Original article
Quality Assurance Evaluation of Integrated Quality Control Radiation Source Usage in PET-CT with Different Axial Field of View
Choong-Woon Lee, Radiological Technologist*, Yeon-Wook You, Radiological Technologist, Tae-Hyeong Lee, Radiological Technologist, Gyeong-Tae Jang, Radiological Technologist, Sang-Hyeok Yun, Radiological Technologist, Yun Cheol Kim, Radiological Technologist
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Correspondence to Choong-Woon Lee, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Research Institute, National Cancer Center, 323 Ilsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10408, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-31-920-0166, E-mail: dackmani@ncc.re.kr
Volume 30, Number 2, Article 19, November 2026. Korean J Nucl Med Technol 2026;30(2):19. https://doi.org/10.12972/kjnmt.2026.30.2.19
Received on August 12, 2026, Revised on August 30, 2026, Accepted on September 07, 2026, Published on November 30, 2026.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Purpose: This study evaluated the usefulness of using a single annulus phantom for daily quality assurance (DQA) of two PET/CT systems with different specifications and axial field-of-view (AFOV) lengths. Because of differences in AFOV, system-specific 68Ge annulus phantoms of different sizes have conventionally been used for each scanner. Materials and Methods A 55 M㏃ 68Ge annulus phantom (Eckert & Ziegler Isotope Products, Germany) was used for both the Discovery MI and OMNI Legend PET/CT systems (GE Healthcare, USA). Based on the manufacturer’s recommended DQA program, PET detector status was monitored over 60 working days before and after the transition in phantom use and evaluated using visual inspection and parameter reports. For image analysis, the NEMA IEC Body phantom was prepared with a 10:1 sphere-to-background activity ratio according to the EARL recommendation. Images were reconstructed using Q.clear+TOF+PSF, Q.clear+OSEM+PSF, TOF+PSF, TOF, OSEM+PSF, and OSEM, in accordance with the institution’s standard torso imaging protocols. Statistical analysis was performed using R. Results: DQA results showed minimal changes in the major parameters: coincidence mean (-0.1%), coincidence variance (0.4%), singles mean (-0.5%), singles variance (-0.3%), block busy mean (3.0%), timing mean (2.1%), and energy shift (-1.1%). Paired t-test results showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.01). In the NEMA IEC Body phantom analysis, maximum recovery coefficient (RC) values varied from -0.31% to 0.63% compared with individual phantom use, while mean RC values ranged from -0.13% to 0.10%. These differences were also not statistically significant (P > 0.01). Regarding radiation safety, the operator’s annual external exposure was estimated to be 15.124 μ㏜ for phantom handling and 1.089 μ㏜/m during transport. The average annual external radiation exposure was approximately 100 μ㏜ when the total transport distance was 77.94 m. Conclusion: This approach may improve the efficiency of radioactive source management and provide economic benefits by reducing the cost of purchasing multiple sealed sources. These findings suggest that the integrated use of a single annulus phantom is a practical and efficient strategy for quality control in PET/CT systems.
Keywords
Daily Quality Assurance, Annulus Phantom, PET-CT