Resolution better than PET

The images produced by the Lowrad 10 have a spatial resolution approaching 2mm. This is better than state of the art PET imaging and is a significant improvement over the 10-12mm resolution associated with SPECT or traditional gamma camera planar imaging. The exact spatial resolution achievable with the Lowrad 10 depends on the resolution of the gamma camera it is being used with.

We show below an example of the resolution that can be achieved using the Lowrad 10. Figures 1 and 2 below show 4 glass hollow tubes of internal diameter 0.4mm, placed to form a rectangular cross with ends separated by 8mm and filled with technetium-99. Figure 1 is the image produced with a high quality collimated gamma camera. Figure 2 is the image produced with the Lowrad 10 in place of the collimator (on the same camera).

Figure 2: Lowrad 10 output

As you can see from the figures above the 8mm gap between the tubes is clearly visible on the Lowrad 10 output, but totally invisible when the traditional collimators are used.

Comparison of common nuclear imaging modalities

	Planar	SPECT	PET	Lowrad
Imaging type	2D	3D	3D	3D
Resolution	10-12mm	8-15mm	3-4mm	2-3mm
Isotopes	Tc99, I123, Th201	Tc99, I123, Th201	FDG18, C11, O15, N13	Tc99, I123, Th201