Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba; Annick Kouame Koutouan; Alessia Giuliano; Zié Traoré; Antonio Traino

doi:doi:10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba, Annick Kouame Koutouan, Alessia Giuliano, Zié Traoré, Antonio Traino

Published in Radiation Science and Technology (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 5 August 2023 Accepted: 23 August 2023 Published: 6 September 2023

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Abstract

Quantitative analyses in Nuclear Medicine are essential, hence growing interest in algorithms that make nuclear medical data more reliable and accurate. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE) is the most important factor of loss of quantification in Nuclear Medicine, particularly for evaluation in regions of interest (ROIs) smaller than the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the imaging system. This study is focused on applying a post-reconstruction correction algorithm of PVE at regional level in SPECT imaging. After a quantitative evaluation of the sigma of the PSF of the SPECT imaging system, several experimental situations have been studied using the standard IEC NEMA Body phantom, which contains six spherical inserts that mimic lesions with diameters of 10 mm, 13 mm, 17 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 37 mm. They were filled with ^99mTc mixed with distilled water using a sphere-to-background activity concentration ratio of 10: 1. The experimental measurements were carried out with two activity concentrations of ^99mTc: 170.2 KBq/mL and 451.0 KBq/mL. The PVE correction approach has been employed in this paper to correct PVE on spherical volumes of interest (VOIs) of different sizes and to evaluate the recovery of quantitative data. Images were reconstructed using Ordered-Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm, applying scatter and attenuation corrections of photons, both with and without the application of the Butterworth filter. In the end, a post-reconstruction algorithm implemented with MATLAB was used. The mean difference rate between the corrected image and the raw image of the medium-sized spheres (13mm, 17mm, and 22mm) gives an improvement rate of about 70% of the PVE correction for unfiltered images at 170.2 KBq/mL. This work showed that the application of the PVE correction method recovers lost activity concentration with accuracy.

Published in	Radiation Science and Technology (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
Page(s)	26-35
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Partial Volume Effect, Recovery, Point Spread Function, Post-Reconstruction Correction Algorithm, SPECT Imaging

References

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[5]	Di Martino, F.; Barca, P.; Bortoli, E.; Giuliano, A.; Volterrani, D. Correction for the Partial Volume Effects (PVE) in Nuclear Medicine Imaging: A Post-Reconstruction Analytic Method. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 6460. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app11146460
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[15]	Mpumelelo N. Determination of Optimum Planar Imaging Parameters for Small Structures with Diameters Less Than the Resolution of the Gamma Camera. Iran J Med Phys 2017; 14: 219-228. 10.22038/ijmp.2017.24559.1246.
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Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba, Annick Kouame Koutouan, Alessia Giuliano, Zié Traoré, Antonio Traino. (2023). Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiation Science and Technology, 9(3), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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ACS Style

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba; Annick Kouame Koutouan; Alessia Giuliano; Zié Traoré; Antonio Traino. Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiat. Sci. Technol. 2023, 9(3), 26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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AMA Style

