NEMA characterization of the SAFIR prototype PET insert

Abstract Background The SAFIR prototype insert is a preclinical Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner built to acquire dynamic images simultaneously with a 7 T Bruker Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. The insert is designed to perform with an excellent coincidence resolving time of 194 ps Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) and an energy resolution of 13.8% FWHM. These properties enable it to acquire precise quantitative images at activities as high as 500 MBq suitable for studying fast biological processes within short time frames (< 5 s). In this study, the performance of the SAFIR prototype insert is evaluated according to the NEMA NU 4-2008 standard while the insert is inside the MRI without acquiring MRI data. Results Applying an energy window of 391–601 keV and a coincidence time window of 500 ps the following results are achieved. The average spatial resolution at 5 mm radial offset is 2.6 mm FWHM when using the Filtered Backprojection 3D Reprojection (FBP3DRP) reconstruction method, improving to 1.2 mm when using the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (MLEM) method. The peak sensitivity at the center of the scanner is 1.06%. The Noise Equivalent count Rate (NECR) is 799 kcps at the highest measured activity of 537 MBq for the mouse phantom and 121 kcps at the highest measured activity of 624 MBq for the rat phantom. The NECR peak is not yet reached for any of the measurements. The scatter fractions are 10.9% and 17.8% for the mouse and rat phantoms, respectively. The uniform region of the image quality phantom has a 3.0% STD, with a 4.6% deviation from the expected number of counts per voxel. The spill-over ratios for the water and air chambers are 0.18 and 0.17, respectively. Conclusions The results satisfy all the requirements initially considered for the insert, proving that the SAFIR prototype insert can obtain dynamic images of small rodents at high activities ( $$\sim$$ ∼ 500 MBq) with a high sensitivity and an excellent count-rate performance.