Which artifact is associated with low mA and keV settings?

The concentric rings artifact is primarily associated with low milliampere (mA) settings and kiloelectron volt (keV) settings during PET scans. When the mA is low, it can lead to insufficient data collection, which may cause issues with image quality and result in variations in the detected signal. This incomplete data can manifest as concentric rings on the reconstructed images since the system struggles to accurately represent areas where data was inadequately acquired.

Additionally, choosing low keV settings can affect the energy of the detected photons, which may decrease the overall image quality and contrast. Such conditions contribute to the formation of distinct patterns, including the concentric rings, which typically appear as the system compensates for the lack of sufficient data in certain regions of the image.

Understanding the relationship between these imaging parameters and the resulting artifacts is crucial for optimizing PET protocols to reduce artifacts and enhance diagnostic accuracy.