Depth Of Interaction Resolution Research Articles

Design study of a cardiac-dedicated PET system

The work studies the feasibility of developing a cardiac-dedicated PET system using Monte Carlo simulation tools. The proposed system comprises a dual-panel geometry and both panels utilize fine crystal elements (~2–3mm) to help improve high spatial resolution. The system performances were studied with respect to photon detection sensitivity, count-rate performances, spatial resolution, depth-of-interaction (DOI) capability, and potential contrast recovery improvement due to time-of-flight (TOF). For a 2:3 dual panel configuration (front panel: 24.0×18.0cm2 and back panel: 36.0×27.0cm2), the system is able to achieve a peak photon sensitivity of ~13.0% at the location of the heart. For count-rate performances, the system is able to yield a continuous increase of noise equivalent count rate (NECR) as a function of the total activity of radiotracers between 10mCi and 50mCi. When crystal elements of 2×2×20cm3 are deployed in the front panel and crystal elements of 3×3×20cm3 are deployed in the back panel, the proposed system is not only able to revolve 2mm diameter spheres in the image slices parallel to the panels but also demonstrates good resolution uniformity of less than 5%. On the other hand, significant resolution degradation occurs in the direction perpendicular to the panels due to the following two factors: limited angular coverage and finite DOI resolution. Such degradation was quantitatively analyzed for five different DOI resolutions (0mm, 2.5mm, 5mm, 10mm and 20mm), as well as three different crystal configurations. Finally, the contrast study with a heart-like phantom (comprising lumen, aortic wall, myocardium and small lesions) indicates that TOF capability (time resolution: 250–500ps) does not significantly improve image quality and lesion detectability, in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).

Side readout of long scintillation crystal elements with digital SiPM for TOF-DOI PET.

Side readout of scintillation light from crystal elements in positron emission tomography (PET) is an alternative to conventional end-readout configurations, with the benefit of being able to provide accurate depth-of-interaction (DOI) information and good energy resolution while achieving excellent timing resolution required for time-of-flight PET. This paper explores different readout geometries of scintillation crystal elements with the goal of achieving a detector that simultaneously achieves excellent timing resolution, energy resolution, spatial resolution, and photon sensitivity. The performance of discrete LYSO scintillation elements of different lengths read out from the end/side with digital silicon photomultipliers (dSiPMs) has been assessed. Compared to 3 × 3 × 20 mm(3) LYSO crystals read out from their ends with a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 162 ± 6 ps FWHM and saturated energy spectra, a side-readout configuration achieved an excellent CRT of 144 ± 2 ps FWHM after correcting for timing skews within the dSiPM and an energy resolution of 11.8% ± 0.2% without requiring energy saturation correction. Using a maximum likelihood estimation method on individual dSiPM pixel response that corresponds to different 511 keV photon interaction positions, the DOI resolution of this 3 × 3 × 20 mm(3) crystal side-readout configuration was computed to be 0.8 mm FWHM with negligible artifacts at the crystal ends. On the other hand, with smaller 3 × 3 × 5 mm(3) LYSO crystals that can also be tiled/stacked to provide DOI information, a timing resolution of 134 ± 6 ps was attained but produced highly saturated energy spectra. The energy, timing, and DOI resolution information extracted from the side of long scintillation crystal elements coupled to dSiPM have been acquired for the first time. The authors conclude in this proof of concept study that such detector configuration has the potential to enable outstanding detector performance in terms of timing, energy, and DOI resolution.

