No Arabic abstract
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.
Recent tests of a single module of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography system (J-PET) consisting of 30 cm long plastic scintillator strips have proven its applicability for the detection of annihilation quanta (0.511 MeV) with a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 0.266 ns. The achieved resolution is almost by a factor of two better with respect to the current TOF-PET detectors and it can still be improved since, as it is shown in this article, the intrinsic limit of time resolution for the determination of time of the interaction of 0.511 MeV gamma quanta in plastic scintillators is much lower. As the major point of the article, a method allowing to record timestamps of several photons, at two ends of the scintillator strip, by means of matrix of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is introduced. As a result of simulations, conducted with the number of SiPM varying from 4 to 42, it is shown that the improvement of timing resolution saturates with the growing number of photomultipliers, and that the 2 x 5 configuration at two ends allowing to read twenty timestamps, constitutes an optimal solution. The conducted simulations accounted for the emission time distribution, photon transport and absorption inside the scintillator, as well as quantum efficiency and transit time spread of photosensors, and were checked based on the experimental results. Application of the 2 x 5 matrix of SiPM allows for achieving the coincidence resolving time in positron emission tomography of $approx$ 0.170 ns for 15 cm axial field-of-view (AFOV) and $approx$ 0.365 ns for 100 cm AFOV. The results open perspectives for construction of a cost-effective TOF-PET scanner with significantly better TOF resolution and larger AFOV with respect to the current TOF-PET modalities.
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.
Pixelated PET systems produce higher count rates as they integrate several detecting channels per detector module. An increased data flow from the detectors posses higher needs on the bandwidth requirements. We aim to optimize the bandwidth usage efficiency by filtering on the fly the detected events with non valid energies. PET systems with a SiPM-ASIC readout scheme are being extensively used to get enhanced images on Time-Of-Flight PET scanners. These kind of digital readout systems are specially interesting for the application of on-line processing techniques given the ease of access to each detected event digital information. This study purses the analysis of on-line processing techniques on the DAQ front-end level (on-detector electronics) for pixelated PET systems with SiPM-ASIC readout. In particular, we worked with a tunable on-line energy discriminating stage. For the optimization of its hardwired internal limits we analyzed the system energy space. We explored different solutions dependent or not on the systems energy calibration. Results obtained through the different filt
For radiography applications using fast neutrons simultaneously with gammas we have developed a detector with 16 stilbene crystals in a 4$times$4 2D array with a 5~mm pitch and a depth of 25~mm. The crystal array is read out by Silicon photomultipliers and custom signal processing electronics. The detector prototype was tested using a custom D-D fast neutron generator at the Paul Scherrer Institute. By applying a pulse shape discrimination algorithm the detector is able to detect and distinguish fast neutrons and gammas simultaneously. Various attenuating samples placed between the source and detector with different materials and thicknesses were tested and the measured macroscopic fast neutron cross sections were compared to what was expected. Deviations were studied with the help of detailed Geant4 simulations. The detection efficiency for D-D fast neutrons was measured to be around 10%.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors are set apart from other photon counting technologies above all else by their extremely high speed, with few-ten-ps timing resolution, and recovery times $tau_Rlesssim$10 ns after a detection event. In this work, however, we identify in the conventional electrical readout scheme a nonlinear interaction between the detector and its readout which can make stable, high-efficiency operation impossible at count rates even an order-of-magnitude less than $tau_R^{-1}$. We present detailed experimental confirmation of this, and a theoretical model which quantitatively explains our observations. Finally, we describe an improved readout which circumvents this problem, allowing these detectors to be operated stably at high count rates, with a detection efficiency penalty determined purely by their inductive reset time.