Monte Carlo simulation of breast tumor imaging properties with compact, discrete gamma cameras

Describes Monte Carlo simulation results for breast tumor imaging using a compact, discrete gamma camera. The simulations were designed to analyze and optimize camera design, particularly collimator configuration and detector pixel size. Simulated planar images of 5-15 mm diameter tumors in a phantom patient (including a breast, torso, and heart) were generated for imaging distances of 5-55 mm, pixel sizes of 2/spl times/2-4/spl times/4 mm/sup 2/, and hexagonal and square hole collimators with sensitivities from 4000 to 16,000 counts/mCi/sec. Other factors considered included T/B (tumor-to-background tissue uptake ratio) and detector energy resolution. Image properties were quantified by computing the observed tumor FWHM (full-width at half-maximum) and S/N (sum of detected tumor events divided by the statistical noise). Results suggest that hexagonal and square hole collimators perform comparably, that higher sensitivity collimators provide higher tumor S/N with little increase in the observed tumor FWHM, that smaller pixels only slightly improve tumor FWHM and S/N, and that improved detector energy resolution has little impact on either the observed tumor FWHM or the observed tumor S/N.