Timing properties of phosphor-coated polished LSO crystals

This study investigates a time-of-flight (TOF)–depth-of-interaction (DOI) detector design for positron emission tomography (PET), based on phosphor-coated lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) scintillator crystals coupled to fast single channel photomultiplier tubes. Interaction of the scintillation light with the phosphor coating changes the pulse shape in a depth-dependent manner. 3 × 3 × 10 mm3 LSO scintillation crystals with polished surfaces were characterized, with and without phosphor coating, to assess DOI capability and timing properties. Two different phosphor coating geometries were studied: coating of the top surface of the crystal, and the top plus half of the crystal sides. There was negligible depth dependency in the decay time when coating only the top surface, however there was a ∼10 ns difference in end-to-end decay time when coating the top plus half of the crystal sides, sufficient to support the use of three DOI bins (3.3 mm DOI bin width). The rise time of the half-coated phosphor crystal was slightly faster at all depths, compared to uncoated crystals, however the signal amplitude was lower. Phosphor coating resulted in depth-dependent photopeak positions with an energy resolution of 13.7%, at a depth of 1 mm, and 15.3%, at a depth of 9 mm, for the half-coated crystal. Uncoated LSO crystals showed no change in photopeak position as a function of depth, with an energy resolution of 10.4%. The head-on coincidence timing resolution (CTR) of two uncoated LSO crystals was 287 ps using constant fraction discrimination for time pick-off. With phosphor coating, the CTR of the top-coated crystal was 314 ps, compared to 384 ps for the half-coated crystal. We demonstrate that the trade-off between timing resolution and DOI resolution can be controlled by the phosphor coating geometry. Here we present preliminary results demonstrating that good DOI resolution can be achieved with only a modest 26% degradation in CTR.

Sensitivity booster for DOI-PET scanner by utilizing Compton scattering events between detector blocks

In a conventional PET scanner, coincidence events are measured with a limited energy window for detection of photoelectric events in order to reject Compton scatter events that occur in a patient, but Compton scatter events caused in detector crystals are also rejected. Scatter events within the patient causes scatter coincidences, but inter crystal scattering (ICS) events have useful information for determining an activity distribution. Some researchers have reported the feasibility of PET scanners based on a Compton camera for tracing ICS into the detector. However, these scanners require expensive semiconductor detectors for high-energy resolution. In the Anger-type block detector, single photons interacting with multiple detectors can be obtained for each interacting position and complete information can be gotten just as for photoelectric events in the single detector. ICS events in the single detector have been used to get coincidence, but single photons interacting with multiple detectors have not been used to get coincidence. In this work, we evaluated effect of sensitivity improvement using Compton kinetics in several types of DOI-PET scanners. The proposed method promises to improve the sensitivity using coincidence events of single photons interacting with multiple detectors, which are identified as the first interaction (FI). FI estimation accuracy can be improved to determine FI validity from the correlation between Compton scatter angles calculated on the coincidence line-of-response. We simulated an animal PET scanner consisting of 42 detectors. Each detector block consists of three types of scintillator crystals (LSO, GSO and GAGG). After the simulation, coincidence events are added as information for several depth-of-interaction (DOI) resolutions. From the simulation results, we concluded the proposed method promises to improve the sensitivity considerably when effective atomic number of a scintillator is low. Also, we showed that FI estimate accuracy is improved, as DOI resolution is high.

Effects of reflector and crystal surface on the performance of a depth-encoding PET detector with dual-ended readout.

Depth encoding detectors are required to improve the spatial resolution and spatial resolution uniformity of small animal positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, as well as dedicated breast and brain scanners. Depth of interaction (DOI) can be measured by using dual-ended readout of lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) scintillator arrays with position-sensitive avalanche photodiodes. Inter-crystal reflectors and crystal surface treatments play important roles in determining the performance of dual-ended detectors. In this paper, the authors evaluated five LSO arrays made with three different intercrystal reflectors and with either polished or unpolished crystal surfaces. The crystal size in all arrays was 1.5 mm, which is typical of the detector size used in small animal and dedicated breast scanners. The LSO arrays were measured with dual-ended readout and were compared in terms of flood histogram, energy resolution, and DOI resolution performance. The four arrays using enhanced specular reflector (ESR) and Toray reflector provided similar quality flood histograms and the array using Crystal Wrap reflector gave the worst flood histogram. The two arrays using ESR reflector provided the best energy resolution and the array using Crystal Wrap reflector yielded the worst energy resolution. All arrays except the polished ESR array provided good DOI resolution ranging from 1.9 mm to 2.9 mm. DOI resolution improved as the gradient in light collection efficiency with depth (GLCED) increased. The geometric mean energies were also calculated for these dual-ended readout detectors as an alternative to the conventional summed total energy. It was shown that the geometric mean energy is advantageous in that it provides more uniform photopeak amplitude at different depths for arrays with high GLCED, and is beneficial in event selection by allowing a fixed energy window independent of depth. A new method of DOI calculation that improved the linearity of DOI ratio vs depth and simplifies the DOI calibration procedure also was developed and tested. The results of these studies provide useful guidance in selecting the proper reflectors and crystal surface treatments when LSO arrays are used for high-resolution PET applications in small animal scanners or dedicated breast and brain scanners.

