AUTOMATIC LINE IDENTIFICATION AND PAIRING FOR NUCLEAR IMAGING COLLIMATOR VECTOR MAP CHARACTERIZATION

A method for measuring a SPECT collimator's hole orientation angles includes obtaining a set of stepped radiation line images of a line radiation source by scanning/stepping the line radiation source across a first collimator in a first direction; obtaining a second set of stepped radiation line images of the line radiation source across the first collimator in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction; and obtaining two sets of stepped radiation line images for a second collimator, wherein one of the two collimators is a reference collimator and the other is a collimator being measured. Calculating the collimator hole orientation angles requires determining offset distances along the two directions for each pair of lines between the reference collimator's line images and the measured collimator's line images by identifying and pairing the lines from the reference collimator line images and the measured collimator line images. The method provides an automated way of identifying and pairing the lines.