Adjustable detector array for a nuclear medicine imaging system

A medical imaging system, comprising:

• an annular gantry circumscribing a cylindrical aperture, the annular gantry configured to rotate about a central axis tracing a length of the cylindrical aperture;
• a detector array positioned on the annular gantry, the detector array comprising a plurality of detector units each comprising a plurality of rows of cadmium zinc telluride modules registered with an exchangeable collimator for receiving incoming radiation from a subject positioned within the cylindrical aperture, the plurality of detector units mounted to individual movable detector carriers with no external housing disposed around any of the plurality of detector units.

A method, comprising:

• acquiring nuclear medicine (NM) imaging data from a subject positioned within a cylindrical aperture of an annular gantry, the annular gantry configured with a plurality of imaging detector units each comprising an exchangeable collimator positioned adjacent to three rows of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) modules with no external housing therearound, where each exchangeable collimator is configured to receive and narrow incoming radiation from an area within the subject before the incoming radiation reaches a corresponding CZT module.