MO‐G‐17A‐01: Innovative High‐Performance PET Imaging System for Preclinical Imaging and Translational Researches

Purpose:To develop a practical and compact preclinical PET with innovative technologies for substantially improved imaging performance required for the advanced imaging applications.Methods:Several key components of detector, readout electronics and data acquisition have been developed and evaluated for achieving leapfrogged imaging performance over a prototype animal PET we had developed. The new detector module consists of an 8×8 array of 1.5×1.5×30 mm3 LYSO scintillators with each end coupled to a latest 4×4 array of 3×3 mm2 Silicon Photomultipliers (with ∼0.2 mm insensitive gap between pixels) through a 2.0 mm thick transparent light spreader. Scintillator surface and reflector/coupling were designed and fabricated to reserve air‐gap to achieve higher depth‐of‐interaction (DOI) resolution and other detector performance. Front‐end readout electronics with upgraded 16‐ch ASIC was newly developed and tested, so as the compact and high density FPGA based data acquisition and transfer system targeting 10M/s coincidence counting rate with low power consumption. The new detector module performance of energy, timing and DOI resolutions with the data acquisition system were evaluated. Initial Na‐22 point source image was acquired with 2 rotating detectors to assess the system imaging capability.Results:No insensitive gaps at the detector edge and thus it is capable for tiling to a large‐scale detector panel. All 64 crystals inside the detector were clearly separated from a flood‐source image. Measured energy, timing, and DOI resolutions are around 17%, 2.7 ns and 1.96 mm (mean value). Point source image is acquired successfully without detector/electronics calibration and data correction.Conclusion:Newly developed advanced detector and readout electronics will be enable achieving targeted scalable and compact PET system in stationary configuration with >15% sensitivity, ∼1.3 mm uniform imaging resolution, and fast acquisition counting rate capability for substantially improved imaging and quantification performance for small animal imaging and image‐guided radiotherapy applications.This work was supported by a research award RP120326 from Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Development of a prototype PET scanner with depth-of-interaction measurement using solid-state photomultiplier arrays and parallel readout electronics

In this study, we developed a prototype animal PET by applying several novel technologies to use solid-state photomultiplier (SSPM) arrays to measure the depth of interaction (DOI) and improve imaging performance. Each PET detector has an 8 × 8 array of about 1.9 × 1.9 × 30.0 mm3 lutetium-yttrium-oxyorthosilicate scintillators, with each end optically connected to an SSPM array (16 channels in a 4 × 4 matrix) through a light guide to enable continuous DOI measurement. Each SSPM has an active area of about 3 × 3 mm2, and its output is read by a custom-developed application-specific integrated circuit to directly convert analogue signals to digital timing pulses that encode the interaction information. These pulses are transferred to and are decoded by a field-programmable gate array-based time-to-digital convertor for coincident event selection and data acquisition. The independent readout of each SSPM and the parallel signal process can significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio and enable the use of flexible algorithms for different data processes. The prototype PET consists of two rotating detector panels on a portable gantry with four detectors in each panel to provide 16 mm axial and variable transaxial field-of-view (FOV) sizes. List-mode ordered subset expectation maximization image reconstruction was implemented. The measured mean energy, coincidence timing and DOI resolution for a crystal were about 17.6%, 2.8 ns and 5.6 mm, respectively. The measured transaxial resolutions at the center of the FOV were 2.0 mm and 2.3 mm for images reconstructed with and without DOI, respectively. In addition, the resolutions across the FOV with DOI were substantially better than those without DOI. The quality of PET images of both a hot-rod phantom and mouse acquired with DOI was much higher than that of images obtained without DOI. This study demonstrates that SSPM arrays and advanced readout/processing electronics can be used to develop a practical DOI-measureable PET scanner.

