High-performance and cost-effective detector modules based on ultra-dense and fast ceramic scintillator for long axial field-of-view positron emission tomography

基于超密快速陶瓷闪烁体的高性能且经济高效的探测器模块，用于长轴视场正电子发射断层扫描

• 批准号: 10299559
• 负责人: Sun Il Kwon
• 金额: $ 54.65万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10299559
• 关键词: Animals; Binding; Biomedical Research; Ceramics; Clinical; Crystallization; Detection; Diagnostic; Goals; Head; Healthcare; Human; Imaging Techniques; Lanthanum; Length; Light; Measures; Methods; Optics; Outcome; Pathway interactions; Performance; Positron-Emission Tomography; Price; Production; Property; Radioactivity; Research; Resolution; Sampling; Structure; System; Technology; Thick; Time; Tracer; animal imaging; base; cost; cost effective; cost estimate; density; design; detection sensitivity; detector; human imaging; improved; innovation; millisecond; molecular diagnostics; molecular imaging; next generation; novel; simulation; tomography; translational medicine; trend

SUMMARY Positron emission tomography (PET) is unrivaled as a highly specific and sensitive means for tomographic imaging of molecular interactions and pathways in humans, offering great utility for translational medicine. Recently, long axial field-of-view PET scanners, which provide excellent geometric coverage, giving much better detection sensitivity, have been developed. However, cost and performance issues are raised as concerns. To resolve both cost and performance issues, next generation long axial field-of-view PET detector modules should employ new scintillators to realize the full performance capabilities of PET at a viable price point. A proposed ceramic scintillator has extremely high stopping power and density, better than any currently used scintillator for PET. The proposed scintillator has a high light yield and an excellent energy resolution. Moreover, we achieved a very good coincidence timing resolution. In addition, it has a cubic crystal structure allowing fabrication by ceramic processing, with potential for a major reduction in cost compared with L(Y)SO. This proposal is 1) to develop the new ceramic scintillator for PET with large volumes and high clarity, 2) to characterize the new scintillator as a PET scintillator, 3) to apply the new scintillator array blocks into well- designed existing PET detector modules to evaluate performance of the new scintillator at the module level, and finally 4) to develop novel time-of-flight (TOF)-PET detector modules by combining the new ceramic scintillator and advanced PET readout methods for next-generation PET scanners. The proposed ceramic scintillator and PET detector modules are not limited to long axial field-of-view PET scanners and will be widely usable. The impact of this proposal is that it provides a pathway to 1) realizing long axial field-of-view scanners with unprecedented sensitivity without a proportional increase in scanner cost and 2) enabling performance advantages in shorter scintillators in terms of reducing DOI effect and improving timing and energy resolution without losing detection efficiency for next-generation TOF-PET scanners.

概括 正电子发射断层扫描 (PET) 作为一种高度特异性和灵敏的断层扫描手段是无与伦比的 人类分子相互作用和途径的成像，为转化医学提供了巨大的实用性。 最近，长轴视场 PET 扫描仪可提供出色的几何覆盖范围，从而提供更好的 检测灵敏度，已经开发出来。然而，成本和性能问题引起了人们的关注。到 为了解决成本和性能问题，下一代长轴向视场 PET 探测器模块应该 采用新的闪烁体以可行的价格实现 PET 的全部性能。 所提出的陶瓷闪烁体具有极高的阻止本领和密度，比目前使用的任何闪烁体都要好 PET 闪烁体。所提出的闪烁体具有高光产率和出色的能量分辨率。而且， 我们取得了非常好的重合定时分辨率。此外，它具有立方晶体结构，允许 通过陶瓷加工制造，与 L(Y)SO 相比，成本有可能大幅降低。 该提案是1）开发用于PET的大体积和高透明度的新型陶瓷闪烁体，2） 将新闪烁体表征为 PET 闪烁体，3) 将新闪烁体阵列块应用到孔中 设计了现有的 PET 探测器模块，以评估新型闪烁体在模块级别的性能，以及 最后4）结合新型陶瓷闪烁体开发新型飞行时间（TOF）-PET探测器模块 以及用于下一代 PET 扫描仪的先进 PET 读出方法。 所提出的陶瓷闪烁体和 PET 探测器模块不限于长轴向视场 PET 扫描仪并将被广泛使用。该提案的影响在于，它提供了一条途径：1）实现长期目标 轴向视场扫描仪具有前所未有的灵敏度，而不会成比例增加扫描仪成本和 2) 在减少 DOI 效应和改善定时方面，使较短的闪烁体具有性能优势 和能量分辨率而不损失下一代 TOF-PET 扫描仪的检测效率。