The micro-pattern gas detector PIM: A multi-modality solution for novel investigations in functional imaging

Autoradiography is a widely used technique in pharmacology and biological fields. It is able to localize in 2 dimensions molecules labeled with beta emitters. The gaseous detector incorporating micromesh Parallel Ionization Multiplier (PIM) has already shown its ability to localize precisely electrons from low-energy emitters like 3H and 14C with a high resolution or on a large area. We report on a new prototype devoted to precise determination of beta emitters. It could be used to image gamma emitters distribution by using autoradiography of the associated beta particles present on a large number of useful gamma radioelements such as 131I, 46Sc, 18F, etc. By proceeding with a dedicated method, we expect to locate in 2 dimensions the position of gamma emitter with a precision greater than 150 μm. This new prototype could also be used for traditional low-energy beta autoradiography of 3H, 14C or 125I with a spatial resolution better than 50 μm and real-time imaging. First results obtained with this new prototype are presented.