LAUSR

Learning the concept of computerised tomography (CT) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) by biomedical engineering and medical physics students is hampered by limited access to clinical scanners. The use of ionising radiation and radioactive sources in x-ray CT and SPECT further complicates the design of a teaching laboratory session. We here propose an inexpensive and safe educational demonstration tool for CT and SPECT whereby a visible light source serves as source and a charge-coupled device camera serves as detector. The equivalent of a SPECT radionuclide in optical CT scanning is a chemiluminescent material which can be obtained relatively inexpensive in the form of party glow sticks. The proposed teaching tool comprises several learning outcomes such as hands-on construction of the scanner, the acquisition of images and image reconstruction. Also, different imaging artefacts can be simulated and investigated.