Design and Evaluation of a Portable Pinhole SPECT System for 177Lu Imaging: Monte Carlo Simulations and Experimental Study

TL;DR

This study designs and tests a portable gamma camera for imaging Lutetium-177, a radioisotope used in cancer therapy, to improve post-treatment monitoring.

Contribution

A portable pinhole SPECT system for 177Lu imaging is developed and validated through simulations and experiments.

Findings

The prototype achieved a spatial resolution of 1.0 cm and sensitivity of 5.2 Cps/MBq.

Experimental results matched simulations within 5%.

The system is technically feasible for clinical 177Lu imaging workflows.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Lutetium-177 is a widely used radioisotope in targeted radionuclide therapy, particularly for treating certain types of cancers relying on beta and low-energy gamma emissions, making it suitable for both therapeutic and post-therapy monitoring purposes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical parameters for developing a prototype portable gamma camera dedicated to 177Lu imaging applications. Methods: The well-validated GATE Monte Carlo toolkit was used to study the characteristics of the system and evaluate its performance in terms of spatial resolution, sensitivity, and image quality. For this purpose, a series of Monte Carlo simulations were executed, modeling a channel-edge aperture pinhole collimator incorporating a variety of computational phantoms. The final configuration of the prototype was standardized, incorporating the crystal size, collimator design, shielding, and the optimal FOV. After the development of the actual prototype camera, the system was also validated experimentally on the same setups as the simulations. Results: The final configuration of the prototype imaging system was standardized based on simulation results and then experimentally validated using physical phantoms under equivalent conditions. A minification of 1:5, spatial resolution of 1.0 cm, and sensitivity of 5.2 Cps/MBq at 10 cm distance source-to-collimator distance were assessed and confirmed. The experimental results agreed within 5% of simulated values. Conclusions: This study establishes the technical feasibility and foundational performance of a portable pinhole imaging system for potential clinical use in 177Lu imaging workflows and thereby improving therapeutic effectiveness.

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