Method for optimizing side shielding in positron-emission tomographs and for comparing detector materials

This report presents analytical formulas for the image-forming and background event rates seen by circular positron-emission tomographs with parallel side shielding. These formulas include deadtime losses, detector efficiency, coincidence resolving time, amount of activity, patient port diameter, shielding gap, and shielding depth. A figure of merit, defined in terms of these quantities, describes the signal-to-noise ratio in the reconstructed image of a 20-cm cylinder of water with uniformly dispersed activity. Results are presented for the scintillators NaI(TI), bismuth germanate (BGO), CsF, and plastic; and for Ge(Li) and wire chambers with converters. In these examples, BGO provided the best signal-to-noise for activity levels below 1000 μCi per cm, and CsF had the advantage for higher activity levels