1,689 research outputs found
Feasibility study of positronium application for blood clots structural characteristics
Positron-electron annihilation in living organisms occurs in about 30% via the formation of a metastable ortho-positronium atom that annihilates into two 511 keV photons in tissues because of the pick-off and conversion processes. Positronium (Ps) annihilation lifetime and intensities can be used to determine the size and quantity of defects in a material's microstructure, such as voids or pores in the range of nanometers. This is particularly true for blood clots. Here we present pilot investigations of positronium properties in fibrin clots. The studies are complemented by the use of SEM Edax and micro-computed tomography (μCT) to evaluate the extracted thrombotic material's properties. μCT is a versatile characterization method offering in situ and in operando possibilities and is a qualitative diagnostic tool. With μCT the presence of pores, cracks, and structural errors can be verified, and hence the 3D inner structure of samples can be investigated
Optimisation of the event-based TOF filtered back-projection for online imaging in total-body J-PET
We perform a parametric study of the newly developed time-of-flight (TOF)
image reconstruction algorithm, proposed for the real-time imaging in
total-body Jagiellonian PET (J-PET) scanners. The asymmetric 3D filtering
kernel is applied at each most likely position of electron-positron
annihilation, estimated from the emissions of back-to-back -photons.
The optimisation of its parameters is studied using Monte Carlo simulations of
a 1-mm spherical source, NEMA IEC and XCAT phantoms inside the ideal J-PET
scanner. The combination of high-pass filters which included the TOF filtered
back-projection (FBP), resulted in spatial resolution, 1.5 higher in
the axial direction than for the conventional 3D FBP. For realistic -minute
scans of NEMA IEC and XCAT, which require a trade-off between the noise and
spatial resolution, the need for Gaussian TOF kernel components, coupled with
median post-filtering, is demonstrated. The best sets of 3D filter parameters
were obtained by the Nelder-Mead minimisation of the mean squared error between
the resulting and reference images. The approach allows training the
reconstruction algorithm for custom scans, using the IEC phantom, when the
temporal resolution is below 50 ps. The image quality parameters, estimated for
the best outcomes, were systematically better than for the non-TOF FBP
Sensitivity of discrete symmetry tests in the positronium system with the J-PET detector
Study of certain angular correlations in the three-photon annihilations of the triplet state of positronium, the electron–positron bound state, may be used as a probe of potential CP and CPT-violating effects in the leptonic sector. We present the perspectives of CP and CPT tests using this process recorded with a novel detection system for photons in the positron annihilation energy range, the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography (J-PET). We demonstrate the capability of this system to register three-photon annihilations with an unprecedented range of kinematical configurations and to measure the CPT-odd correlation between positronium spin and annihilation plane orientation with a precision improved by at least an order of magnitude with respect to present results. We also discuss the means to control and reduce detector asymmetries in order to allow J-PET to set the first measurement of the correlation between positronium spin and momentum of the most energetic annihilation photon which has never been studied to dat
Azimuthal Anisotropy in High Energy Nuclear Collision - An Approach based on Complex Network Analysis
Recently, a complex network based method of Visibility Graph has been applied
to confirm the scale-freeness and presence of fractal properties in the process
of multiplicity fluctuation. Analysis of data obtained from experiments on
hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus interactions results in values of
Power-of-Scale-freeness-of-Visibility-Graph-(PSVG) parameter extracted from the
visibility graphs. Here, the relativistic nucleus-nucleus interaction data have
been analysed to detect azimuthal-anisotropy by extending the Visibility Graph
method and extracting the average clustering coefficient, one of the important
topological parameters, from the graph. Azimuthal-distributions corresponding
to different pseudorapidity-regions around the central-pseudorapidity value are
analysed utilising the parameter. Here we attempt to correlate the conventional
physical significance of this coefficient with respect to complex-network
systems, with some basic notions of particle production phenomenology, like
clustering and correlation. Earlier methods for detecting anisotropy in
azimuthal distribution, were mostly based on the analysis of statistical
fluctuation. In this work, we have attempted to find deterministic information
on the anisotropy in azimuthal distribution by means of precise determination
of topological parameter from a complex network perspective
Multi-photon time-of-flight MLEM application for the positronium imaging in J-PET
We develop a positronium imaging method for the Jagiellonian PET (J-PET) scanners based on the time-of-flight maximum likelihood expectation maximisation (TOF MLEM). The system matrix elements are calculated on-the-fly for the coincidences comprising two annihilation and one de-excitation photons that originate from the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) decay. Using the Geant4 library, a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted for four cylindrical Na sources of β decay with diverse o-Ps mean lifetimes, placed symmetrically inside the two JPET prototypes. The estimated time differences between the annihilation and the positron emission were aggregated into histograms (one per voxel), updated by the weights of the activities reconstructed by TOF MLEM. The simulations were restricted to include only the o-Ps decays into back-to-back photons, allowing a linear fitting model to be employed for the estimation of the mean lifetime from each histogram built in the log scale. To suppress the noise, the exclusion of voxels with activity below 2% – 10% of the peak was studied. The estimated o-Ps mean lifetimes were consistent with the simulation and distributed quasi-uniformly at high MLEM iterations. The proposed positronium imaging technique can be further upgraded to include various correction factors, as well as be modified according to realistic o-Ps decay models
Multi-photon time-of-flight MLEM application for the positronium imaging in J-PET
We develop a positronium imaging method for the Jagiellonian PET (J-PET)
scanners based on the time-of-flight maximum likelihood expectation
maximisation (TOF MLEM). The system matrix elements are calculated on-the-fly
for the coincidences comprising two annihilation and one de-excitation photons
that originate from the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) decay. Using the Geant4
library, a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted for four cylindrical 22Na
sources of beta plus decay with diverse o-Ps mean lifetimes, placed
symmetrically inside the two JPET prototypes. The estimated time differences
between the annihilation and the positron emission were aggregated into
histograms (one per voxel), updated by the weights of the activities
reconstructed by TOF MLEM. The simulations were restricted to include only the
o-Ps decays into back-to-back photons, allowing a linear fitting model to be
employed for the estimation of the mean lifetime from each histogram built in
the log scale. To suppress the noise, the exclusion of voxels with activity
below 2-10 percent of the peak was studied. The estimated o-Ps mean lifetimes
were consistent with the simulation and distributed quasi-uniformly at high
MLEM iterations. The proposed positronium imaging technique can be further
upgraded to include various correction factors, as well as be modified
according to realistic o-Ps decay models
Perspectives on translation of positronium imaging into clinics
The image of positronium properties created in the patient’s body during PET examination tells about the inter- and intra-molecular structure of the tissue and the concentration of bio-active molecules in the tissue [2–4]. In this article, we advocate the opinion that total-body PET systems, thanks to their high imaging sensitivity and high time resolution, open up the prospect of translating positronium imaging into clinics
Investigation of the light output of 3D-printed plastic scintillators for dosimetry applications
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