ABSTRACT
Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has a rich history that extends back to the post–World War II emergence of nuclear medicine imaging and the early days of computed tomography. To develop and optimize future SPECT technologies, a firm understanding of a subset of radiation physics is required. An essential tool for calculating any material properties when designing components for preclinical SPECT is a database of various photon interaction coefficients. With the development of adaptive and optimized preclinical SPECT systems, computational optimization of design parameters for geometries and collimators is clearly playing a more important role in the development of new systems. Preclinical SPECT benefits tremendously from the huge selection of potential radiopharmaceuticals that have been produced throughout the history of nuclear medicine imaging. The two types of collimation most often employed in preclinical SPECT are the same as in clinical imaging: parallel hole and pinhole.
