[Gate-users] Ideal vs. Reality ( How to simulate a real-world PET system )

[Zhengzhi Liu]

Dear Gate developers and users,

Before asking this question, I did much research, like reading GATE User
Guide v8.0 over and over again, and diving into most of PET related
simulation code available online (for example, GateContrib
<https://github.com/OpenGATE/GateContrib>, Gate-develop and
gate-exercices-master), but I still can't find a single clue on how to
solve my problem. My problem is to simulate a real-world PET system,
however, all of the PET systems I found online are ideal systems, in which
the detectors are only made of crystals. Because of this, they have fewer
geometries and can be easily attached to all kinds of PET system as shown
in the attached screenshot.

However, in a real-world PET system, the detector has a detector box made
of aluminium or other material, then in the detector, crystals are also
wrapped with a layer of aluminium. Thus I created 2 for boxes, box1 (filled
with aluminium), box2 (within box1 and filled with air)  and subtract box2
from box1 to create detector box. And I did a similar thing to create
aluminium foil for crystal warper. Because of these extra geometries, I
find it hard to attach them to a PET system. Because a PET only takes the
geometries specified in the screenshot.  Then when I attach them to a PET
system, everything works fine but coincidence sorter. Coincidence sorter
failed. Either no coincidence event is collected (in cylindricalPET) or
most of the collected coincidence events are random coincidence event (in
ecat).

Has anyone ever simulated a real-world PET system in GATE? If so, have you
run into this problem? Or Could anyone tell me where I have done wrong?

Thanks a lot for your precious time reading my email and hopefully you will
give me some advice.


Zhengzhi
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