A Method for Obtaining Depth of Interaction in Pixelated Scintillator Detectors
Increased spatial resolution and sensitivityModification of existing scintillation detectors and no new material requiredReduced size of detectors, and thus low overall cost
Pre-clinical and clinical PET imaging CT camerasOther scintillator based devices such as gamma cameras, gamma ray detectors, radioactive detectors for industrial purposes etc.
UCLA researchers have developed a method to gain DOI information using currently available scintillator detectors made of bismuth germanate (BGO). Their method allows for continuous DOI information, and the design can distinguish between different scattered events in the detector. Their rational design and geometry also increases the spatial resolution by optimizing the light output from the scintillator. Test runs in the lab show their designed scintillator can efficiently distinguish between 3 DOI bins.
Background A scintillator detector uses the energy of gamma rays to generate photons, which can then be detected and read as an electric signal. Scintillator detectors have huge applications in medical imaging devices such as positron emission tomography (PET). However, current designs of the scintillation detectors reduce the light output and introduce ‘parallalax error’, a discrepancy in the position of interaction. Parallalax error is particularly challenging for circular detectors and a method that can measure the exact depth of interaction (DOI) will be useful for pre-clinical PET imaging. Several methods have been proposed to gain DOI information but these provide limited spatial information and often result in low signal to noise. Additional Technologies by these Inventors Tech ID/UC Case 29042/2016-99B-0 Related Cases 2016-99B-0
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