Performance evaluation of a very high resolution small animal PET imager using silicon scatter detectors

A very high resolution positron emission tomography (PET) scanner for small animal imaging based on the idea of inserting a ring of high-granularity solid-state detectors into a conventional PET scanner is under investigation. A particularly interesting configuration of this concept, which takes the form of a degenerate Compton camera, is shown capable of providing sub-millimeter resolution with good sensitivity. We present a Compton PET system and estimate its performance using a proof-of-concept prototype. A prototype single-slice imaging instrument was constructed with two silicon detectors 1 mm thick, each having 512 1.4 mm × 1.4 mm pads arranged in a 32 × 16 array. The silicon detectors were located edgewise on opposite sides and flanked by two non-position sensitive BGO detectors. The scanner performance was measured for its sensitivity, energy, timing, spatial resolution and resolution uniformity. Using the experimental scanner, energy resolution for the silicon detectors is 1%. However, system energy resolution is dominated by the 23% FWHM BGO resolution. Timing resolution for silicon is 82.1 ns FWHM due to time-walk in trigger devices. Using the scattered photons, time resolution between the BGO detectors is 19.4 ns FWHM. Image resolution of 980 µm FWHM at the center of the field-of-view (FOV) is obtained from a 1D profile of a 0.254 mm diameter 18F line source image reconstructed using the conventional 2D filtered back-projection (FBP). The 0.4 mm gap between two line sources is resolved in the image reconstructed with both FBP and the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (ML-EM) algorithm. The experimental instrument demonstrates sub-millimeter resolution. A prototype having sensitivity high enough for initial small animal images can be used for in vivo studies of small animal models of metabolism, molecular mechanism and the development of new radiotracers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58094/2/pmb7_10_012.pd

Sigh in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome: the PROTECTION pilot randomized clinical trial

Background: Sigh is a cyclic brief recruitment manoeuvre: previous physiological studies showed that its use could be an interesting addition to pressure support ventilation to improve lung elastance, decrease regional heterogeneity and increase release of surfactant. Research question: Is the clinical application of sigh during pressure support ventilation (PSV) feasible? Study design and methods: We conducted a multi-center non-inferiority randomized clinical trial on adult intubated patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome undergoing PSV. Patients were randomized to the No Sigh group and treated by PSV alone, or to the Sigh group, treated by PSV plus sigh (increase of airway pressure to 30 cmH2Ofor 3 seconds once per minute) until day 28 or death or successful spontaneous breathing trial. The primary endpoint of the study was feasibility, assessed as non-inferiority (5% tolerance) in the proportion of patients failing assisted ventilation. Secondary outcomes included safety, physiological parameters in the first week from randomization, 28-day mortality and ventilator-free days. Results: Two-hundred fifty-eight patients (31% women; median age 65 [54-75] years) were enrolled. In the Sigh group, 23% of patients failed to remain on assisted ventilation vs. 30% in the No Sigh group (absolute difference -7%, 95%CI -18% to 4%; p=0.015 for non-inferiority). Adverse events occurred in 12% vs. 13% in Sigh vs. No Sigh (p=0.852). Oxygenation was improved while tidal volume, respiratory rate and corrected minute ventilation were lower over the first 7 days from randomization in Sigh vs. No Sigh. There was no significant difference in terms of mortality (16% vs. 21%, p=0.342) and ventilator-free days (22 [7-26] vs. 22 [3-25] days, p=0.300) for Sigh vs. No Sigh. Interpretation: Among hypoxemic intubated ICU patients, application of sigh was feasible and without increased risk

The ATLAS semiconductor tracker

The ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) is presented. About 16000 silicon micro-strip sensors with a total active surface of over 60 m **2 and with 6.3 million read-out channels are built into 4088 modules arranged into four barrel layers and nine disks covering each of the forward regions up to an eta of 2.5. Challenges are imposed by the hostile radiation environment with particle fluences up to 2 multiplied by 10**1**4 cm**-**2 1 MeV neutron NIEL equivalent and 100 kGy TID, the 25 ns LHC bunch crossing time and the need for a hermetic, lightweight tracker. The solution adopted is carefully designed strip detectors operated at -7 degree C, biased up to 500 V and read out by binary radhard fast BiCMOS electronics. A zero-CTE carbon fibre structure provides mechanical support. 30 kW of power are supplied on aluminiutn/Kapton tapes and cooled by C//3F//8 evaporative cooling. Data and commands are transferred by optical links. Prototypes of detector modules have been built, irradiated to the maximum expected fluence and successfully tested. The detector is in full production now. This will be followed by integration starting in 2004 and installation in 2006 to match the LHC start-up in 2007

The Higgs Hunt with ATLAS at LHC

Talk to be given at TAM2103, March 4-8, Venice, Ital

Large Object Irradiation Facility In The Tangential Channel Of The JSI TRIGA Reactor

This paper presents the design and installation of a new irradiation device in the Tangential Channel of the JSI TRIGA reactor in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The purpose of the device is to enable on-line irradiation testing of electronic components considerably larger in size (of lateral dimensions of at least 12 cm) than currently possible in the irradiation channels located in the reactor core, in a relatively high neutron flux (exceeding 10^12 n cm^-2 s^-1) and to provide adequate neutron and gamma radiation shielding

Position Sensitive TCT Evaluation of Irradiated 3D-stc Detectors

Position sensitive Transient Current Technique (TCT)evaluation of irradiated 3D single column type detectors is presented. The detectors produced by FBK-irst were irradiated with neutrons to 1E14, 5E14 and 5E15 ncm-2. A pulsed IR laser light focused to a spot of 6 μm and scanned over the entire detector with 0.5 μm resolution is used to create electron hole pairs throughout the detector simulating m.i.p. For each laser beam position the induced current shape is measured for three neighboring channels. Charge collection and sharing, current pulse shape and timing properties are studied as a function of position, voltage and fluence

Review on the development of cryogenic silicon detectors

In this paper, we report on the performance of heavily irradiated silicon detectors operated at cryogenic temperatures. The results discussed here show that cryogenic operation indeed represents a reliable method to increase the radiation tolerance of standard silicon detectors by more than one order of magnitude. In particular, a 400 mum thick "double- p" silicon detector irradiated up to 1 x 10(15) n/cm(2) delivers a mip signal of about 27 000 electrons when operated at 130 K and 500 V bias. The position resolution of an irradiated microstrip detector, and "in situ" irradiation of a pad detector during operation in the cold are also discussed