Development of a Portable Integrated Ultrasound and Gamma imaging system

Medical imaging devices that combine both the functional and anatomical modalities have proved to be highly accurate in diagnoses. Nonetheless, current SPECT-CT systems are bulky, very costly, and non-portable, restricting their use for disabled patients. A comparison was carried out using GATE/GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation for scintillator efficiency. The experimental work used a 4×4 pixel array GAGG(Ce)+SiPM detector with SIB616/SIB1632 readout electronics and IQSP580 DAQ system. Hexagonal and pinhole collimators were thoroughly investigated. Two new algorithms for image fusion were created; these include Dynamic Alpha Blending and US-Protected Adaptive Overlay. The results show the superiority of GAGG(Ce) with 3.196 mm spatial resolution and 4.9% energy resolution, better than LYSO (3.391mm, 8.5%). Images with gamma photons were successfully acquired using phantom Tc-99m breast lesions from distances of 5 to 20 cm. Both dynamic algorithms yielded medically useful images with Method 2 having anatomical information and Method 1 with functional details. The US-SPECT device designed provides a major breakthrough in portable hybrid medical imaging, providing bedside capability for the disabled patients as well as lower radiation doses as compared to CT-based hybrid devices.