arXiv:2502.07630physics.ins-detcs.LG2025-02被引 1

用机器学习显式校正PET探测器时间误差,提升成像精度。

Rethinking Timing Residuals: Advancing PET Detectors with Explicit TOF Corrections

  • 基于物理先验与机器学习结合,显式预测时间修正值。
  • 时间分辨率从371±6皮秒提升至281±5皮秒。
  • 模型更小更快,适合高通量PET扫描应用。

PET是一种可视化代谢过程的功能成像方法,通过同步探测信号获取飞行时间(TOF)信息,可提升图像信噪比。通常以时间分辨能力(CTR)评估PET探测器性能,但受多种因素影响,实际时间性能会退化。现有校准方法多采用解析模型,而近年来机器学习因其灵活性受到关注。本文提出一种残差物理驱动的校准方法:先用解析模型消除一阶偏差,再用剩余偏差训练机器学习模型以消除高阶偏差。关键创新在于重新定义时间残差,使模型直接预测校正值(显式校正),而非隐式推断。相比此前直接预测时间差的方法,新方法简化数据采集流程,提升线性度,并将430–590 keV光子对的时间分辨率从371±6皮秒显著改善至281±5皮秒。此外,新定义降低模型规模,更适合高通量应用。实验使用两组4×4 LYSO:Ce,Ca晶体(3.8×3.8×20 mm³)耦合4×4 Broadcom NUV-MT SiPMs,由TOFPET2 ASIC数字化。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

PET is a functional imaging method that visualizes metabolic processes. TOF information can be derived from coincident detector signals and incorporated into image reconstruction to enhance the SNR. PET detectors are typically assessed by their CTR, but timing performance is degraded by various factors. Research on timing calibration seeks to mitigate these degradations and restore accurate timing information. While many calibration methods use analytical approaches, machine learning techniques have recently gained attention due to their flexibility. We developed a residual physics-based calibration approach that combines prior domain knowledge with the power of machine learning models. This approach begins with an initial analytical calibration addressing first-order skews. The remaining deviations, regarded as residual effects, are used to train machine learning models to eliminate higher-order skews. The key advantage is that the experimenter guides the learning process through the definition of timing residuals. In earlier studies, we developed models that directly predicted the expected time difference, which offered corrections only implicitly (implicit correction models). In this study, we introduce a new definition for timing residuals, enabling us to train models that directly predict correction values (explicit correction models). The explicit correction approach significantly simplifies data acquisition, improves linearity, and enhances timing performance from $371 \pm 6$ ps to $281 \pm 5$ ps for coincidences from 430 keV to 590 keV. Additionally, the new definition reduces model size, making it suitable for high-throughput applications like PET scanners. Experiments were conducted using two detector stacks composed of $4 \times 4$ LYSO:Ce,Ca crystals ($3.8\times 3.8\times 20$ mm$^{3}$) coupled to $4 \times 4$ Broadcom NUV-MT SiPMs and digitized with the TOFPET2 ASIC.

PET成像时间校准机器学习探测器优化

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