Quantification in Positron Emission Tomography: Reconstruction, standarization and processing methods

This work is focused on the development of processing, quantification and standarization methods, aimed at enhancing the quality and accuracy of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images, both for human brain studies and for high-resolution small animal studies. Firstly, the effects of scatter, reconstruction method, anatomical variability, positron range, partial volume effect and non-colinearity on the quantification of PET studies are investigated. Several correction methods for the essential degradations are presented. Finally, the suitability of Monte Carlo techniques for simulating PET studies is also assessed.