Continuous depth-of-interaction measurement in a single-layer pixelated crystal array using a single-ended readout

We propose a depth-of-interaction (DOI)-encoding method to extract continuous DOI information using a single-layer scintillation crystal array with single-ended readout for cost-effective high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET). DOI information is estimated by different light dispersions along the x- and y-directions tailored by the geometric shape of reflectors around the crystals. The detector module comprised a 22 × 22 array of unpolished LGSO crystals (2.0 × 2.0 × 20 mm3). A multi-anode photomultiplier tube with 64 anodes measured light dispersion in the crystal array. Gain non-uniformity of each anode was corrected by an analogue gain compensation circuit. DOI information was determined from peaks in the x and y anode-signal distributions normalized by the total energy of the distribution. Average DOI resolution (full width at half maximum, FWHM) over all crystals and depths was estimated to be 4.2 mm. Average energy resolution from the 2 to 18 mm DOI positions was 11.3% ± 0.79%, with 13% difference in photo-peak positions. Average time resolutions (FWHM) were 320–356 ps. Energy, time and DOI resolutions were uniform over all crystal positions except at the array's edge. This DOI-PET detector shows promise for applications that require high resolution and sensitivity at low cost.

Pulse shape discrimination and classification methods for continuous depth of interaction encoding PET detectors

In previous work we demonstrated the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) detectors with depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding capability based on phosphor-coated crystals. A DOI resolution of 8 mm full-width at half-maximum was obtained for 20 mm long scintillator crystals using a delayed charge integration linear regression method (DCI-LR). Phosphor-coated crystals modify the pulse shape to allow continuous DOI information determination, but the relationship between pulse shape and DOI is complex. We are therefore interested in developing a sensitive and robust method to estimate the DOI. Here, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was implemented to classify the events based on information extracted from the pulse shape. Pulses were acquired with 2×2×20 mm3 phosphor-coated crystals at five irradiation depths and characterized by their DCI values or Laguerre coefficients. These coefficients were obtained by expanding the pulses on a Laguerre basis set and constituted a unique signature for each pulse. The DOI of individual events was predicted using LDA based on Laguerre coefficients (Laguerre-LDA) or DCI values (DCI-LDA) as discriminant features. Predicted DOIs were compared to true irradiation depths. Laguerre-LDA showed higher sensitivity and accuracy than DCI-LDA and DCI-LR and was also more robust to predict the DOI of pulses with higher statistical noise due to low light levels (interaction depths further from the photodetector face). This indicates that Laguerre-LDA may be more suitable to DOI estimation in smaller crystals where lower collected light levels are expected. This novel approach is promising for calculating DOI using pulse shape discrimination in single-ended readout depth-encoding PET detectors.

New developments at INFN-LNS on TOF–DOI PET based on SiPM detectors

The development of an endorectal PET Time Of Flight (TOF) probe prototype compatible with MRI, is going to be carried out within the INFN project TOPEM. Time resolution and depth of interaction (DOI) will allow to significantly improve the image quality, by rejecting those events coming from the surrounding tissues and correcting the parallax error. The activity described in this paper is focused on the characterization of the single pixel detector of the probe, consisting of a LYSO finger scintillator read out at both ends by means of a pair of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). Energy, timing and DOI resolutions have been measured with a proper surface treatment and wrapping, finding very competitive results for DOI and timing.

