Point-Source Scanner for Assessment of Gamma Camera Performance

Abstract

A point-source scanner was made from a mechanically modified x-y plotter. The pen carriage was stabilized so that it could carry a lead can with a radiation source. It was also made longer so that the scanner would see the whole field of view of a rectangular scintillation camera. The movements of the scanner were controlled by a computer. The statistical uncertainty in the scanning movement, including speed, angle, and distance variations, was less than 1% (1 s.d.). The point-source scanner was used to acquire uniformity matrices for different radiation sources and to generate different kinds of line-source and resolution phantoms.