Evaluation of solid-state detectors in medical imaging with fuzzy PROMETHEE

Abstract

Solid-state semiconductor detectors are radiation detectors which employs a semiconductor material as the detecting medium. These detectors produce pulse of electric current by means of pairs of charge carriers, electrons and holes, generated when the detectors come in contact with ionizing radiation. The type of semiconducting material used in the detectors determines the number of paired charge carriers generated, which is a very important parameter that affects the performance of the device. Other parameters to be considered in determining the performance of the solid-state detectors include energy resolution, atomic number, and density. The trend in development of new cameras for nuclear medicine applications is the principal reason behind the extensive research into detectors with superb spatial resolution. Semiconductor based detectors have received much attention due to their high energy and intrinsic spatial resolution, various types of such detectors exist, of which no study has categorically provided the “best” amongst the existing detectors. Fuzzy (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations) PROMETHEE is a multi-criterion decision-making method (MCDM) that has been applied in many fields to solve selection problems involving multiple criteria. We applied this MCDM technique in order to evaluate the various semiconductor based detectors using their distinct physical parameters. Evaluation results showed that Cadmium Telluride, Cadmium Zinc Telluride, and Thallium Bromide are among the most suitable detector materials for high-sensitivity and high-resolution nuclear medicine devices. By using fuzzy PROMETHEE, one can determine the most suitable material based on the selected criteria and defined weight according to desired application.