No Arabic abstract
Crystal arrays made of LSO and LuAP crystals 2x2x10 mm pixels were manufactured for evaluation of detector with depth-of-interaction (DOI) determination capability intended for small animal positron emission tomograph. Position-sensitive LSO/LuAP phoswich DOI detector based on crystal 8x8 arrays and HAMAMATSU R5900-00-M64 position-sensitive multi-anode photomultiplier tube was developed and evaluated. Time resolution was found to be not worse than 1.0 ns FWHM for both layers, and spatial resolution mean value was 1.5 mm FWHM for the center of field-of-view.
Measurement of the Time-of-Flight (TOF) of the 511 keV gammas brings an important reduction of statistical noise in the PET image, with higher precision time measurements producing clearer images. Scintillating crystals are used to convert the 511 keV annihilation photon to an electron of ~511 KeV energy via the photoelectric effect; it is necessary to determine with precision the position and time of this conversion within the scintillating crystal. We propose using an array of crystals cut into a specific geometry discussed below; these crystals are read out by an array of strip SiPMs. This technique allows individual time measurements of the first arriving photo-electrons and to extract the best time resolution using a specific algorithm. The final result is a precise determination of the 3D position (that includes the depth of interaction) of the photoelectric interaction and an improved time measurement.
The TT-PET collaboration is developing an MRI-compatible small animal PET scanner in which the sensitive element is a monolithic silicon pixel ASIC targeting 30 ps RMS time resolution. The photon-detection technique is based on a stack of alternating layers of high-Z photon converter and 100 $mathrm{mu m}$ silicon sensors, to produce a scanner with 0.5 $mathrm{times}$ 0.5 $mathrm{times}$ 0.2 $mathrm{mm^{3}}$ granularity for precise depth-of-interaction measurement. In this paper we present the results of simulation studies for the expected data rate, time-of-flight and spatial resolution, as well as the performance of image reconstruction with and without the use of timing information.
Position Emission Tomography (PET) is an advanced clinical diagnostic imaging technique for nuclear medicine. Small animal PET is increasingly uesd for studying the animal model of disease, new drugs and new therapies. A prototype of Singles Processing Unit (SPU) for a small animal PET system was designed to obtain the time, energy, and position information. The energy and position is actually calculated through high precison charge measurement, which is based on amplification, shaping, A/D conversion and area calculation in digital signal processing domian. Analysis and simulations were also conducted to optimize the key parameters in system design. Initial tests indicate that the charge and time precision is better than 0.3% FWHM and 350 ps FWHM respectively, while the position resolution is better than 0.35% FWHM. Commination tests of the SPU prototype with the PET detector indicate that the system time precision is better than 2.5 ns, while the flood map and energy spectra concored well with the expected.
Organ-specific, targeted Field-of-View (FoV) Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) inserts are viable solutions for a number of imaging tasks where whole-body PET/MRI systems lack the necessary sensitivity and resolution. To meet the required PET detector performance of these systems, high count-rates and effective spatial resolutions on the order of a few mm, a novel two-axis patterned reflector foil pixelated scintillator crystal array design is developed and its proof-of-concept illustrated in-silico with the Monte Carlo radiation transport modelling toolkit Geant4. It is shown that the crystal surface roughness and phased open reflector cross-section patterns could be optimised to maximise either the PET radiation detectors effective spatial resolution, or count rate before event pile up. In addition, it was illustrated that these two parameters had minimal impact on the energy and time resolution of the proposed PET radiation detector design. Finally, it is shown that a PET radiation detector with balance performance could be constructed using ground crystals and phased open reflector cross-section pattern corresponding to the middle of the tested range.
A prototype of a position sensitive photo-detector with 5.6 x 5.6 cm2 detection area readout with 64 Hamamatsu MPPCs (S10931-100P) with 3 x 3 mm2 active area each has been built and tested. The photo-sensors are arranged in a 8 x 8 array with a quadratic mirror light guide on top. The module is currently readout by in-house developed preamplifier boards but employing existing ASIC chips optimized for SiPM readout is also planned. Such a device is one of the candidates to be used for photon detection in the PANDA DIRC detectors.