Characterization of a scintillating mini-detector for time-of-flight positron emission tomography with depth-of-interaction

By exploiting a suitable treatment of the scintillator surfaces, along with silicon photomultiplier photodetectors and specific algorithms for raw data analysis, we achieved a remarkable tradeoff between energy, time, and depth-of-interaction (DOI) resolution, thus supporting the feasibility of a prostate time-of-flight positron emission tomography probe, magnetic resonance imaging compatible, with the required features and performance. In numbers this means a detector element of 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm × 10 mm, promising to achieve at the same time energy resolution around 11.5%, coincidence resolving time around 300 ps corresponding to a space resolution <5 cm along the line of response, and DOI resolution even below 1 mm. We stress that such a time resolution allows to increase significantly the noise equivalent counting rate, and consequently improve the image quality and the lesion detection capability.

Investigation of crystal surface finish and geometry on single LYSO scintillator detector performance for depth-of-interaction measurement with silicon photomultipliers

Depth of Interaction (DOI) information can improve quality of reconstructed images acquired from Positron Emission Tomography (PET), especially in high resolution and compact scanners dedicated for breast, brain, or small animal imaging applications. Additionally, clinical scanners with time of flight capability can also benefit from DOI information. One of the most promising methods of determining DOI in a crystal involves reading the signal from two ends of a scintillation crystal, and calculating the signal ratio between the two detectors. This method is known to deliver a better DOI resolution with rough crystals compared to highly polished crystals. However, what is still not well studied is how much of a tradeoff is involved between spatial, energy, temporal, and DOI resolutions as a function of the crystal surface treatment and geometry with the use of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) as the photo detectors. This study investigates the effects of different crystal surface finishes and geometries on energy, timing and DOI resolutions at different crystal depths. The results show that for LYSO scintillators of 1.5×1.5×20mm3 and 2×2×20mm3 with their surfaces finished from 0.5 to 30μm roughness, almost the same energy and coincidence timing resolutions were maintained, around 15% and 2.4ns, respectively across different crystal depths, while the DOI resolutions were steadily improved from worse than 5mm to better than 2mm. They demonstrate that crystal roughness, with proper surface preparing, does not have a significant effect on the energy and coincidence timing resolutions in the crystals examined, and there does not appear to be a tradeoff between improving DOI resolution and degrading other detector performances. These results will be valuable to guide the selection of crystal surface conditions for developing a DOI measurable PET detector with a full array of LYSO scintillators coupled to SiPM arrays.

WE-C-217BCD-10: Development of High Performance PET for Animal Imaging and Therapy Applications.

A prototype small animal PET is developed with several novel technologies to measure 3D gamma-interaction positions and to substantially improve imaging performance. Each new detector has an 8×8 array of 1.95×1.95×30 mm̂3 LYSO scintillators, with each end optically connected to a solid-state photo multiplier (SSPM) array through a light guide. This dual-ended-readout enables the depth-of-interaction (DOI) measurement. Each SSPM array has 16 SSPMs arranged in a 4×4 matrix. Each SSPM has active area about 3×3 mm̂2, with its output read by an ASIC electronics that directly converts analog signals to digital timing pulses which encode the interaction information for energy, timing, crystal of interaction, and DOI calculations. These digital pulses are transferred to and decoded by FPGA-based TDC for coincident event selection and data acquisition. This independent readout of each SSPM and parallel signal process significantly improve signal-to-noise ratio and permit applying flexible data processing algorithms. The current prototype system consists of two rotating detector panels on a portable gantry, with 4 detectors linearly packed together in each panel to provide ∼16 mm axial and variable trans- axial FOV with adjustable panel-to-panel distance. List-mode OSEM-based image reconstruction with resolution modeling was implemented. Both Na- 22 point source and phantom were used to evaluate the system performance. The measured energy, timing, spatial and DOI resolutions for each crystal were around 16%, 2.6 ns, 2.0 mm and 5.0 mm, respectively. The measured spatial resolutions with DOI were ∼1.7 mm across the entire FOV in all direction, while those without DOI were much worse and non-uniform across the FOV, in the range predominately around 3.0 to 4.0 mm. In addition, images from a F-18 hot-rod phantom with DOI show significantly improved quality compared to those without DOI. DOI- measurable PET shows substantially improved image performance for a compact system. National Institute of Health. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Characterization of a high-resolution hybrid DOI detector for a dedicated breast PET/CT scanner

