Improvement of the spatial resolution of the MicroPET R4 scanner by wobbling the bed

The MicroPET R4 scanner was designed for imaging small rodents such as mice and rats. In many cases the spatial resolution of this system is not sufficient for resolving structures of interest. In order to improve the spatial resolution of the MicroPET R4 through improved spatial sampling, the authors have implemented a variable radius eccentric motion, commonly referred to as wobbling, which is applied to the animal bed during scanning. The wobble motion is incorporated into the sinograms using modified histogramming software, capable of reading the bed wobble position from the list-mode data. The histogramming software corrects the data for the dwell time, apparent crystal location, and crystal-pair efficiency and applies a resolution matching filter. The data acquisition, reconstruction, and image display programs provided from the manufacturer required no modifications. For all studies a wobble period of 8 s was used. The optimal wobble radius was found to be 1.50 mm. The wobbled bed acquisition technique was tested by scanning a resolution phantom and a rat. Images from both studies acquired when using the wobble motion showed an improved spatial resolution when compared with comparable images acquired without the wobble motion. The bed wobbling mechanism can be added to any MicroPET system without major changes and without compromising any imaging modes. Implementing the wobble mechanism may represent a cost-effective method to upgrade the spatial resolution of a MicroPET when compared to the purchase of a newer generation system. (C) 2008 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.