A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Performance Evaluation of a High-Sensitivity Preclinical PET/CT Scanner
Authors: Cheng, Yu; Hu, Tianjiao; Li, Ximeng; Li, Ang; Zeng, Lingchang; Zhang, Shiye; Ling, Yiqing; Hua, Yuexuan; Huang, Bin; Li, Yiding; Li, Bingxuan; Zhang, Bo; Fang, Lei; Wan, Lin; Liu, Qiegen; Knuuti, Juhani; Xie, Qingguo; Zhou, Xiaoyun
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Publication year: 2026
Journal: IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences
ISSN: 2469-7311
eISSN: 2469-7303
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TRPMS.2026.3689294
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: No Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1109/trpms.2026.3689294
The Trans-PET Explorist 180 Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) (E180) represents the most recent generation of the RAYCAN preclinical Trans-PET series, incorporating multi voltage threshold (MVT) readout technology. It features a transaxial field of view (FOV) of 160 mm and an axial FOV of 200 mm. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the E180 system according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU4-2008 standards, alongside multi-phantom and animal studies to assess its performance in high-throughput scenarios. Employing 2D-filtered back projection (FBP) reconstruction, the system achieved a transaxial full width at half maximum (FWHM) resolution of (1.69 ± 0.12) mm at the center of the FOV. Derenzo phantom imaging resolved 1.20 mm size features. The peak absolute sensitivity was (7.6 ± 0.16)% within a 350 to 650 keV energy window. Scatter fractions were measured at (16 ± 1.3)%, (28 ± 1.8)%, and (47.0 ± 2.6)%, while peak noise equivalent count rates (NECRs) achieved (1540± 21) kcps at (129±3) MBq, (727±17) kcps at (94±4) MBq, and (100± 11) kcps at (114 ± 2) MBq for mouse-, rat-, and monkey-like phantoms, respectively. In the image quality phantom study, recovery coefficients (RCs) for the 1 mm to 5 mm rods ranged from (11.0±1.7)% to (113.8±2.8)%, with image uniformity of (7.0 ± 0.4)% and spill-over ratios (SORs) of (5.1 ± 1.3)% and (4.2 ± 0.9)% for the water- and air-filled regions, respectively. Dynamic imaging in both individual and multiple mice enabled clear visualization of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake kinetics within major organs, such as the brain and myocardium. Concurrent imaging of two and four image quality phantoms, alongside four mice, demonstrated the system's capability for simultaneous multi-target imaging. These features render the E180 exceptionally suitable for high-throughput dynamic imaging of experimental animals.
Keywords:
count rate performance, MVT, Preclinical PET, Trans-PET Explorist 180
Funding information in the publication:
This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 62201193 and 61927801, and in part by the Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Project under Grant No. 2024EHA023 “Research on Blood Perfusion Imaging Based on All-Digital PET Technology”, and also in part by the start-up fund of USTC “Research on total solid Angle PET-EPR multimodal intelligent imaging”.
