Next Generation of Real Time Data Acquisition, Calibration and Control System for the RatCAP Scanner

The RatCAP (rat conscious animal PET) is a miniature positron emission tomography scanner intended for neurological and behavioral study of small awake animal. The RatCAP system comprises of three distinct modules: a rigid-flex technology based printed circuit board (PCB) which houses the detector components and front end application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a time to digital converter and signal processing module (TSPM) which receives and processes ASIC signals and transmits processed data over two Giga bit fiber optic links to, finally, a PCI based data acquisition and control PCB (PACRAT). TSPM-3 is redesigned from previous versions to accommodate second generation front end ASIC and possible future two scanner expansions. ASIC´s programmable features are exploited using new additional TSPM electronics for scanner calibration and test. Designs of these three modules and corresponding firmware and software upgrades are complete. Results from a fully integrated next generation RatCAP on the bench are presented.