Monte Carlo Calculations in Nuclear Medicine. Applications in Diagnostic Imaging

Description

From first principles to current computer applications, this book covers the applications of Monte Carlo calculations in nuclear medicine and critically reviews them from a diagnostic perspective. New chapters in this edition cover codes and applications in pre-clinical PET and SPECT. The book explains how Monte Carlo methods and software packages can be applied to evaluate scatter in SPECT and PET imaging, collimation, and image deterioration. A guide for researchers developing methods to improve image resolution, it also demonstrates how Monte Carlo techniques can be used to simulate complex imaging systems.

Features

• Covers the applications of Monte Carlo calculations in nuclear medicine
• Describes various computer programs and critically reviews their areas of application
• Demonstrates how Monte Carlo techniques can be used to evaluate scatter in SPECT and PET imaging, collimation, and image deterioration
• Includes five new chapters that cover new codes and applications in areas such as pre-clinical PET and SPECT

Reviews

… very interesting and useful … many chapters [contain] … very detailed information about … methodology … helpful discussion of … underlying science and technology … good breadth of applications and approaches … extensive references. I recommend the book for the library shelf and for any researcher using or intending to use the Monte Carlo technique in this rapidly developing field.
—Physics in Medicine & Biology

… unique … brings together the essential elements of the applications of MC techniques to diagnostic nuclear medicine … a resource for the scientist … valuable reference … for the research student ... postgraduate courses could usefully use this as a recommended text. … well edited to provide a uniformity of style and presentation. The result is a book which can be read from cover to cover. … amply illustrated with relevant and helpful diagrams as well as extensive bibliographies … should be on the bookshelves of both researchers and students of radionuclide imaging …
—Peter Jarritt, Scope, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 1999

… a uniquely well-informed offering on the important topic of Monte Carlo modeling in the development and evaluation of diagnostic imaging systems … eminently practical (… a vade mecum) for the medical physicist … a very accessible introduction for those who are just entering the field …
—Donald Herbert, Doody Publishing, December 1998

… successfully achieves its main objectives of describing Monte Carlo methods, outlining Monte Carlo software packages presented in the literature and covering significant applications in SPET and PET research.
—European Journal of Nuclear Medicine

Table of Contents

• Introduction to the Monte Carlo Method
  Michael Ljungberg
• Variance Reduction Techniques
  David R. Haynor and Robert L. Harrison
• Anthropomorphic Phantoms: Early Developments and Current Advances
  I. George Zubal and W. Paul Segars
• The Gamma Camera: Basic Principles
  Sven-Erik Strand, Mikael Peterson, and Magnus Dahlbom
• Positron Emission Tomography
  Kjell Erlandsson and Tomas Ohlsson
• The SimSET Program
  Robert L. Harrison and Tom K. Lewellen
• The SIMIND Monte Carlo Program
  Michael Ljungberg
• GATE: A Toolkit for Monte Carlo Simulations in Tomography and Radiation Therapy
  Irène Buvat, Didier Benoit, and Sébastien Jan
• The MCNP Monte Carlo Program
  Per Munck af Rosenschöld and Erik Larsson
• The EGS Family of Code Systems
  Scott J. Wilderman and Yoshihito Namito
• ASIM: An Analytic PET Simulator
  Brian F. Elston, Claude Comtat, Robert L. Harrison, and Paul Kinahan
• Monte Carlo in SPECT Scatter Correction
  Kenneth F. Koral and Yuni K. Dewaraja
• Monte Carlo in Quantitative 3D PET: Scatter
  Robert L. Harrison and Robert S. Miyaoka
• Design of Molecular Imaging Systems Assisted by the Monte Carlo Methods
  Irène Buvat
• Introduction to Task-Based Assessment of Image Quality for Investigators Employing Monte Carlo Simulation of Imaging Systems
  Michael A. King
• Monte Carlo Method Applied in Nuclear Medicine Dosimetry
  Michael Ljungberg