Scanner calibration of a small animal PET camera based on continuous LSO crystals and flat panel PSPMTs

We have constructed a small animal PET with four identical detector modules, each consisting of a continuous LYSO crystal attached to a Position Sensitive Photomultiplier Tube (PSPMT). The dimensions of the continuous crystal are 50×50 mm2 and 10 mm thickness. The modules are separated 11 cm between each other in the scanner. In this paper we discuss the method used for the calibration of the camera for this special system with continuous detectors. We also present the preliminary values for the main performance parameters such as spatial and energy resolution, and sensitivity of the system.