MGH cylindrical PET detector characteristics

A cylindrically shaped PET (positron emission tomography) camera designed to utilize cross-plane events is being developed. A two-dimensional BGO scintillation detector was designed for the camera. It uses a rectangular array of detector elements and a hex array of PM tubes that are supported by a thin cylindrical light guide-eight detector elements/PM tube. The detector is 60 cm in diameter by 12 cm axially. The BGO elements are 3-mm*5.7-mm*30-mm-deep and form 20 rings of 640 elements. A narrow light distribution is achieved. To decrease the system deadtime, scintillation events are processed using only near neighbor PM tube signals. The goal is to achieve high sensitivity and high resolution in energy, time, and space. The preliminary data obtained from the camera indicate that the design goals will be achieved. Algorithms that equalize the PM tube gains will improve energy resolution, spatial resolution, and stability.<>