Monte-Carlo simulation of the photodetection systems prototype PET scanner using GATE: a validation study

The GATE simulation software was used to model the photodetection systems prototype PET scanner consisting on 4 rings of 44 crystal block detectors containing 160 CsI(NaI) crystal scintillators. The list of single events output by the GATE toolkit was post-processed off-line using an in-house C-code to generate the list of coincidence photons taking into account the measured time resolution, energy resolution, and crystal efficiency of the real scanner. The aim of the study was to validate the simulation against experimentally measured data on the prototype system. Single event and coincidence pair rate plots were compared for simulated and measured data of an F-18 centered point source. The results of low count-rate acquisitions and simulations were found to be in good agreement