Instrument and method to facilitate and improve the timing alignment of a pet scanner
AssigneeScanwell Systems
InventorsChristopher J. Thompson, Marie-Laure Camborde
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for providing the timing alignment for a scanner. The system includes a removable source and detector assembly which is placed near the center of the scanner when in use. The source includes a long-lived positron emitting radioactive source. The radioactive source is in close contact with a fast plastic scintillator or other mechanism of detecting the ionization due to positron decay. A method for reading out the precise time at which the surrounding medium detects the ionization due to positron decay. A mechanism for using this time as a reference clock unto which the detectors in the scanner can be aligned.
Claims14
A time alignment system for a scanner comprising:
- a radioactive source which decays by emitting positrons;
- means of detecting the emission of a positron, and producing a signal at the time when the radioactive decay of the source decays by the emission of the positron;
- and
- means of converting the signal into a common reference clock for calibration of the scanner.
A time alignment method for a scanner comprising the steps of:
- placing a radioactive source which decays by emitting positrons in a generally central location in the scanner;
- detecting the emission of a positron, and producing a signal at the time when the radioactive decay of the source decays by the emission of the positron;
- and
- converting the signal into a common reference clock for calibration of the scanner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.