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- GATE community survey 2009 results
The results of the GATE community users survey conducted at the beginning of 2009 are now...
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GATE: sample results
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Used by permission. Courtesy of CEA.
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Gate versions
- GATE 5.0.0 is now released!
GATE 5.0.0 is now released.
About the general set-up: * This version is validated for Geant4 9.1...
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Overview of GATE
Emission tomography and especially Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has a fast growing importance in modern medicine for both diagnostic and treatment purposes. At the same time there is a demand for higher imaging quality, accuracy and speed. Enhanced by the wider availability of powerful computer clusters, Monte Carlo simulations are an essential tool for current and future emission tomography developments. Examples for such developments are the design of new medical imaging devices, the optimization of acquisition protocols and the development and assessment of image reconstruction algorithms and correction techniques.
Currently there are at least a dozen Monte Carlo simulation packages with different advantages and disadvantages validated for either PET (Positron Emission Tomography) or SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography) at different levels of reliability. Accurate and versatile general-purpose simulation packages such as EGS4, MCNP, and most recently Geant4 are available but require a lot of expertise of model emission tomography configurations. SimSET, one of the most powerful dedicated codes enabling PET and SPECT simulations, has the capability to precisely and efficiently model physics phenomena and basic detector designs (e.g. ring detectors and planar detectors), but it also has limitations with respect to the range of detector geometries that can be simulated. Sorteo and SIMIND are other examples of powerful simulation codes for specific applications in PET and SPECT respectively.
GATE, the Geant4 Application for Emission Tomography has been developed since 2001 to offer the comprehensive physics modeling abilities of the general purpose codes while making it possible to intuitively configurate an Emission Tomography simulation. In particular, GATE allows the accurate description of time-dependent phenomena such as source or detector movement and source decay kinetics. It includes well-validated physics models, geometry modeling tools accomodating complex scanner geometries, models for detector electronic response, and efficient visualization utilities. Modelling of CT scans and calculation of dose can also be performed using GATE.