Clinical count rate performance of an LSO PET/CT scanner utilizing a new front-end electronics architecture with sub-nanosecond intrinsic timing resolution

A new front-end electronics architecture with sub-nanosecond intrinsic timing resolution has recently been incorporated into a 16 slice LSO PET/CT scanner for imaging applications in oncology. The new electronics are designed to work optimally with the lutetium orthosilicate (LSO) scintillator. Clinical performance of the LSO PET/CT is examined before and after upgrading to the new PICO 3D electronics, and compared with results using the NEMA NU 2 standard for evaluating scanner performance. Improved noise-equivalent count rates are seen in clinical studies, and reduced scatter fractions are observed, consistent with the increased lower-level energy threshold used to reject scatter events in the upgraded configuration. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.