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The development of the first clinical simultaneous Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system was carried out within the INSERT project. The INSERT scanner was constructed under the initial project, but its performance was not fully evaluated; here we have reconstructed the first images on the SPECT system. Calibration and acquisition protocols were developed and used to establish the clinical feasibility of the system. The image reconstruction procedures were implemented on the first phantom images in order to assess the system's imaging capabilities. This study solved issues involving incomplete data sets and pixel failure in the prototype detector system. The final images determined a measure of trans-axial image resolution, giving average values of 9.14 mm and 6.75 mm in the radial and tangential directions respectively. The work carried out on the complete system produced several clinical phantom images which utilized the capabilities of both SPECT and MRI.

The first SiPM-based clinical SPECT ring for brain simultaneous imaging in standard MR scanners has been put into operation. Reliable operation of the instrument has been achieved by means of its optimization, such as the introduction of a dual-cooling system (liquid-gas) of the DAQ electronics. The static gantry is composed of 20 MRI-compatible γ-detection modules mounting 5 cm × 10 cm CsI(Tl) scintillators for a total of 1440 pixels (targeting a transaxial FoV of 20 cm). Here we present the results of a preliminary characterization showing 220 kcps max. count rate, 365cps/MBq sensitivity with the multislit-slat collimator, ~17% energy resolution and an average extrinsic spatial resolution of ~8 mm in the trans-axial plane.