Digital Electronics for PSAPD-based Gamma Cameras

基于 PSAPD 的伽玛相机的数字电子器件

• 批准号: 6884449
• 负责人: WILLIAM K WARBURTON
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: XIA, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-25 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6884449
• 关键词: bioengineering /biomedical engineering; bioimaging /biomedical imaging; biomedical equipment development; cesium; cost effectiveness; digital imaging; gamma radiation; image enhancement; iodine; photography; scintillation cameras; semiconduction; technology /technique development; temperature

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long term objective of this work is to develop a new technology for gamma-ray imaging cameras based on the combination of digital processing electronics and position sensitive avalanche photodiodes (PSAPDs). Gamma cameras are finding increasing applications in diverse medical fields ranging from SPECT cameras for emergency room cardiological screening through scintimammography cameras for detecting breast cancer to small animal cameras used in metabolic and drug development studies. Present cameras, constructed using position sensitive photomultiplier tubes and analog processing electronics are bulky, heavy, and expensive. We have developed a preliminary gamma camera design that uses solid state PSAPD detectors and high density digital processing electronics to create a compact camera design that will weigh only 10-20% of existing designs, have significantly improved imaging quality, and cost half as much. A preliminary analysis shows that, to reap these benefits, it is necessary to fully understand the PSAPD's electronic noise properties and design the processing electronics to maximize signal/noise in order to optimize spatial resolution and image quality. The Phase I effort will therefore be devoted to extensively characterizing a PSAPD's noise properties as a function of temperature and signal processing variables and making measurements with small scintillator arrays to determine achievable spatial resolution. The preliminary design will be turned into a complete design with specified parts and modeled and analyzed to accurately project both its performance characteristics and production costs. The Phase II effort would then consist of constructing a pair of gamma cameras based on the Phase I design: a 21 cm x 21 cm camera with 2 mm spatial resolution intended for cardiology work and a 10 cm x 10 cm camera with 1 mm intrinsic spatial resolution intended for small animal work. Both cameras would then be subjected to a wide variety of point source and phantom imaging tests to fully characterize and optimize their performance.

描述（由申请人提供）： 这项工作的长期目标是开发一种基于数字处理电子设备和位置敏感雪崩光电二极管（PSAPD）相结合的伽马射线成像相机新技术。伽玛相机在不同的医疗领域得到越来越多的应用，从用于急诊室心脏病筛查的 SPECT 相机到用于检测乳腺癌的闪烁X线摄影相机，再到用于代谢和药物开发研究的小动物相机。目前使用位置敏感光电倍增管和模拟处理电子器件构建的相机体积庞大、笨重且昂贵。我们开发了一种初步的伽玛相机设计，它使用固态PSAPD探测器和高密度数字处理电子器件来创建紧凑的相机设计，其重量仅为现有设计的10-20%，显着提高了成像质量，而成本却只有现有设计的一半。初步分析表明，要获得这些优势，有必要充分了解 PSAPD 的电子噪声特性并设计处理电子设备以最大化信号/噪声，从而优化空间分辨率和图像质量。因此，第一阶段的工作将致力于广泛表征 PSAPD 的噪声特性作为温度和信号处理变量的函数，并使用小型闪烁体阵列进行测量以确定可实现的空间分辨率。初步设计将转变为包含指定零件的完整设计，并进行建模和分析，以准确预测其性能特征和生产成本。第二阶段的工作将包括构建一对基于第一阶段设计的伽玛相机：一个具有 2 毫米空间分辨率的 21 厘米 x 21 厘米相机，用于心脏病学工作；以及一个具有 1 毫米固有空间分辨率的 10 厘米 x 10 厘米相机。适用于小动物工作的决议。然后，这两款相机将接受各种点源和幻像成像测试，以充分表征和优化其性能。