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba, Annick Kouame Koutouan, Alessia Giuliano, Zié Traoré, Antonio Traino. Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiat Sci Technol. 2023;9(3):26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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@article{10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11,
  author = {Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba and Annick Kouame Koutouan and Alessia Giuliano and Zié Traoré and Antonio Traino},
  title = {Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging},
  journal = {Radiation Science and Technology},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {26-35},
  doi = {10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rst.20230903.11},
  abstract = {Quantitative analyses in Nuclear Medicine are essential, hence growing interest in algorithms that make nuclear medical data more reliable and accurate. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE) is the most important factor of loss of quantification in Nuclear Medicine, particularly for evaluation in regions of interest (ROIs) smaller than the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the imaging system. This study is focused on applying a post-reconstruction correction algorithm of PVE at regional level in SPECT imaging. After a quantitative evaluation of the sigma of the PSF of the SPECT imaging system, several experimental situations have been studied using the standard IEC NEMA Body phantom, which contains six spherical inserts that mimic lesions with diameters of 10 mm, 13 mm, 17 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 37 mm. They were filled with 99mTc mixed with distilled water using a sphere-to-background activity concentration ratio of 10: 1. The experimental measurements were carried out with two activity concentrations of 99mTc: 170.2 KBq/mL and 451.0 KBq/mL. The PVE correction approach has been employed in this paper to correct PVE on spherical volumes of interest (VOIs) of different sizes and to evaluate the recovery of quantitative data. Images were reconstructed using Ordered-Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm, applying scatter and attenuation corrections of photons, both with and without the application of the Butterworth filter. In the end, a post-reconstruction algorithm implemented with MATLAB was used. The mean difference rate between the corrected image and the raw image of the medium-sized spheres (13mm, 17mm, and 22mm) gives an improvement rate of about 70% of the PVE correction for unfiltered images at 170.2 KBq/mL. This work showed that the application of the PVE correction method recovers lost activity concentration with accuracy.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging
AU  - Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba
AU  - Annick Kouame Koutouan
AU  - Alessia Giuliano
AU  - Zié Traoré
AU  - Antonio Traino
Y1  - 2023/09/06
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
T2  - Radiation Science and Technology
JF  - Radiation Science and Technology
JO  - Radiation Science and Technology
SP  - 26
EP  - 35
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5943
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
AB  - Quantitative analyses in Nuclear Medicine are essential, hence growing interest in algorithms that make nuclear medical data more reliable and accurate. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE) is the most important factor of loss of quantification in Nuclear Medicine, particularly for evaluation in regions of interest (ROIs) smaller than the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the imaging system. This study is focused on applying a post-reconstruction correction algorithm of PVE at regional level in SPECT imaging. After a quantitative evaluation of the sigma of the PSF of the SPECT imaging system, several experimental situations have been studied using the standard IEC NEMA Body phantom, which contains six spherical inserts that mimic lesions with diameters of 10 mm, 13 mm, 17 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 37 mm. They were filled with 99mTc mixed with distilled water using a sphere-to-background activity concentration ratio of 10: 1. The experimental measurements were carried out with two activity concentrations of 99mTc: 170.2 KBq/mL and 451.0 KBq/mL. The PVE correction approach has been employed in this paper to correct PVE on spherical volumes of interest (VOIs) of different sizes and to evaluate the recovery of quantitative data. Images were reconstructed using Ordered-Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm, applying scatter and attenuation corrections of photons, both with and without the application of the Butterworth filter. In the end, a post-reconstruction algorithm implemented with MATLAB was used. The mean difference rate between the corrected image and the raw image of the medium-sized spheres (13mm, 17mm, and 22mm) gives an improvement rate of about 70% of the PVE correction for unfiltered images at 170.2 KBq/mL. This work showed that the application of the PVE correction method recovers lost activity concentration with accuracy.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba

Laboratory of Environmental Science and Technology, University Jean Lorougnon Guédé, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
Annick Kouame Koutouan

Laboratory of Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine (LBNM), University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Alessia Giuliano

Unit of Medical Physics, Pisa University Hospital “Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana”, Pisa, Italy
Zié Traoré

Nuclear Physics and Radiation Protection Team, Laboratory of Material Sciences Environment and Solar Energy, University Félix Houphouet-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Antonio Traino

Unit of Medical Physics, Pisa University Hospital “Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana”, Pisa, Italy

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APA Style

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba, Annick Kouame Koutouan, Alessia Giuliano, Zié Traoré, Antonio Traino. (2023). Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiation Science and Technology, 9(3), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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ACS Style

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba; Annick Kouame Koutouan; Alessia Giuliano; Zié Traoré; Antonio Traino. Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiat. Sci. Technol. 2023, 9(3), 26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

