Biomedical Imaging 202 / Nuclear Engineering 207 / Bioengineering 230B

Title: (Physical) principles of CT, PET, and SPECT (and MR and ultrasound) Imaging

Course number: Biomedical Imaging 202 at UCSF (since 2011) and Nuclear Engineering 207 at UC Berkeley (since 2021). Bioengineering 230B (UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering)- Offered biennially until 2011. As of Fall 2024, Nuclear Engineering 207 at UC Berkeley is expanded to include other imaging topics (MRI and ultrasound at basic levels) to be CAMPEP compliant.

This course is a core course in the Master's of Science in Biomedical Imaging (MSBI) program at UCSF, and a graduate course in Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley.

Course Administration

Room/Time: UCSF China Basin (185 Berry St, Ste 350, San Francisco) & assinged classroom at UC Berkeley
Course Organizer: Youngho Seo, PhD
Text: Course Handouts and Recommended Readings; Recommended texts include "Emission Tomography: The Fundamentals of PET and SPECT" by Wernick and Aarsvold (WA)"

Sample Course Schedule 

NM Module 1: Introduction to tomographic imaging using ionizing radiation

NM Module 2: Radioactive decays, random processes, radionuclides
Recommended Reading:
1. The Particle Adventure

NM Module 3: Photon Interactions and radiation detection

NM Module 4: Radiation measurements and dosimetry
Recommended Reading:
1. Stabin M, et al. RADAR Guide: Standard Methods for Calculating Radiation Doses for Radioharmaceuticals, Part 1 – Collection of Data for Radiopharmaceutical Dosimetry. J Nucl Med. 2022;63:316-322
3. Stabin M, et al. RADAR Guide: Standard Methods for Calculating Radiation Doses for Radioharmaceuticals, Part 2 – Data Analysis and Dosimetry. RadioGraphics. J Nucl Med. 2022;63:485-492

NM Module 5: SPECT instrumentation: Scintillation camera
Recommended Reading:
1. Tapscott E. Nuclear Medicine Pioneer, Hal O. Anger, 1920-2005. J Nucl Med Technol. 2005;33:250-253
2. Willimans JE. Donner Laboratory: The Birthplace of Nuclear Medicine. J Nucl Med;1999:40:16N,18N,20N

NM Module 6: PET instrumentation: Coincidence imaging
Recommended Reading:
1. Pichler BJ, et al. Latest Advances in Molecular Imaging Instrumentation. J Nucl Med. 2008;49:5S-23S
2. Muehllehner G, Karp JS. Positron emission tomography. Phys Med Biol. 2006;51:R117-R137

NM Module 7: SPECT and PET image generation and image reconstruction
Recommended Reading:
1. Shepp LA, Vardi Y. Maximum likelihood reconstruction for emission tomography. IEEE Trans Med Imag. 1982;MI-1:113-122
2. Lange K, Carson R. EM reconstruction algorithms for emission and transmission tomography. J Comput Assisted Tomogr. 1984;8:306-312
3. Hasegawa BH. Analytic Tomographic Reconstruction. Spring 2002 Bioeng 230B Lecture 06 Notes

NM Module 8: Physical effects and image corrections; QC/QA and safe handling
Recommended Reading:
1. Moses WW. Fundamental limits of spatial resolution in PET. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2011;648 Supplement 1:S236–S240

NM Module 9: SPECT/CT, PET/CT, and PET/MRI
Recommended Reading:
1. Seo Y, et al. Technological Development and Advances in Single-Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography. Semin Nucl Med. 2008;38:177-198
2. Townsend DW, et al. PET/CT Today and Tomorrow. J Nucl Med. 2004;45:4S-14S

NM Module 10: Kinetic modeling: Blood flow, metabolic rate, and distribution volume
Recommended Reading:
1. Pantel AR, et al. Principles of Tracer Kinetic Analysis in Oncology, Part I: Principles and Overview of Methodology. J Nucl Med. 2022;63:342-352
2. Pantel AR, et al. Principles of Tracer Kinetic Analysis in Oncology, Part II: Examples and Future Directions. J Nucl Med. 2022;63:514-521

3. Gunn RN, et al. Positron Emission Tomography Compartmental Models. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2001;21:635-652
4. Logan J. Graphical Analysis of PET Data Applied to Reversible and Irreversible Tracers. Nucl Med Biol. 2000;27:661-670

 

NM Module 11: Advanced SPECT(/CT and /MR) applications
Recommended Reading:
1. Go V, et al. The Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of ECG-Gated SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging. J Nucl Med. 2004;45:912-921
2. Sugawara Y, et al. Hyperactivity of 99mTc-HMPAO Within 6 Hours in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke. J Nucl Med. 2001;42:1297-1302

NM Module 12: Advanced PET(/CT and /MR) applications
Recommended Reading:
1. Wong DF, et al. In Vivo Imaging of Amyloid Deposition in Alzheimer Disease Using the Radioligand 18F-AV-45 (Flobetapir F 18). J Nucl Med. 2010;51:913-920
2. Di Carli MF, et al. Clinical Myocardial Perfusion PET/CT. J Nucl Med. 2007;48:783-793
3. Juweid ME, Cheson BD. Positron-Emission Tomography and Assessment of Cancer Therapy. N Eng J Med. 2006;354:496-507

X-ray Module 1: Charged particle interactions, x-ray production, x-ray tubes, x-ray interactions

X-ray Module 2: Attenuation coefficients, image formation, scatter control

CT Module 1: Definitions and reconstruction

CT Module 2: Helical CT, MDCT, and quantitative applications