The spatial resolution of a rotating gamma camera tomographic facility

Abstract

An important feature determining the spatial resolution in transverse sections reconstructed by convolution and back projection is the frequency filter corresponding to the convolution kernel. Equations were derived giving the theoretical spatial resolution, for a perfect detector and noise free data, using 4 filter functions. Apparently, physical constraints will always limit the resolution that can be achieved with a given system. The region of the frequency spectrum between KN/2 and KN where KN is the Nyquist frequency evidently does not contribute significantly to resolution. In order to investigate the physical effect of these filter functions, the spatial resolution of reconstructed images obtained with a GE 400T rotating .gamma. camera was measured. The results obtained serve as an aid to choosing appropriate reconstruction filters for use with a rotating .gamma. camera system.