Multiple layer positron emission tomography camera
AssigneeClayton Foundation for Research
InventorWai-Hoi Wong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A positron emission tomography camera having a patient area with a plurality of fixed detector rings positioned side-by-side around the patient area to detect radiation. Each ring includes multiple layers of scintillation detectors in which the detectors in one of the layers is offset relative to the detectors in the other layers. The thickness of each layer increases exponentially from the inside of the ring to the outside of the ring. Identification of the scintillation detector may be performed by using layers with different timing constants, using silicon avalanche photodiodes or using a light guide transferring the light received from the staggered detectors to a non-staggered rectangular matrix.
Claims7
A positron emission tomography camera comprising,
- a patient area,
- a plurality of detector rings positioned side-by-side around the patient area to detect radiation from opposite sides of a patient in the patient area,
- each ring containing a plurality of scintallation detectors directed towards the patient area for defining a plane slice through the patient area by the detectors in each ring, said detectors on opposite sides of the patient detecting two oppositely directed gamma rays,
- each ring including multiple layers of scintillation detectors, the detectors in one of the layers being offset relative to the detectors in the other layers in the same ring, and
- the thickness of each layer being greater than the thickness of the next inner layer and the thickness of each layer being sized so that each layer detects substantially the same number of gamma rays.
A positron emission tomography camera comprising,
- a patient area,
- a plurality of fixed circular detector rings positioned side-by-side around the patient area to detect radiation from opposite sides of a patient in the patient area,
- each ring containing a plurality of scintillation detectors, said detectors on opposite sides of the patient detecting two oppositely directed gamma rays, the detectors in one of the layers being offset relative to the detectors in the other layers in a ring for increasing the sampling of detected radiation, said number of layers of detectors being n and the offset between each adjacent layer is 1/n of the detector width, and
- the thickness of each layer being increased over the adjacent inner layer and the thickness of each layer being sized so that each layer detects substantially the same number of gamma rays.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.