Abstract
In the scope of the EndoTOFPET-US project, a novel multimodal device for Ultrasound (US) Endoscopy and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is being developed. The project aims at detecting and quantifying morphologic and functional markers and developing new biomarkers for pancreas and prostate oncology. Exploiting the Time-of-Flight (TOF) information of the gamma rays allows for a more sensitive, more precise and lower radiation- dose imaging and intervention on small internal structures. The detection of the gamma rays is realised with the help of scintillator crystals with Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) read-out, aiming at a coincidence time resolution of 200 ps and a spatial resolution of ≈ 1 mm. For the endoscopic detector, digital SiPMs are utilised for the first time in an instrument planned for clinical applications. The functionality of the instrument as well as the challenges that accompany the high miniaturisation of the endoscopic detector and the asymmetric and variable geometry of the system, are presented. The demands on the system involve the fields of scintillating crystallography, ultra-fast photon detection, highly integrated electronics, system integration as well as image reconstruction.The single detector components have been fully characterised and are performing up to specifications. Two dedicated ASIC chips have been developed for the project. The first PET images have been acquired with a test setup that consists solely of hardware and software developed within the collaboration and demonstrate that the data acquisition and reconstruction chain is operational. In this talk, the characterisation of the single components and the status of the detector integration and comissioning is presented.
Highlights
Inspired by our expertise in high-energy physics calorimetry1, such as the CMS calorimeter, which involves scintillation crystals, silicon photomultipliers and front-end electronics, we aim at commissioning a miniaturised calorimeter for endoscopic positron emission tomography (PET)
The prospect of the EndoTOFPET-US project 2 [1] is the development of a novel multimodal imaging device for ultrasound (US) and time-of-flight PET for detecting and quantifying morphologic and functional markers as well as establishing and testing new biomarkers for pancreas and prostate carcinoma [2, 3]
The photons impinging on the endoscopic probe are detected in coincidence with an external detector plate which is located in the direct proximity of the patient. It is divided into 256 modules, each of which is assembled from a matrix of 4 × 4 LYSO crystals from Crystal Photonics Inc. (CPI) that are separated by 100 μm thick 3M Vikuiti reflector foil
Summary
Inspired by our expertise in high-energy physics calorimetry, such as the CMS calorimeter, which involves scintillation crystals, silicon photomultipliers and front-end electronics, we aim at commissioning a miniaturised calorimeter for endoscopic positron emission tomography (PET). The challenges that come along with building and commissioning such a detector device involve the extreme miniaturisation of the endoscopic PET head and highly integrated electronics as well as the ultra-fast detection of photons in order to allow TOF measurements Another challenge is the image reconstruction for a limited-angle, free-hand PET detector that incorporates TOF information and provides on-line images with a design spatial resolution of 1 mm FWHM. The aim of this project is to achieve a coincidence time resolution (CTR) of 200 ps FWHM which corresponds to a flight distance of approximately 3 cm.
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