The aim of this study is to design and test a new high-resolution hybrid depth of interaction (DOI) detector for a dedicated breast PET/CT scanner. Two detectors have been designed and built. The completed detectors are based on a 14 × 14 array of 1.5 × 1.5 × 20 mm3 unpolished lutetium orthosilicate scintillation crystals, with each element coated in a 50 μm layer of reflective material. The detector is read out from both ends using a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT) and a large active area (20 × 20 mm2) avalanche photodiode (APD) to enable acquisition of DOI information. Nuclear instrumentation modules were used to characterize the detectors’ performances in terms of timing, intrinsic spatial resolution (ISR) and energy resolution, as well as DOI resolution with a dual-ended readout configuration. Measurements with the APD were performed at a temperature of 10 °C. All crystals were identified at all depths, even though the signal amplitude from the PSPMT decreases with depth away from it. We measured a timing resolution of 2.4 ns, and an average energy resolution of 19%. The mean ISR was measured to be 1.2 mm for crystals in the central row of the array for detectors in the face-to-face position. Two off-center positions were measured corresponding to 26° and 51° oblique photon incidence, and the mean ISR at these positions was 1.5 and 1.7 mm, respectively. The average DOI resolution across all crystals and depths was measured to be 2.9 mm (including the beam width of 0.6 mm). This detector design shows good promise as a high-resolution detector for a dedicated breast PET/CT scanner.

Use of Cramer-Rao Lower Bound for Performance Evaluation of Different Monolithic Crystal PET Detector Designs.

We have previously reported on continuous miniature crystal element (cMiCE) PET detectors that provide depth of interaction (DOI) positioning capability. A key component of the design is the use of a statistics-based positioning (SBP) method for 3D event positioning. The Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) expresses limits on the estimate variances for a set of deterministic parameters. We examine the CRLB as a useful metric to evaluate the performance of our SBP algorithm and to quickly compare the best possible resolution when investigating new detector designs.In this work, the CRLB is first reported based upon experimental results from a cMiCE detector using a 50×50×15-mm(3) LYSO crystal readout by a 64-channel PMT (Hamamatsu H8500) on the exit surface of the crystal. The X/Y resolution is relatively close to the CRLB, while the DOI resolution is more than double the CRLB even after correcting for beam diameter and finite X (i.e., reference DOI position) resolution of the detector. The positioning performance of the cMiCE detector with the same design was also evaluated through simulation. Similar with the experimental results, the difference between the CRLB and measured spatial resolution is bigger in DOI direction than in X/Y direction.Another simulation study was conducted to investigate what causes the difference between the measured spatial resolution and the CRLB. The cMiCE detector with novel sensor-on-entrance-surface (SES) design was modeled as a 49.2×49.2×15-mm(3) LYSO crystal readout by a 12×12 array of 3.8×3.8-mm(2) silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) elements with 4.1-mm center-to-center spacing on the entrance surface of the crystal. The results show that there are two main causes to account for the differences between the spatial resolution and the CRLB. First, Compton scatter in the crystal degrades the spatial resolution. The DOI resolution is degraded more than the X/Y resolution since small angle scatter is preferred. Second, our maximum likelihood (ML) clustering algorithm also has limitations when developing 3D look up tables during detector calibration.

