Component method and system for pet detector efficiency normalization

A method for calibrating a PET scanner, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring first phantom sinogram data from a scan of a first phantom within a first PET scanner reconstruction imaging FOV;
• acquiring second phantom sinogram data from a scan of a second phantom within a second PET scanner reconstruction imaging FOV;
• the second reconstruction imaging FOV having a transverse cross-sectional area larger than a first reconstruction imaging FOV transverse cross-sectional area;
• determining a crystal efficiency factor as a function of at least one of the first and second sinogram data, wherein the crystal efficiency factor is derived without a solid angle correction;
• determining a detector geometry factor as a function of the crystal efficiency factor and at least one of the first and second sinogram data;
• and
• determining a PET scanner detector component scanner efficiency normalization from only the crystal efficiency factor and the detector geometry factor.

A method for determining a PET scanner crystal efficiency factor, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring phantom sinogram data from a scan of a phantom within a PET scanner imaging FOV;
• modeling a noisy crystal efficiency factor from the sinogram data;
• determining a smoothed crystal efficiency factor estimate from the noisy crystal efficiency factor;
• repeating the modeling and determining steps until the smoothed crystal efficiency factor estimate converges within a specified difference from a prior smoothed crystal efficiency factor estimate.

An apparatus for calibrating a PET scanner, comprising:

• a processor configured to acquiring first phantom sinogram data from a scan of a solid cylinder phantom within a PET scanner imaging FOV;
• the processor further configured to acquire second phantom sinogram data from a scan of a second phantom within the PET scanner imaging FOV, the second phantom selected from the group comprising a solid plane phantom and a scanning line phantom;
• and
• the processor further configured to determine a PET scanner detector component scanner efficiency normalization from at least one of the first and second sinogram data.

An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program embodied in said medium, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to calibrate a PET scanner by:

• acquiring first phantom sinogram data from a scan of a solid cylinder phantom within a PET scanner imaging FOV;
• acquiring second phantom sinogram data from a scan of a second phantom within the PET scanner imaging FOV, the second phantom selected from the group comprising a solid plane phantom and a scanning line phantom;
• and
• determining a PET scanner detector component scanner efficiency normalization from at least one of the first and second sinogram data.