Monolithic scintillator PET detectors with intrinsic depth-of-interaction correction

We developed positron emission tomography (PET) detectors based on monolithic scintillation crystals and position-sensitive light sensors. Intrinsic depth-of-interaction (DOI) correction is achieved by deriving the entry points of annihilation photons on the front surface of the crystal from the light sensor signals. Here we characterize the next generation of these detectors, consisting of a 20 mm thick rectangular or trapezoidal LYSO:Ce crystal read out on the front and the back (double-sided readout, DSR) by Hamamatsu S8550SPL avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays optimized for DSR. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the detector point-spread function (PSF) obtained with a rectangular crystal at normal incidence equals ~1.05 mm at the detector centre, after correction for the ~0.9 mm diameter test beam of annihilation photons. Resolution losses of several tenths of a mm occur near the crystal edges. Furthermore, trapezoidal crystals perform almost equally well as rectangular ones, while improving system sensitivity. Due to the highly accurate DOI correction of all detectors, the spatial resolution remains essentially constant for angles of incidence of up to at least 30°. Energy resolutions of ~11% FWHM are measured, with a fraction of events of up to 75% in the full-energy peak. The coincidence timing resolution is estimated to be 2.8 ns FWHM. The good spatial, energy and timing resolutions, together with the excellent DOI correction and high detection efficiency of our detectors, are expected to facilitate high and uniform PET system resolution.RRR/Radiation, Radionuclides and ReactorsApplied Science

First Results with the ClearPET Small Animal PET Scanners

International audienceThe Crystal Clear Collaboration has designed and built a family of high resolution small animal PET scanners. These were designed to be used in research laboratories and provide maximum modularity and flexibility. The source code of the data acquisition and reconstruction software is freely available to the users. The design is based on the use of the Hamamatsu R7600-M64 multi-anode photomultiplier tube and an LSO/LuYAP phoswich matrix with one-to-one coupling between the crystals and the photo-detector. A complete system has 80 PMT tubes in four rings with a minimum inner diameter of 137 mm and an axial field of view of 110 mm. The detectors are rotating over 360 degrees so that partially filled ring geometries can be used. This greatly simplifies the combination of PET with other imaging modalities. Single gamma interactions are recorded in list mode format and coincidences are found by software