I ART MY SCIENCE
Patterns Appearing in
PET Simulation
Type
gif animation
Place of Origin
The Netherlands
Year
2022-2023
Inspiration and composition
This image is an early exploratory version of the PET detection simulation project Lukkes is currently working on. It came about while he was programming a piece of code for a PET simulation of the brain. ‘To create this simulation there are several parameters that can be set such as the number of sources and their positions, the intensity and size of the source(s), the width of the detectors and the distance between them, and the range of angles between the detectors that can be used during the reconstruction’. While programming the simulation, Lukkes ‘almost on accident put too few detectors in. On average you would need at least 100, and for more accuracy around 400’. Instead, Lukkes input 20, and this beautiful spiralling pattern appeared. He then began playing around with the numbers and started to see different patterns.
After seeing the call for the exhibition, Lukkes went home and set his computer to reconstruct the 428 images and left it running for an evening. He then put the images together to show the gradual change from 4 to 432 detectors, creating this mesmerising spiralling image that progressively evolves into a reconstruction of the human brain. Lukkes hopes that viewers not only enjoy the beauty of the image, but also wants them to understand that unexpected results and mistakes –the exploration journey– can often allow us to see things in a different way and that science needs creativity. ‘People expect scientists to be entirely logical and functional, but you can’t be entirely logical and still find the best results. You need creativity to find the nuances, because otherwise, you’ll be doing the same thing everybody else is doing’.
The artist
About Rein Lukkes
Rein Lukkes is in his final year of his master’s studies in Medical Imaging at UMC Utrecht. His research focuses on innovative ways of PET/MR imaging and using simulation to prove they show sufficient promise to warrant further study. Lukkes also recently completed his teaching certification and hopes, after finishing his studies, to find a way to combine both medical imaging and teaching in his future career.