Single photon emission computed tomography system

A single photon emission computed tomography system for producing multiple tomographic images of the type representing a three-dimensional distribution of a photon-emitting radioisotope, said system comprising:

• a base including a patient support for supporting a patient such that a portion of the patient is located in a field of view, a longitudinal axis being defined through said field of view;
• a detector assembly at least partially surrounding said field of view, said assembly including a plurality of photon-responsive detectors spaced apart along said assembly, each detector comprising an elongated strip with a central axis disposed generally parallel to said longitudinal axis, each detector being operable to detect if a photon strikes said detector, each detector further including means to determine a position along the length of said elongated strip where a photon is detected;
• a photon-blocking member disposed between said detectors and said field of view, said member having a plurality of aperture slots defined therethrough at intervals along said member for passage of photons aligned with said aperture slots, each of said slots being generally parallel to said longitudinal axis, a line of response for each of said detectors being defined from said detector through the nearest aperture;
• and
• displacement means for moving one of said detector module and said photon-blocking member relative to the other of said detector module and said photon-blocking member such that said aperture is displaced relative to said detector and said lines of response are swept across at least a portion of said field of view.

A scintillator based photon detector module comprising:

• a piece of scintillation material having a front face and an opposing back face, said material operable to produce a pulse of light when struck by a photon;
• a light detector operable to produce a signal in response to a pulse of light;
• and
• one or more optical fibers having first ends in photo communication with said material and second ends in photo communication with said light detector, said optical fibers operative to guide a pulse of light produced by said scintillation material to said light detector.