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The aim of this study was to investigate conditions for reliable quantification of sub-centimeter lesions with low ¹⁸F, ⁶⁸Ga, and ¹²⁴I uptake using a silicon photomultiplier-based PET/CT system.

A small tumor phantom was investigated under challenging but clinically realistic conditions resembling prostate and thyroid cancer lymph node metastases (6 spheres with 3.7–9.7 mm in diameter, 9 different activity concentrations ranging from about 0.25–25 kBq/mL, and a signal-to-background ratio of 20). Radionuclides with different positron branching ratios and prompt gamma coincidence contributions were investigated. Maximum-, contour-, and oversize-based partial volume effect (PVE) correction approaches were applied. Detection and quantification performance were estimated, considering a ±30 % deviation between imaged-derived and true activity concentrations as acceptable. A standard and a …