geometry is a dual-ring OpenPET, which consists of two detector rings separated by a gap for entrance of a radiotherapy beam or for inserting other modalities. In our previous simulations and experiments the OpenPET imaging geometry was shown to be feasible by applying iterative reconstruction methods. However, the gap violates Orlov’s completeness condition for accurate tomographic reconstruction. In this study, we propose a solution for the incompleteness problem by adding bridge detectors to fill in parts of the gaps of the OpenPET geometry; we call this bridged OpenPET. Although this geometry was considered previously, its analytical property was not discussed. Therefore, we applied the direct Fourier method as an analytical reconstruction method to the bridged OpenPET, dual-ring OpenPET and conventional cylindrical PET for comparison. Numerical simulations showed that the additional bridge detectors compensate for the incompleteness of the OpenPET by covering one direction perpendicular to the transaxial slices of the imaging subjects.