Coincident Compton nuclear medical imager

A novel method is proposed for nuclear medical imaging. A high resolution Compton imager with large solid angle and high efficiency is used to detect multiple gamma rays from selected radionuclide decays. The direction cone of each gamma ray is re-constructed from the multiple Compton interactions in the detector array. The intersection of three Compton direction cones defines a limited number of positions, often a unique location within the region of interest, for each decay. For positron decay radionuclides that are accompanied by a coincident gamma ray (e.g. ¹⁴O) the location is determined from the intersection of the 511 keV interaction sites and the Compton direction cone of the third gamma ray. This technique has the advantages of 3-dimensional imaging with lower doses, and comparable or improved resolution compared to standard SPECT and PET techniques. The technique will be described, along with a discussion of alternative detectors configurations. Results of simulations showing the capability of this technique are presented.