Abstract
In this study, we investigated sensitivity and the reconstructed spatial resolution and image quality of a prototype small animal positron emission tomography (PET) scanner designed specifically for imaging of excised murine tissue and organs. We aimed to demonstrate that a cost-effective silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array based design with thin crystals (2 mm) to minimize depth of interaction errors might be able to achieve sub-millimeter resolution. It was hypothesized that the substantial decrease in sensitivity associated with the thin crystals could be compensated for with increased solid angle detection, longer acquisitions, higher activity and wider acceptance energy windows (due to minimal scatter from excised organs).
