Validation of a small-animal PET simulation using GAMOS: a GEANT4-based framework
Abstract
Monte Carlo-based modelling is a powerful tool to help in the design and optimization of positron emission tomography (PET) systems. The performance of these systems depends on several parameters, such as detector physical characteristics, shielding or electronics, whose effects can be studied on the basis of realistic simulated data. The aim of this paper is to validate a comprehensive study of the Raytest ClearPET small-animal PET scanner using a new Monte Carlo simulation platform which has been developed at CIEMAT (Madrid, Spain), called GAMOS (GEANT4-based Architecture for Medicine-Oriented Simulations). This toolkit, based on the GEANT4 code, was originally designed to cover multiple applications in the field of medical physics from radiotherapy to nuclear medicine, but has since been applied by some of its users in other fields of physics, such as neutron shielding, space physics, high energy physics, etc. Our simulation model includes the relevant characteristics of the ClearPET system, namely, the double layer of scintillator crystals in phoswich configuration, the rotating gantry, the presence of intrinsic radioactivity in the crystals or the storage of single events for an off-line coincidence sorting. Simulated results are contrasted with experimental acquisitions including studies of spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction and count rates in accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 4-2008 protocol. Spatial resolution…
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