"Preface Monte Carlo methods have become an important tool for exploring complicated systems and especially for investigation of imaging parameters in nuclear medicine. By using sampling methods based on probability distribution function in combination with methods that simulate the various particle interaction that can occur, a detailed radiation transport can be simulated from the patient into the imaging system. Monte Carlo simulation does not replace experimental measurements but offers a unique possibility to gain understanding in the underlying physics phenomena that form nuclear medicine images. It also provides a substantial help to researchers to develop methods for image improvement. When combining an accurate model of the imaging system and a realistic model of the patient's geometry and activity distribution, the simulated images can be highly clinically realistic and almost undistinguishable from a real patient measurement. The first edition of this book was published in 1998. It was one of the first books that combined a description of the Monte Carlo methods and principles with relevant Monte Carlo programs and applications in the field of diagnostic nuclear medicine. It is now 14 years since that publication and we therefore felt that it was important to have a second edition since new and very powerful Monte Carlo programs and methods have become available. This new edition provides the background to, and a summary of, the current Monte Carlo techniques that are in use today. The focus is still on the diagnostic imaging application but several programs that are described in the book also allow for charge-particle simulations applicable to dosimetryrelated applications"--
From first principles to current computer applications, Monte Carlo Calculations in Nuclear Medicine, Second Edition: Applications in Diagnostic Imaging covers the applications of Monte Carlo calculations in nuclear medicine and critically reviews them from a diagnostic perspective. Like the first edition, this book explains the Monte Carlo method and the principles behind SPECT and PET imaging, introduces the reader to some Monte Carlo software currently in use, and gives the reader a detailed idea of some possible applications of Monte Carlo in current research in SPECT and PET.
New chapters in this edition cover codes and applications in pre-clinical PET and SPECT. The book explains how Monte Carlo methods and software packages can be applied to evaluate scatter in SPECT and PET imaging, collimation, and image deterioration. A guide for researchers and students developing methods to improve image resolution, it also demonstrates how Monte Carlo techniques can be used to simulate complex imaging systems.