A dual-ended readout PET detector module based on GAPDs with large-area microcells

The use of a dual-ended readout PET detector module based on Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GAPDs) with large-area microcells was proposed to obtain high photon detection efficiency (PDE) and overcome energy non-linearity problems. A simulation study was performed and experimental measurement were taken for the single- and dual-ended PET detector modules consisting of the two types of GAPDs with 50 × 50 μm2 and 100 × 100 μm2 microcells. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to predict the number of incident photons impinging on the GAPD entrance surface to estimate the light collection efficiency (LCE) and energy linearity performance. A depth of interaction (DOI) ratio histogram was also obtained. An experimental study was performed to acquire the spectra of different energy γ-rays, and the energy linearity was evaluated by analyzing the photo-peak channels. The simulation results showed that the LCE and energy linearity of the dual-ended PET detector modules were considerably improved compared to the single-ended one, with 100 × 100 μm2 microcell GAPDs. We also estimated that the proposed method can provide accurate (3–4 mm) and uniform DOI resolution. In the experimental measurement, the 511 keV photo-peak channels of the dual-ended PET detector modules were increased 26% and 71% compared to the single-ended one, with 50 × 50 μm2 and 100 × 100 μm2 microcell GAPDs, respectively. The coefficients of determination (R2) were increased from 0.97 to 0.99 and from 0.86 to 0.93 with 50 × 50 μm2 and 100 × 100 μm2 microcell GAPDs, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that the dual-ended readout scheme using GAPDs with large-area microcells provides high LCE and DOI information with minimized energy non-linearity. This will enable investigators to configure PET detector modules with high sensitivity and resolution.

A practical method for depth of interaction determination in monolithic scintillator PET detectors

Several new methods for determining the depth of interaction (DOI) of annihilation photons in monolithic scintillator detectors with single-sided, multi-pixel readout are investigated. The aim is to develop a DOI decoding method that allows for practical implementation in a positron emission tomography system. Specifically, calibration data, obtained with perpendicularly incident gamma photons only, are being used. Furthermore, neither detector modifications nor a priori knowledge of the light transport and/or signal variances is required. For this purpose, a clustering approach is utilized in combination with different parameters correlated with the DOI, such as the degree of similarity to a set of reference light distributions, the measured intensity on the sensor pixel(s) closest to the interaction position and the peak intensity of the measured light distribution. The proposed methods were tested experimentally on a detector comprised of a 20 mm × 20 mm × 12 mm polished LYSO:Ce crystal coupled to a 4 × 4 multi-anode photomultiplier. The method based on the linearly interpolated measured intensities on the sensor pixels closest to the estimated (x, y)-coordinate outperformed the other methods, yielding DOI resolutions between ∼1 and ∼4.5 mm FWHM depending on the DOI, the (x, y) resolution and the amount of reference data used.

TU‐G‐211‐02: Design and Evaluation of Dual‐Ended Detectors for PET Mammography

Purpose: Positron emission mammography shows promise as a secondary breast screening technique to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies. To reduce the dose to the patient, current PEM systems use depth of interaction (DOI) enabling detector modules. These detector designs however require a large number of channels per scintillator at high system cost and complexity. We propose a dual‐ended readout block detector module (DERBDM) design combining the high encoding ratio of Anger logic with the DOI measuring dual‐ended readout detector design to reduce the number of required channels while maintaining spatial resolution on the order of 2‐mm. Methods: A prototype DERBDM was constructed from 2 × 2 pixels with 3.4‐mm pitch from two SensL silicon photomultipliers arrays (SPMArray2‐A0), two 2‐mm thick glass light guides, and a 3 × 3 array of 2‐mm × 2‐mm × 20‐mm scintillators with 2.075‐mm pitch. The signal from the DERBDM was digitized using eight channels of a CAEN Systems 16‐channel 12‐bit 250‐MS/s waveform digitizer. The ability to identify crystal index, DOI resolution, and energy resolution were measured. Results: The DERBDM was found to resolve events in a flood field image and with energy‐based corrections clearly identifying the interacting scintillation crystals. After per‐crystal corrections were applied, DOI was resolved with 5‐mm FHWM resolution. Energy was corrected with crystal index‐ and DOI‐ dependant and found to discriminate the energy of events with a resolution of 20%. Conclusions: This work demonstrates the DERBDMˈs ability to increase encoding ratio at least 2‐fold from that of the dual‐ended readout design without sacrificing spatial resolution. It indicates that the DERBDM has the potential to meet the need for an affordable, high resolution, highly specific breast imaging system.

