Gamma ray imaging with silicon detectors — A Compton camera for radionuclide imaging in medicine

Abstract

The technique of Compton scatter imaging, its possible medical applications and the fundamental parameters affecting its performance are described. Monte Carlo simulations of a Compton camera for a number of detector and geometrical configurations indicate a high intrinsic efficiency (∼ 2%) and best values for the point-source response function (PSRF) full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of ∼ 3 mm. The unusual nature of the PSRF and the problems of image reconstruction are briefly discussed. The choice of a suitable position-sensitive semiconductor detector is shown to be most critical — suggestions are made as to the most suitable detector and a prototype system is described.