Compton scattering in a large-aperture positron imaging system.

Compton scattering of gamma rays within the image volume has been assessed for a large-aperture positron-emission-tomography imaging system. The Compton scattered attenuation and the Compton scattered background were both modeled and measured for point sources centered in scattering spheres up to 10 cm in diameter. Good agreement was obtained between simulations and measurements. The attenuation problem is independent of the detector system, but its correction is more difficult in a large-aperture system. The scattered coincidence background is large in this system (43% for a 10-cm-diameter scattering sphere), but the background overlap is reduced with 3D imaging.