Investigating the fundamental significance of high sensitivity for lesion detection in PET imaging

The need for high-sensitivity small-animal PET scanners has been recognized in terms of improving the count rates per unit time per unit radioactivity. In this view, it is considered possible to compensate for a loss in sensitivity by using long scan time or employing high radioactivity. In this work, we show that for a scanner having a certain sensitivity there are limits to its ability in detecting small and low-contrast lesions that cannot be overcome by increasing the scan time and the amount of radioactivity. Therefore, having high sensitivity in PET imaging is of fundamental significance in terms of lesion-detection task.