Assessment of Camera Uniformity Using a Dynamic Line Phantom

Abstract

A commercially available dynamic line phantom has been investigated for its suitability as a quality control tool for assessing scintillation camera uniformity. A nonuniformity was found to be introduced due to count rate losses. These losses were caused by the variation in the length of the line source exposed to a circular detector as the source was scanned across the camera face. Although the handling of the line source reduced the radiation hazard to which personnel would be exposed, the uniformity flood images produced by the phantom were unacceptable and could certainly not be used for uniformity correction in single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. The dynamic line phantom can also be programmed to produce several different line source resolution and contrast patterns. Under the test conditions some of these resolution patterns were too fine to be useful but could perhaps be of more value with more modern cameras.