NEMA NU2 2018 Performance Evaluation of the NeuroLF 10mm Version "Basic" Brain PET Scanner

Background: This work presents the NEMA NU2 2018 performance evaluation of the NeuroLF Basic, a compact and fully integrated brain positron emission tomography (PET) system based on 10-mm-long LYSO crystals. The evaluation includes measurements and simulations of spatial resolution, scatter fraction, noise equivalent count rate (NECR), accuracy of corrections, image quality, and sensitivity, following standardized protocols to ensure reliable and reproducible results. Results: The average filtered-back-projection spatial resolution, measured at 1 cm and 10 cm radial offsets, was found to be 2.56 mm and 3.82 mm, respectively, highlighting the system’s ability to capture details essential for neuroimaging applications. The scatter fraction was determined to be 24.2% at the peak NECR, reflecting the system’s capability to minimize unwanted scattered events. The peak NECR was measured at 55.3 kcps at an activity concentration of 8.1 kBq/mL, demonstrating the system’s efficiency in handling typical neuroimaging count rates with optimal signal-to-noise characteristics. NeuroLF shows excellent accuracy of corrections at 3.7% and good image contrast for hot vials in a warm background in the adapted image quality procedure with the ACR Esser phantom, achieving values of 87.5%, 77%, 60%, and 35.8% for 25-, 16-, 12-, and 8-mm-diameter vials, respectively, with a maximum background variability of 10% for the 8-mm-diameter vial. Sensitivity, evaluated using a 70-cm-long line source, was measured at 5.85 cps/kBq at the center of the field of view and 8.08 cps/kBq at a 10 cm radial offset, confirming the system’s good capability to detect 511 keV gamma photons. The measured NEMA NU2 2018 results show good agreement with Monte Carlo simulation results, validating the accuracy of the simulated NeuroLF model for future research and system optimization. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the NeuroLF’s potential to deliver high-quality images, good detection efficiency, and robust quantitative performance, making it a valuable tool for clinical applications in neuroimaging. The comprehensive NEMA NU2 2018 evaluation demonstrates NeuroLF’s performance.