Positron emission tomography system with adaptive field of view

A positron emission tomography (PET) imaging system comprising:

• a plurality of detector structures, each detector structure comprising one or more PET detector elements;
• and
• a scanner drive mechanism coupled to the plurality of detector structures and configured to drive the plurality of detector structures axially between a retracted configuration and an expanded configuration,
• wherein the plurality of detector structures are closer to each other in the retracted configuration than in the expanded configuration, and
• wherein in the expanded configuration, an axial field-of-view (FOV) of the PET imaging system is greater than in the retracted configuration.

A method of performing positron emission tomography (PET) scanning of a subject using a PET imaging system having a PET scanner with a set of detector structures that share a common axis and that are axially spaced apart from each other so as to define gaps between detector structures, the method comprising:

• performing, via a controller of the PET imaging system, a first scan of a subject to capture a first PET dataset with a first axial field-of-view (FOV), wherein the set of detector structures are separated from each other by a first set of gaps between detector structures;
• determining, via the controller and based on the PET dataset, a second set of gaps between detector structures corresponding to a second axial FOV different from the first axial FOV;
• applying, via the controller, the second set of gaps to the set of detector structures to change distances between detector structures;
• and
• performing, via the controller, a second scan of the subject to capture a second PET dataset with a second axial FOV.