Ricerc@Sapienza

Introduction: Molecular, functional, and structural neuroimaging biomarkers are largely used to study neurodegenerative diseases, but their benefits to patients/science might be greatly enhanced by improving standardization and cross-validation. In this EU Joint Programme-Neurodegenerative Diseases Research–funded project, we surveyed the neuroimaging community to assess perceived barriers in multicentric neuroimaging harmonization and actions to overcome them.

Abstract: GaGG:Ce scintillation crystal is very useful for nuclear imaging purposes, thanks to its several advantages (high density, short decay time, high light yield and good energy resolution, no self-activity, no hygroscopic). However, only the recent improvements in the growth processes make it available with large size, in order to use it in monolithic configuration. The main drawbacks of pixelated crystals, as non-uniform response, high production costs and optical light loss, could be therefore overcome.

Looking at the latest growth in the improvement of detectors for Nuclear Medicine imaging (i.e. PET and SPECT devices), the development and the characterization of new scintillation materials acquire an even important role. In this contest, a large number of new scintillation crystals have became available.

Purpose: This study investigates a novel gamma tomosynthesis (GT) method based on a variable tilt-angle, parallel-hole collimator (VAPHC) which, mounting to a conventional gamma, is able to perform high-resolution three-dimensional imaging. Methods: The VAPHC has the remarkable feature to be modular, consisting of independent collimation elements able to tilt according to variable angles [?45° to +45°].

A proper choice of the scintillation crystal can considerably improve the detector performance in nuclear medicine imaging. In this study two promising crystals, CRY018 and CRY019, are characterized in terms of spectrometric and imaging capabilities. Thanks to the same irradiation conditions, it has been possible to compare their performance for a wide range of energies (30 keV to 662 keV) .