Scintillation Photon Counting Detectors for 100 ps Time-of-Flight PET Imaging

用于 100 ps 飞行时间 PET 成像的闪烁光子计数探测器

基本信息

批准号：
10704157
负责人：
Joshua William Cates
金额：
$ 76.44万
依托单位：
UNIVERSITY OF CALIF-LAWRENC BERKELEY LAB
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-09-30 至 2026-06-30
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10704157
关键词：
3-Dimensional Address Area Bite Clinical Collection Communities Coupled Data Detection Dose Electronics Elements Event Frequencies Future Goals Hot Spot Image Image Enhancement Imaging Phantoms Lesion Light Measurement Noise Optics Pathway interactions Patients Performance Photons Physiologic pulse Positioning Attribute Positron-Emission Tomography Radiation Dose Unit Recovery Resolution Role Scanning Signal Transduction Starvation Stream System Techniques Technology Time Tracer Translating Variant Visualization Width Work advanced system analog attenuation clinical imaging computerized data processing cost design detector image reconstruction imaging capabilities imaging study improved instrumentation multi-photon novel photon-counting detector preservation prototype research and development response spatiotemporal tomography uptake

项目摘要

Project Summary Clinical time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) systems capable of excellent coincidence time resolution (CTR) promise to drastically enhance effective 511 keV photon sensitivity. The ability to more precisely localize annihilation origins along system response lines constrains event data, providing improved signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) and reconstructed image quality by associating 511 keV photons more closely to their true origin. This SNR enhancement increases as CTR is improved, and a major goal of ongoing PET instrumentation research and development is to push system CTR ≤100 ps full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM). At this level of performance, events are constrained ≤1.5 cm, providing more than a five-fold increase in SNR relative to a system with no TOF capability. Advanced systems capable of ≤100 ps FWHM CTR would effectively more than double or quadruple the effective 511 keV system sensitivity, in comparison to state-of-the-art, clinical TOF-PET systems (250-400 ps FWHM CTR). Thus, advancing CTR is also a pathway for greatly improved system sensitivity without increasing detection volume and system cost. Standard PET detectors comprising segmented arrays of high-aspect-ratio scintillation crystal elements cannot achieve this level of performance and are ultimately limited by poor light collection efficiency and depth-dependent scintillation photon transit time jitter seen by the photodetector. To address this, we propose to develop a new detector readout concept which allows scintillation photons to be counted and a unique timestamp to be assigned for the first arriving photon at each photosensor pixel. We will leverage this new advancement in scalable PET detector readout and produce PET detector modules capable of high resolution, three-dimensional positioning capabilities and 100 ps FWHM CTR in a design that also makes no sacrifices on 511 keV photon detection efficiency. The new detector design will be integrated into large area detector modules that span the full axial extent (>20 cm) of a clinical PET system, including front-end signal and back-end data processing. We will construct a prototype tomographic imaging setup and quantify relevant system performance metrics and the imaging performance of future clinical systems made from this new detector. The proposed PET detector technologies can have a significant impact on quantitative PET imaging. The image SNR enabled by the significant boost in effective sensitivity can be employed to substantially reduce tracer dose and shorten scan time/increase patient throughput, or to better visualize and quantify smaller lesions/features in the presence of significant background, which are important features that can make PET more practical and accurate, as well as help to expand its roles in patient management.

项目概要具有出色重合时间的临床飞行时间正电子发射断层扫描 (TOF-PET) 系统分辨率 (CTR) 有望显着提高有效 511 keV 光子灵敏度的能力。沿系统响应线限制事件数据定位湮灭起源，提供改进的信号到通过将 511 keV 光子更接近其真实情况关联起来，提高噪声比 (SNR) 和重建图像质量随着点击率 (CTR) 的提高，信噪比 (SNR) 也会随之提高，这也是 PET 仪器的主要目标。研发的目的是推动系统 CTR ≤100 ps 半高全宽 (FWHM) 这个水平。性能，事件被限制在 ≤1.5 cm，相对于 SNR 增加了五倍以上具有 ≤100 ps FWHM CTR 的先进系统将有效地超过与最先进的临床 TOF-PET 相比，有效 511 keV 系统灵敏度提高了一倍或四倍系统（250-400 ps FWHM CTR）因此，提高 CTR 也是大幅改进系统的途径。灵敏度不增加检测量和系统成本由分段组成的标准 PET 检测器。高纵横比闪烁晶体元件阵列无法达到这种性能水平，并且最终受到光收集效率差和深度相关的闪烁光子传输时间抖动的限制为了解决这个问题，我们建议开发一种新的探测器读出概念，它允许要对闪烁光子进行计数，并为每个时刻第一个到达的光子分配一个唯一的时间戳我们将利用可扩展 PET 探测器读出的这一新进展来生产 PET。探测器模块具有高分辨率、三维定位功能和 100 ps FWHM CTR 新的探测器设计也不会牺牲 511 keV 光子探测效率。集成到跨越临床 PET 系统整个轴向范围（>20 厘米）的大面积探测器模块中，包括前端信号和后端数据处理。我们将构建一个断层成像原型。设置和量化相关系统性能指标以及未来临床系统的成像性能所提出的 PET 探测器技术可以对这种新型探测器产生重大影响。有效灵敏度的显着提升可实现 PET 成像的图像信噪比。用于大幅减少示踪剂剂量并缩短扫描时间/增加患者吞吐量，或更好地在存在显着背景的情况下可视化和量化较小的病变/特征，这很重要这些功能可以使 PET 更加实用和准确，并有助于扩大其在患者中的作用管理。