Nonlinear least-squares modeling of 3D interaction position in a monolithic scintillator block

This paper presents a study of possible models to describe the relation between the scintillation light point-of-origin and the measured photo detector pixel signals in monolithic scintillation crystals. From these models the X, Y and depth of interaction (DOI) coordinates can be estimated simultaneously by nonlinear least-square fitting. The method depends only on the information embedded in the signals of individual events, and therefore does not need any prior position training or calibration. Three possible distributions of the light sources were evaluated: an exact solid-angle-based distribution, an approximate solid-angle distribution and an extended approximate solid-angle-based distribution which includes internal reflection at side and bottom surfaces. The performance of the general model using these three distributions was studied using Monte Carlo simulated data of a 20 × 20 × 10 mm lutetium oxyorthosilicate (Lu2SiO5 or LSO) block read out by 2 Hamamatsu S8550 avalanche photo diode arrays. The approximate solid-angle-based model had the best compromise between resolution and simplicity. This model was also evaluated using experimental data by positioning a narrow 1.2 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) beam of 511 keV photons at known positions on the 20 × 20 × 10 mm LSO block. An average intrinsic resolution in the X-direction of 1.4 mm FWHM was obtained for positions covering the complete block. The intrinsic DOI resolution was estimated at 2.6 mm FWHM.

Optimizing PET DOI Resolution With Crystal Coating and Length

In the last few years, one of the main research programs for PET systems has been the improvement of spatial resolution using Depth Of Interaction (DOI) information. In the context of developing a new PET system dedicated to small animals with axially oriented LYSO crystals and DOI capability, we have investigated the influence of the crystal coating and its length on the DOI resolution. The proposed PET system is composed of four detection modules arranged around the animal. Each module consists in 768 LYSO crystals read at both ends by multichannel plate photodetectors. The particular geometry combined with an inner diameter of 61.2 mm, lead to high detection efficiency close to the system solid angle. The LYSO crystal is chosen for its light yield of 33 ph/keV and its attenuation length of 11.2 mm at 511 keV. To obtain a transverse spatial resolution of 1 mm, the section of the crystal was fixed to 1.5 mm. To achieve a DOI resolution close to 1 mm, measurements have been performed on different LYSO crystal coatings with a length ranging from 25 mm to 35 mm. Each crystal is positioned on an xy translation stage and read out at both ends by H3164-10 Hamamatsu PMTs. The DOI information is then derived every 0.5 mm along the crystal extent. The use of an electronic collimation leads to a <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">22</sup> Na source beam size of (1.58 ± 0.04) mm reaching the crystal. The optimized coating in terms of packing fraction and DOI resolution is found to be a mixture made with 30% TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> powder in a PMMA binder. With this appropriate coating, an average DOI resolution of (0.82 ± 0.13) mm can be achieved with a 25 mm crystal length using a 20% photopeak energy window. The resolution degrades to (1.39 ± 0.16) mm when a wide-open energy window is used. Those values are corrected for the source beam size. Using this experimental proposal, a matrix of LYSO crystals has been built reaching a packing fraction of 93%. In this study, we demonstrate that using a 1.5 × 1.5 × 25 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> LYSO crystal, a DOI resolution of less than a millimeter can be achieved while keeping a high packing fraction for a system detection efficiency close to 15%.