Performance evaluation of the eXplore speCZT preclinical imaging system

Objective The eXplore speCZT is a recently introduced cadmium zinc telluride-based preclinical SPECT system that has a stationary detector design with interchangeable rotating collimators. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of the eXplore speCZT using 99m Tc-sources. In particular, the image quality was assessed using the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NU-4 image quality phantom as well as an in vivo mouse. Methods Energy resolution, sensitivity and spatial resolution were measured using 99m Tc sources. Image quality was assessed using NU-4 image quality phantom. The measurements were performed for 4 available collimators: (1) mouse 7-pinhole collimator (mouse PH); (2) mouse 8-slit collimator (mouse SL); (3) rat 5-pinhole collimator (rat PH); and (4) rat 5-slit collimator (rat SL). Furthermore, a mouse bone imaging study was performed using mouse PH and mouse SL. Results The system achieved the energy resolution of 5.5 % in full-width at half maximum (FWHM) at 140 keV using a 99m Tc source. Without resolution recovery function, the system provided a near millimeter transaxial and axial spatial resolution using mouse PH. Mouse SL and rat SL provided reasonably good transaxial (1.79–2.00 mm in FWHM), but much worse axial resolutions (4.55–4.96 mm in FWHM). The use of resolution recovery significantly improved spatial resolution by in average 31 ± 3 or 35 ± 4 % in FWHM or full-width at tenth maximum, respectively. In particular, a sub-millimeter resolution of 0.71 mm in FWHM was achieved in either transaxial or axial direction with mouse PH. Using NU-4 phantom, the uniformity of slit collimators as expressed as percentage standard deviation was generally better than that of pinhole collimators. The use of resolution recovery substantially improved uniformity for all the collimators tested, but caused some overestimation in recovery coefficient. Reconstruction settings such as iteration or subset number significantly affected image quality measures. Finally, bone images of acceptable quality were obtained in in vivo mouse using mouse PH with resolution recovery. Conclusions The overall performance shows that the eXplore speCZT system is suitable for preclinical imaging-based research using small-animals.