Investigation of a noninvasive detector system for quantitative [O-15]water blood flow studies in PET

The investigation of human cerebral function has been one of the most chall enging subjects in the last century. Imaging studies that use positron emis sion tomography (PET) with [0-15]water have been central for the assessment of neurophysiological activity. Accurate and quantitative estimation of re gional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) for mapping of brain function requires me asurement of the post-injection arterial time course of [0-15]water. The ov erall purpose of this work is to design and build a small inexpensive tomog raph that can be placed around a subject's neck or wrist to noninvasively m easure the arterial radioactivity input function. Monte Carlo simulations a nd experimental investigations have been performed to assist in defining th e design characteristics of the detectors to be used for this system.