ABSTRACT
Designing new detectors for imaging purpose is a long, time-consuming, and expensive task, during which the geometry of the detector, the physics involved in the detector components, and the resulting performance have to be thoroughly investigated. Other aspects such as cost and manufacturing constraints also have to be accounted for. At some point, a prototype is usually built to determine the validity of the detector concept and perform some initial characterization of the performance. In the process of new detector development, Monte Carlo simulations can play an important role to better understand the detector response, to test various options without building the corresponding components, and to identify the most promising setup without having to perform costly experiments. This chapter illustrates the use of Monte Carlo simulations for designing or optimizing SPECT (the sections “Monte Carlo Simulations to Optimize the Collimator Design in SPECT” and “Monte Carlo Simulations to Optimize the Detector Design in SPECT”) and PET (the section “Monte Carlo Simulations to Optimize the Detector Design in PET”) molecular imaging systems. It shows the broad variety of investigations in which Monte Carlo simulations can guide the design of original imaging systems. The advantages and limitations of the
CONTENTS
Monte Carlo Simulations to Optimize the Collimator Design in SPECT ... 274 Monte Carlo Simulations to Optimize the Detector Design in SPECT ....... 275
Scintillation Detectors .................................................................................... 276 Semiconductor Gamma Cameras ................................................................277