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AMA Style

Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba, Annick Kouame Koutouan, Alessia Giuliano, Zié Traoré, Antonio Traino. Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging. Radiat Sci Technol. 2023;9(3):26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11,
  author = {Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba and Annick Kouame Koutouan and Alessia Giuliano and Zié Traoré and Antonio Traino},
  title = {Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging},
  journal = {Radiation Science and Technology},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {26-35},
  doi = {10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rst.20230903.11},
  abstract = {Quantitative analyses in Nuclear Medicine are essential, hence growing interest in algorithms that make nuclear medical data more reliable and accurate. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE) is the most important factor of loss of quantification in Nuclear Medicine, particularly for evaluation in regions of interest (ROIs) smaller than the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the imaging system. This study is focused on applying a post-reconstruction correction algorithm of PVE at regional level in SPECT imaging. After a quantitative evaluation of the sigma of the PSF of the SPECT imaging system, several experimental situations have been studied using the standard IEC NEMA Body phantom, which contains six spherical inserts that mimic lesions with diameters of 10 mm, 13 mm, 17 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 37 mm. They were filled with 99mTc mixed with distilled water using a sphere-to-background activity concentration ratio of 10: 1. The experimental measurements were carried out with two activity concentrations of 99mTc: 170.2 KBq/mL and 451.0 KBq/mL. The PVE correction approach has been employed in this paper to correct PVE on spherical volumes of interest (VOIs) of different sizes and to evaluate the recovery of quantitative data. Images were reconstructed using Ordered-Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm, applying scatter and attenuation corrections of photons, both with and without the application of the Butterworth filter. In the end, a post-reconstruction algorithm implemented with MATLAB was used. The mean difference rate between the corrected image and the raw image of the medium-sized spheres (13mm, 17mm, and 22mm) gives an improvement rate of about 70% of the PVE correction for unfiltered images at 170.2 KBq/mL. This work showed that the application of the PVE correction method recovers lost activity concentration with accuracy.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Partial Volume Effect (PVE) Correction in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging
AU  - Koffi N’guessan Placide Gabin Allangba
AU  - Annick Kouame Koutouan
AU  - Alessia Giuliano
AU  - Zié Traoré
AU  - Antonio Traino
Y1  - 2023/09/06
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
T2  - Radiation Science and Technology
JF  - Radiation Science and Technology
JO  - Radiation Science and Technology
SP  - 26
EP  - 35
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5943
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20230903.11
AB  - Quantitative analyses in Nuclear Medicine are essential, hence growing interest in algorithms that make nuclear medical data more reliable and accurate. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE) is the most important factor of loss of quantification in Nuclear Medicine, particularly for evaluation in regions of interest (ROIs) smaller than the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the imaging system. This study is focused on applying a post-reconstruction correction algorithm of PVE at regional level in SPECT imaging. After a quantitative evaluation of the sigma of the PSF of the SPECT imaging system, several experimental situations have been studied using the standard IEC NEMA Body phantom, which contains six spherical inserts that mimic lesions with diameters of 10 mm, 13 mm, 17 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 37 mm. They were filled with 99mTc mixed with distilled water using a sphere-to-background activity concentration ratio of 10: 1. The experimental measurements were carried out with two activity concentrations of 99mTc: 170.2 KBq/mL and 451.0 KBq/mL. The PVE correction approach has been employed in this paper to correct PVE on spherical volumes of interest (VOIs) of different sizes and to evaluate the recovery of quantitative data. Images were reconstructed using Ordered-Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm, applying scatter and attenuation corrections of photons, both with and without the application of the Butterworth filter. In the end, a post-reconstruction algorithm implemented with MATLAB was used. The mean difference rate between the corrected image and the raw image of the medium-sized spheres (13mm, 17mm, and 22mm) gives an improvement rate of about 70% of the PVE correction for unfiltered images at 170.2 KBq/mL. This work showed that the application of the PVE correction method recovers lost activity concentration with accuracy.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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